facilitator's guide - project management -...

FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

Project ManagementFor Public Health Professionals

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Sustainable Management Development ProgramDivision of Public Health Systems and Workforce Development

Center for Global HealthU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/SMDP/

Revised January 2011

http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/SMDP/

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Project Management for Public Health ProfessionalsContents

Project Management v Sustainable Management Development Program v

Acknowledgements v

Course Overview vi About this Facilitators Guide vi

Target Audience vi

Learning Objectives vi

Materials and Equipment vii

Workshop Schedule viii

Classroom Preparation Checklist ix

Resources x Internet Sites x

Further Reading x

Text Booksxi

Instruction Notes xiii Icon Glossary xiii

Course Instruction 1 Day One 1

Day Two 40

Appendices 75

APPENDIX A Project Workplan 76

APPENDIX B Unforeseen Events 79

APPENDIX C Review Activity 83

APPENDIX D Review Activity Answer Key 89

APPENDIX E Case Study 93

APPENDIX F Sample Calendar 95

CONTENTS | iii


Project Management

Sustainable Management Development Program

SMDP partners with ministries of health, educational institutions, and nongovernmental organizations in developing countries to promote organizational excellence in public health by strengthening leadership and management capacity. SMDP’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of the public health sector in developing countries by

Empowering local officials with better leadership, management, and decision-making skills

Stimulating creativity and innovation among local health personnel to improve public health service delivery

Acknowledgements

Greer, M., The Manager's Pocket Guide to Project Management. Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1999.

Heerkens, G. R., Project Management. New York McGraw Hill, 2002.

Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Kampala, Uganda.

Dr. David Mukonga African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Kampala, Uganda.

Posner, B. Z., What it Takes to be a Good Project Manager, Project Management Journal 18, No. 1 March 1987.

Project Management Institute, Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures. Project Management Institute; October 2001.

iv | ABOUT THIS FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

http://www.michaelgreer.com/contact.htm#Barry%20at%20HRD%20Press


Dr Sharon Weir and the MEASURE Evaluation Project at the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Population Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

CLASSROOM PREPARATION CHECKLIST | v


Course Overview

About this Facilitators GuideThis guide is designed to provide you with the materials and direction to successfully deliver the Project Management course in a classroom environment. It assumes you, the instructor, have functional proficiency in the subject matter.

This guide includes notes for you to say and do during the class, as well as materials to help you prepare and conclude the course. Use the Resources section of this guide for further research into the topic.

Please read the description of the target audience carefully, as well as the learning objectives. By correctly positioning the course you can set reasonable expectations for the participants.

Target Audience

This course is designed for supervisors working in health services, typically at district-level. It is expected that they have responsibilities in managing or overseeing health projects. This course could also benefit members of project management teams. There are no prerequisites to this course.

Learning Objectives

When participants complete this course they will be able to:

Write a project workplan Generate a work breakdown structure Develop a network diagram and schedule Track and manage the project

vi | ABOUT THIS FACILITATOR’S GUIDE


Close-out and conduct post project reviews to ensure continuous learning

Materials and Equipment

MATERIALS EQUIPMENT

For the Instructor: Sticky notes (such as Post-

It®) Flip chart paper Masking tape Cards of unforeseen events

For the Instructor: Personal computer LCD projector

For the Participant: Project Management

Participant Workbook

For the Participant: None required

CLASSROOM PREPARATION CHECKLIST | vii


Workshop Schedule

TIMES DAY 1 DAY 2

Morning9:00 – 12:30

Welcome -15 min Icebreaker -10 min Workshop

Introduction -5 min Introduction to

Project Management - 20 min

The Project Management Method -10 min

Initiate & Define: Step 1 -20 min

Exercise 1 -40 min Summary: Initiate &

Define -5 min

Review of Day 1 -30 min

Plan: Step 4 -20 min Plan: Step 5 -10 min Team Expectations -10

min Exercise 4 -60 min Plan: Step 6 -15 min Exercise 5 -20 min Plan: Step 7 -10 min Exercise 6 -15 min

Afternoon1:30 – 5:30

Plan: Step 2 -20 min Exercise 2 -60 min Plan: Step 3 -30 min Exercise 3 -60 min Summary of Day 1 -

10 min

Summary: Plan -5 min Implement & Control:

Step 8 -10 min Implement & Control:

Step 9 -10 min Exercise 7 -20 min Summary: Implement

& Control -5 min Close: Step 10 -15 min Summary: Close -5

min Workshop Conclusion -

20 minNote timings are approximate and should be verified during classroom preparation. Be sure to allot time for breaks.

viii | WORKSHOP SCHEDULE


Classroom Preparation Checklist

TASK Obtain & test projector & personal computerObtain flip charts & markers: 1 for every 4-5 participantsCopy participant materials. For each participant:

- Participant Workbook- Project Workplan Template (Appendix A)- Case Study (if desired. See instruction notes)

(Appendix E)- Project Calendar (See Appendix F for an

example)Record each task on slide 23 (Let’s have a party!) on large sticky notesPrint and cut up unforeseen events (Appendix B)Print and cut up review questions (Appendix C)Obtain & test PowerPoint® file: project_management_smdp.pptArrange tables for groups of 5Provide a flip chart, markers and easel for each tableProvide sticky notes at each table

CLASSROOM PREPARATION CHECKLIST | ix


Resources

Internet Sites

Project Management Institutehttp://www.pmi.org/Pages/default.aspx

World Health Organization Management for Health Services Deliveryhttp://www.who.int/management/en/

Further Reading

DeWeaver, M. F. and Gillespie, L. C., Real-World Project Management: New Approaches for Adapting to Change and Uncertainty. New York: Quality Resources, 1997.

Dinsmore, P. C., Human Factors in Project Management. New York: AMACOM, 1990.

Frame, J. Davidson, Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.

Greer, M., The Project Manager's Partner: A Step-by-Step Guide to Project Management. Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1996.

Greer, M., The Manager's Pocket Guide to Project Management. Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1999.

Lewis, J. P., Fundamentals of Project Management. New York: AMACOM, 1997.

Lock, D., Project Management (Sixth Edition). New York: Wiley, 1996.

Project Management Institute, Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures. Project Management Institute; October 2001.

x | TEXT BOOKS

http://www.michaelgreer.com/contact.htm#Barry%20at%20HRD%20Press


Project Management Institute Standards Committee, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Upper Darby, PA: Project Management Institute, 1994.

Stuckenbruck, L. C. and Marshall, D., Team Building for Project Managers. Upper Darby, PA: Project Management Institute, 1985 [3rd printing, 1990].

Stuckenbruck, L. C. (Ed.), The Implementation of Project Management: The Professional's Handbook. Upper Darby.

Wysocki, R. K. et al., Building Effective Project Teams. New York: Wiley, 2001.

Text Books

Heerkens, G. R., Project Management. New York McGraw Hill, 2002.

Martin, P., Getting Started in Project Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Martin, P., Project Management Memory Jogger™. GOAL, 1997.

Wysocki, R. K. et al., Effective Project Management, 3rd Edition. New York: Wiley, 2003.

INTERNET SITES | xi


xii | TEXT BOOKS


Instruction NotesThe following notes refer to slides in the PowerPoint presentation: Project_Management_SMDP.ppt. Suggested actions and script for the instructor are located in the Script/Key Points section of each slide. Also included are references to the slide number and page number in the participant workbook, as well as instructions on when and how to use the exercises. Use these materials as you prepare for your session and to guide you during the workshop. Be sure to refer participants to the appropriate page number in their workbook throughout the session.

Script for the facilitator to SAY is written like this.Instructions for the facilitator to DO are written like this.

Icon Glossary

SPECIFIC SLIDE FOR USE DURING THE EXPLANATION

FLIPCHART USE

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION TO HELP PERFORM A TASK MORE EASILY

SMALL GROUP EXERCISE

QUESTION FOR FACILITATOR TO ASK PARTICIPANTS

INTERNET SITES | xiii

SlideImage


VIDEO PRESENTATION

xiv | APPENDIX E CASE STUDY Plain=Script Bold=Instructions Italics=Answers


Course Instruction

Day One

Workshop IntroductionExpected Time: 30 minutes

Project Management for the Public Health ProfessionalWORKBOOK CLOSED

15 MINUTES

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Welcome class and introduce yourself.

Introduce any dignitaries.

Have participants introduce themselves and their expectations for the workshop.

Explain any housekeeping, such as break times, fire drill, and restroom location.

Explain their workbook: they will use it to complete exercises and take notes.

Copies of PowerPoint slides are not needed and should not be given out.

Conduct icebreaker as follows.

DAY ONE| 1


IcebreakerWORKBOOK CLOSED

10 MINUTES

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS You have all managed a project, whether you know it or not. In today’s

session we will introduce methods and tools to help you more effectively manage public health projects

Divide the class into 3 groups.

Instruct the groups to do the following:

1. Elect or appoint a project manager and a secretary.

2. Get your group into a line, in order by birthday MONTH

and DAY.

3. You have 3 minutes to complete these tasks. Your group

will then report on your progress and whether or not you

completed it on time. Begin the “project” and time the students. Give them no more

than 3 minutes

Spend 5 minutes reviewing this exercise as a class.

How was this like a real project?Suggested answer: Many people working together, the tasks were divided, there was a start/end time

How was this different from a real project?

Suggested answer: team wasn’t selected based on the required task,

the project manager is usually not elected; project did not support a

broader goal.

2 | APPENDIX E CASE STUDY Plain=Script Bold=Instructions Italics=Answers


LEARNING OBJECTIVES

WORKBOOK PAGE: vii

5 MINUTES

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Read objectives from the slide.

Session Overview

WORKBOOK PAGE: viii

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS In this session, we will first give an introduction to projects and project

management. Then we will talk about the phases of a project, including project initiation, and planning. We will also spend time on project implementation, monitoring and closing the project.

DAY ONE| 3


Introduction to Project ManagementExpected Time: 20 minutes

What is a Project?

WORKBOOK PAGE: 1

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The word “project” can mean different things to different people, so let’s

define what we mean by it.

A project is a set of activities focused on achieving a specific goal. In addition, all of the activities related to the common goal need to be coordinated so that they are completed between the start and end dates of the project and within budget. Finally, a project is unique, that is, it is one of a kind. What does that mean? The easiest way to explain how a project is unique is to compare it to a “program.” A program is similar to a project, except that it often uses an existing process and duplicates it over and over again – like an assembly line. A project, on the other hand, is created using a process that is used only once. As a result, your end-product will be unique. Building a skyscraper is an example of a project.

How is this different from a program?

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.

A program is a coordinated effort in a specific subject area that forms a fundamental part of the mission of an organization to improve public health.

In the course of your public health career, you may also have to understand what a process is. A process is an on-going and repetitive series of actions within an organization that uses inputs to achieve an



output.

Therefore, a program can contain many projects and processes. For example, the WHO Millennium Development Goals is a program, composed of ongoing processes and special projects.

Why does this matter?

It matters because managing programs and projects present different types of challenges. For example, since projects are temporary, it is common for the project manager to lead a team that does not actually report to him. This can create some personnel and supervision challenges.

Guess the P

WORKBOOK PAGE: 1

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Ask the class whether the items on the list are programs, projects,

or processes. They can record their ideas in the workbook.

Conduct Brazil MOH Cardiovascular Prevention: program

Test a patient for HIV: process

Investigate a salmonella outbreak in Accra, Ghana: project

Provide anti retroviral treatment in a community: process

Conduct local youth tobacco prevention: program

Conduct a national nutrition and behavior survey in Vietnam in October 2009: project

DAY ONE| 5


Characteristics of a Project

WORKBOOK PAGE: 2

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The primary role of the project manager is to manage the time, cost,

and quality of the project—or the schedule, budget, and deliverables. It is important for the project manager, who may not have functional authority over team members, to recognize that the real key to project management is focusing the team on the 3 critical issues.

Time, cost and quality/scope create a constraint on the project manager because a change in one of these elements will require a trade-off with one or both of the others. For example, if you take more time to complete the project than planned, then you will probably use human resources to work during the extra time needed.

Similarly, if you, as a project manager, are asked to reduce the time or increase the quality requirements of the project, the overall costs of the project may need to be increased in order to meet this request.

You may be on projects where one of these requirements is fixed. For example, you may have a fixed amount of money from a donor, or you must implement a new policy by January 1. In these types of circumstances, the other two requirements must be carefully monitored in order to achieve the project’s goals. In the case of a fixed amount of money, if the project is taking longer to complete than expected, you may need to the project’s scope or quality may need to be adjusted.

As a project manager you will need to balance three requirements: time; cost; and quality (or scope.) These three factors work together to produce the desired result.



Purpose of Project Management

WORKBOOK PAGE: 2

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Many projects fail because they are not well planned. Even small

projects, projects with a small budget or a short time frame, should consider key elements before they are carried out.

What do you think are benefits of project management? Write your ideas in your book.

Successful Projects Have Some Things in Common

WORKBOOK PAGE: 2

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Effective project management gives a clear vision of the project

including what needs to be done, the standards to which it should be carried out, who will do it, when, how much it will cost, and the funder.

When planning a project, remember these critical factors for the success of the project:

• Clearly defined & achievable objectives set realistic expectations and ensure that all participants in the project understand their role in its success

DAY ONE| 7


• Effective leadership helps cross functional teams communicate effectively and share the same vision

• A plan that manages and measures progress is discussed and designed at the beginning of the project, before the work gets underway. This helps reduce the number of surprises and helps projects stay on track.

• Management commitment and support are vital to a project’s success. This support can help when there are disagreements among stakeholders or when difficult decisions must be made, such as reallocating resources.

• The agreement of stakeholders on the project’s goals may be easy or difficult to obtain: sometimes, with large or complex projects, stakeholders may have different understanding of the project’s goals, and it is up to the project manager to identify and resolve the differences.

• Continuous communications within the project team, and with project stakeholders and donors helps everyone involved remain clear about the project activities, and progress toward achievement of objectives

• Some stakeholders may be keenly interested in all project details, and may even offer technical recommendations. Other stakeholders may only be interested in occasional updates of progress. When the role of each stakeholders is made clear early in the project, the appropriate level of involvement can be included in the project’s plan.



Project Manager Skills

WORKBOOK PAGE: 3

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS What skills are needed to be a successful project manager?

Have the class discuss this question. Prompt if needed with clues from this slide.

Click to summarize important skills

(the class may have also thought of other skills):

Planning: You will learn planning skills throughout this workshop

Technical: experience, project knowledge

People:

Communication: listening, persuading, negotiating

Organizational: planning, goal-setting, analyzing

Team building: empathy, motivation, team spirit

Leadership: sets example, energetic, vision, delegates, positive attitude

Coping: flexibility, creativity, patience, persistence

Which of these skills do you think are most important? You may be surprised to learn that the literature has indicated that technical skills aren’t as important as other management skills. Therefore, when you take the lead position on your project as Project Manager, you will need to demonstrate the following skills: planning, communication,

DAY ONE| 9


leadership, technical prowess, and conflict resolution.

Posner, BZ, “What it Takes to be a Good Project Manager,” Project Management Journal 18, No. 1 (March 1987).

These are all summarized in your workbook on page 3.

This workshop will focus particularly on the planning and communication parts of project management.



Project Management MethodExpected Time: 10 minutes

Project Management Method

WORKBOOK PAGE: 4

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Here is a diagram representing the steps of project management. We

will talk about all of these steps in more detail, but let’s start with this to give you an overview of the main stages of project management.

First, we initiate and define the project when we define the purpose and scope of the project. We do this by establishing a project statement, developing goals, objectives, and indicators, and outlining the main steps of the project.

Next, we begin planning the details of a project. We define the project activities through a tool called the Word Breakdown Structure. Then we determine which activities are dependent upon other tasks, helping us put the required activities in sequence. We can then develop a schedule with set deadlines, create a resource plan to include supplies and personnel needed and who will be responsible for each task, and we develop a budget to meet these needs. A project management plan also needs to address ways to deal possible risks or problems that occur, and it must include a plan for communicating progress, needs, and activities with project stakeholders.

Next we implement the project. In other words we will actually begin the planned work. You can imagine that not all steps in a project are completely sequential: some portions of the project may continue in the planning stage while others are implemented, but for this workshop we will progress through the project management method in a linear fashion.

DAY ONE| 11


Next we monitor and control activities of the project. We will measure how well we are doing that work. We use progress indicators keep track of the project and manage changes.

Finally, we close out the project. We can use a final evaluation to document the experience and knowledge to improve the project or future projects.

Now, we’ll talk about each of these stages in more detail.



Initiate and Define StageExpected Time: 65 minutes

Step 1: Select Project and Define Scope

WORKBOOK PAGE: 5

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Distribute the project workplan template Appendix A.

Now, let’s talk about the first stage of project management. The very first step is to select the project and define its scope.

In order to do this, you:

• Describe the project

• Define goals, objectives and indicators

• Outline main steps

All of these and more will go into the project workplan, which is a document that summarizes all the key components of a project. This is the document that we just distributed, which you will use for the case study.

Let’s go over each of these individually.

DAY ONE| 13


It Begins with a Description

WORKBOOK PAGE: 6

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS A project is an activity that is undertaken to address a public health

problem. Before you can begin planning the details you must be able to describe the project and how it addresses a particular health problem.

Clear identification of the problem will drive the project’s scope. The scope of the project is important because it defines the boundaries. It can answer the question “When are we done?” You may be surprised at how frequently team members of the same project have different answers to this question!

The project description is a short paragraph describing what needs to be done, why it needs to be done and by what date the work must be finished. It is an important step, which defines the project by characterizing it and showing its context and boundaries. It gives the basis of the project and ensures its focus.



Example Project Description

WORKBOOK PAGE: 6-7

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Now let’s look at a project description using an example of a behavioral

study. The description answers the questions what, why, when & who

You can find a summary of the project on page 7 of your workbook. We will use this example throughout our course. This project is being developed to systematically identify locations where people meet new sexual partners and/or needle-sharing partners and describe the social and sexual characteristics of the areas identified for the purpose of AIDS prevention. It uses a rapid assessment tool to monitor and improve AIDS prevention program coverage in areas where HIV transmission is most likely to occur.

You also include the beneficiary of the project. This underscores the value of the project background section. In the background you identify a problem for which this project is a solution. Who will receive the product or services of your work?

Additional information about the example

Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) was developed to systematically identify locations where people meet new sexual partners and/or needle-sharing partners and describe the social and sexual characteristics of the areas identified for the purpose of AIDS prevention. It is a rapid assessment tool to monitor and improve AIDS prevention program coverage in areas where HIV transmission is most likely to occur.

Dr Sharon Weir and the MEASURE Evaluation Project at the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Population Center developed the PLACE method. There are 5

DAY ONE| 15


steps to PLACE:

1. Prepare a PLACE strategy (get ethical approval, map priority prevention areas). Priority prevention areas (PPAs) are areas where HIV is most likely to be transmitted in the future and may include districts with a large number of mobile populations, seasonal workers, ‘red-light’ districts, and areas with poor economies, among others.

2. Identify venues where people meet new sexual and needle-sharing partners (within the previously identified PPAs). This requires the interviewing of community informants. Trained interviewers ask approximately 400 community members to name venues and events where people meet new sexual partners and venues where drug injectors socialize (using Form A). Community informants include taxi drivers, truck drivers, workers in stores selling alcohol, teachers, hairdressers, health club patrons, government/city officials including police, officials of community-based organizations, sex workers, bar tenders, and restaurant patrons. A site could be a street, bar, brothel, dance club, tattoo parlor, church, shopping area, restaurant, or other establishment.

3. Visit, map, and characterize all venues reported. Interviewers visit the venues, conduct on-site interviews about each venue and use global positioning systems (GPS) devices to map each venue.

4. Characterize people who socialize at the venues. Interviewers socialize at the venues and ask 960 individuals at 40 venues about their sexual behavior and exposure to AIDS prevention programs (using Form B).

5. Use the results to improve AIDS prevention programs in the area. This method has been shown to successfully identify sites where people with high rates of new sexual partnerships can be reached for prevention programs in South Africa, Burkina Faso, India, Mexico, Tanzania, Uganda, Kazakhstan, and Jamaica.

The PLACE Key Informant Questionnaire asks community informants to list sites where they know people go to meet new sexual partners. No identifying information will be collected and the questionnaire is anonymous. If informants agreed to participate, they will be provided with a 1-page fact sheet about the study and the interviewer(s) will review the fact sheet with the participant. After reviewing the fact sheet, interviewers will write the participant’s responses on the questionnaire.



Project Definition: Goals

WORKBOOK PAGE: 6

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS A project is usually developed to achieve a new objective, improve a

process or solve a public health problem. A well defined problem statement can be included in the background section to help explain the purpose of the project.

After this is articulated you can define the goal of the project: how your project will address the problem. To do this, write 1-2 sentences answering the questions we just discussed.

For example, we know transmission of HIV is a public health problem among intravenous drug users. The goal of our project could be to systematically identify locations where people meet new sexual partners and describe the social and sexual characteristics of the areas identified for the purpose of AIDS prevention.

This can lead us to defining specific objectives for reaching those goals, and deliverables (or indicators) that can be used to measure the objectives.

DAY ONE| 17


Define Project Objectives

WORKBOOK PAGE: 6

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The goal describes what you are trying to achieve. The objectives

describe how you intend to achieve your goal.

So we must define the objectives of the project. Based on the goal of the project, what specifically will be achieved by the end of the project? This objective must also be measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-scaled.

Depending on the project, you could have many objectives for a specific goal, or only one.



Define Project Deliverables

WORKBOOK PAGE: 6

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Now, how will we know that we have accomplished these objectives?

After we have outlined the objectives, we need to decide what we will produce or deliver to reach these objectives. Project Deliverables are specific products or services the project will deliver, e.g. a process design, a product, delivery of a service) These are the tangible results of the project. These deliverables are measurable in terms of the three main project requirements: time; cost; and quality. Think of them as measurements for success in each of these areas. Each objective may have 1 to 3 deliverables.

In our example, one of our objectives was, to determine where people meet new sexual and needle-sharing partners in the PPAs through community informant interviews

To satisfy this objective our deliverables might include:

• Map of places where people meet new sexual and needle-sharing partners

• Completed data collection

• Summary report. These deliverables examples would be measurable and indicate our

achievement of desired quality, or scope. We would also want to measure whether we were able to deliver on time and under budget.

When the objectives and deliverables begin to take shape, you may already be identifying who you need on your team. It is not too early to begin having team meetings and communications. It is important to set the expectations for how you will work together and begin to build a feeling of trust and camaraderie. A project kick-off meeting, to

DAY ONE| 19


introduce all the members to each other and establish roles and responsibilities is a great beginning to a successful working relationship.

How have you identified and formed work teams in the past?

Project Stakeholders

WORKBOOK PAGE: 8

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS People other than team members are also important to the success of

the project. These people are often called stakeholders. What is a stakeholder? Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or institutions likely to be affected by a proposed project (either negatively or positively), or those who can affect the outcome of the project.

In public health, stakeholders may include suppliers, employees, and the wider community, including family and friends, funding agents, regulators, departments of health, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), politicians, and other interest groups, including those who prepare the technical standards.

At the beginning of a project you have an idea of some of your stakeholders. As you plan the project you will identify additional stakeholders and develop a plan to communicate with them. At this stage of the project it is important to recognize the organizations or people who have an interest in the success of your project. They can help you define the scope, timeline and deliverables, and may even have a say in the budget.



Project Workplan

WORKBOOK PAGE: 12-13

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The first deliverable of your project is the project workplan. The project

workplan is a collaboratively written document that initiates and defines the project for both internal and external stakeholders.

In creating the project workplan, the team will define what the project is, why it is being done, how it relates to other projects within the organization, what are the expected objectives or outcomes, and the limits to the project (what is within and beyond the scope of this specific effort). The work you have already done today will form the basis of the project workplan.

Even small projects-those with small budget, scope or time frame, should have some form of a project workplan.

Key representatives for the writing, review, and/or approval of the project workplan include members of the project team, members of your organization, and key stakeholders outside of your organization.

The project workplan, and the process of creating it, helps build team commitment to the project, and creates expectations of what the project will achieve. The project manager must ensure that all team members participate in writing the project workplan and that all important stakeholders review and accept the project workplan’s terms.

DAY ONE| 21


Case Study

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Important: It is recommended that participants bring an actual

project idea to work on in class. If this is not possible, a case study is provided in Appendix E. Other support materials for the case study, such as suggested answers for each exercise, are in this facilitators guide.

We are going to use a case study to practice project planning throughout this session. This case study is based on actual work begun in 2007, which is being led by the Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET). You will use this scenario throughout the workshop to complete exercises and practice your new skills.

Thanks to Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza and Dr. David Mukonga for generously sharing their project materials.



Exercise 1 Project Workplan

40 minutes


SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Break the class into groups of 4-5. Distribute the case study

(Appendix E) if desired.

Based on the scenario, complete exercise 1 on page 11 in your workbook. Guidelines for completing each section are in the template on page 10 and 11 of your workbook. You have 30 minutes

Debrief the activity for 10 minutes..

Suggested answers (answers may vary but should support the project statement):

Question 2

Background: A novel subtype of avian influenza A has already been detected in several countries. There have been some cases of severe human infection with evidence of limited person to person transmission. WHO has raised the pandemic alert level to stage 4. WHO released guidelines for the investigation of novel influenza A cases and for pandemic containment.

Description:

Through engagement of multi-sectoral partners (animal health, human health, defense, education etc. ) develop, exercise/revise and complete a first draft of a pandemic influenza plan to detect and respond to influenza among animals and humans. This plan should address the core capacities necessary to meet with the revised WHO International Health Regulations (2005). The project will begin in 1 month, with initial draft exercised and revised by December of next year.

DAY ONE| 23


Objectives:

Strengthen national surveillance capacity for novel influenza A subtypes and other pathogens with pandemic potential

Support community awareness & education about the transmission of novel influenza A viruses from animals to humans

Deliverables:

National assessment of existing novel influenza and pandemic early warning systems

National communication network that connects all teams and stakeholders

A network of sensitized health care providers who can recognize and report pandemic early warning trigger criteria.

A trigger reporting, alert and response mechanism exists to meet core capacities of IHR (2005)

Stakeholder consultations workshops

Community engagement strategy on health education

Community awareness workshops

Stakeholders: Epidemiologists, veterinarians, public health laboratorians, ministry of agriculture, ministry of defense/emergency situations, ministry of education, ministry of commerce, local health leaders, community leaders, religious leaders, health care administrators, ministry of transportation, border health authorities, WHO

Assumptions: sufficient technical support, skilled and trained epidemiologic and clinical staff in country, access to computers and software for data analysis, adequate laboratory supplies and reagents, availability of community leaders.

Required Resources: Project team members: project manager, laboratorian, veterinarian, epidemiologist, health educator, communications specialist, municipality representative, clinical specialist.



Question 3

It could be argued that people skills are the most important at this stage, since agreements on project expectations and timelines will have to be negotiated. Technical is likely the least important skill, if the project manager has access to technical experts.

Which sections of this workplan do you think are needed even for the smallest projects?

Facilitate a short discussion. For very small projects, when the team and stakeholders are well established, the team members, stakeholders and staffing requirements may not need to be listed explicitly.

On the other hand, it’s never too early to begin to build camaraderie within the team, especially if the team members are drawn from different organizations. Consider having a ‘kickoff’ meeting with your team, and make an effort to welcome new members as they come on board.

DAY ONE| 25


Summary – Initiate and Define

5 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 12

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Now that you are familiar with the initiate and define stage, have you

ever worked on a project when this stage was skipped and the project manager went directly to the planning stage? What were the consequences?

What do you think are the most important things to keep in mind during this stage?

Does anyone have any questions about this stage before we proceed?

Take a moment to think about the qualities of a project manager that are most important at this stage. Circle your ideas in your workbook, and add others that you think of.



Plan StageExpected Time: 3 hours

Plan the Project

20 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 13

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS After we have defined the scope of the project we begin to plan the

project. Thorough and thoughtful planning can help reduce surprises and increase the probability of your project’s success

The major steps in the planning process are shown on this slide.

Depending on the size of your project, each of these steps can vary. For example, for a very large project, you may have a very complex communications plan. However, for any size project, as the project manager you should review each of these steps and determine the appropriate amount of planning.

DAY ONE| 27


Step 2: Define Project Activities

WORKBOOK PAGE: 13

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The first step of planning is to outline the components needed to

achieve the objectives. These are based on the deliverables that were identified in the initiation stage.

In our example of implementing conducting a behavioral study our deliverables include a map of places where people meet new sexual and needle-sharing partners, completed data collection, and a summary report.

Note that these activity blocks are the major activities or products that result from the project.



Step 2: Define Project Activities

Work Breakdown Structure

WORKBOOK PAGE: 14

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Defining project activities is facilitated by developing the Work

Breakdown Structure (WBS).

The Work Breakdown Structure is the project manager’s most useful project management tool. The WBS serves as the basis for all of the other project management tools, including scheduling, network analysis, budgeting, and controlling.

The Work Breakdown Structure organizes and defines what work must be done to successfully implement your intervention design. You will create a WBS by dividing your project into logical, manageable work segments that can be easily tracked by the project manager.

Using the WBS tool, you break down the work that needs to be done into increasingly smaller work units to be managed. The objective is to identify all the project activities that need to be completed for the project.

Turn to page 15 of your workbook for specific steps on creating a work breakdown structure.

You break down the work into smaller units by asking yourself “How?”

Walk through the example on page 16 of the participant workbook.

Generally, record tasks that take at least one day to complete. However, if a task requires a specific skill, it is best to keep it separate regardless of the time required, so the appropriate person is assigned to it. For example, if you need to contract an information technology specialist to set up a database for your project, record that task regardless of how long it takes.

DAY ONE| 29


With the completed WBS, the team should ask itself the following question:

If we complete all of these activities, will the project achieve its goal?

If the answer is no, you have forgotten to include essential project activities.



Behavior Study WBS

WORKBOOK PAGE: 15

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS We will go through an abbreviated example of a work breakdown

structure. We can only present a limited amount of information on the slide; in reality there would be many more steps than are shown here. However, this example will give you an idea of how to put a work breakdown structure together.

The main steps for data collection are to conduct interviews, receive approval and develop a database. How do you conduct the interviews? Some of the tasks are to recruit & train the staff and provide equipment. How do you recruit & train staff? One of the tasks is to develop an interview process so that you can train the staff on it.

How do you obtain approval? One of the tasks is to complete the IRB process. These are examples to show that by asking “how?” you can identify what needs to be done.

How detailed should the Work Breakdown Structure get? I.E., how many levels of subtasks do you need? It depends. It doesn’t have to be the same level for every activity or task. Break it down until it’s specific enough that you can identify who will do the work.

Note that you are not worried about the order of the tasks right now. You are just identifying all the tasks that are required.

At this point you can also estimate how long the project will take, by estimating the time for each task. You can record the estimated time in the box for each task. Time is generally measured in terms of days.

How could the WBS help you develop a realistic budget?

Can discover what it really takes to complete a deliverable, including identifying required resources that may not have been apparent.

DAY ONE| 31


Exercise 2 Create a Work Breakdown Structure

60 minutes


SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Use your answers from the previous exercises to create a work

breakdown structure for the case study. Use a piece of flip chart paper, sticky notes and markers.

You have 45 minutes. A representative from your group will explain your results.

Circulate around the room to resolve questions and help participants define activities. Caution against creating an unnecessary level of detail. Remind them that as project manager you are responsible for addressing and monitoring every task, so it is in your best interest to document as few tasks as possible. Do not allow the activity to become a discussion of scientific practice or the public health issues themselves: guide the participants to focus on the management aspect of the project.

Spend 15 minutes debriefing the activity by having a representative explain their diagram. Focus the debrief on the tasks themselves, and be sure that they are articulated in increasingly greater detail.

Details of the WBS will depend on the deliverables that were chosen.

There may be confusion over what is a ‘deliverable’ versus a ‘task’ versus a ‘subtask.’ If this occurs, point out that there is no rule for this: the breakdown is based on the project itself, and the levels are called whatever the team agrees upon (or the project manager determines). For example delivering a training event can be a project in itself, or it could be a deliverable or task within a larger project.

If the exercise has been particularly animated, or if there have



been difficulties in resolving conflicts, be sure to include time to discuss question 6 of the exercise.

Have participants draw a completed WBS in their workbook, page 19 for future reference.

Step 3: Determine Task Dependencies

WORKBOOK PAGE: 18

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Before you can schedule these activities, you will need to define the

order of the various elements (main steps, activities, tasks) and their dependencies and links. Ask yourself: which elements start first? What elements need to be completed before moving on to the next ones? Which elements can overlap?

In our project, for example, it would be impossible to train the interview staff before we recruited them. In other words, training the interviewers is dependent on the recruiting them.

One of the most powerful project management tools is the network diagram. Using the tasks from your WBS, you will layout a road map of the sequence or order in which these activities will be implemented. In doing this, you will identify the type of dependencies to completing the specific tasks, as well as areas where many tasks can be occurring simultaneously because there is no dependency between them.

Dependencies are those logical relationships between tasks where one task cannot start before another is finished. For example, you cannot drive a car before putting the key in the ignition. While dependencies can be very complex, we will focus on the simple relationship of a finish-to-start dependency, meaning tasks that must finish before another one can begin.

DAY ONE| 33


By recording both the duration of each task, and the dependencies from one task to another, the project manager can identify how long a project will actually take to complete.

Turn to page 20 of your workbook for specific steps on creating a network diagram, as well as an example.



Let’s Have a Party!

WORKBOOK PAGE: 18

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Have sticky notes with party tasks (slide 23) prepared and

available.

Let’s go through an example together. You are going to help me create a network diagram for a party.

Place Start Project sticky note at far left of a piece of flip chart paper or a whiteboard. Place Begin party! sticky note to the side.

Have the class guide you through creating a network diagram. Follow their instructions exactly, making sure to not assume dependencies or parallel tasks. Using a marker, have the class direct you in drawing the arrows to connect the tasks. When you are finished, place the Begin party! Sticky note at the far right to complete the project.

DAY ONE| 35


Party Planning Network Flow Diagram

WORKBOOK PAGE: 18

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Here’s an example of a network diagram for planning the party. How

close does it match our answer?

Note that in a real project you will not measure time in terms of minutes. Who remembers the most common unit of measurement that is used in project planning, which we discussed when we created a WBS?

Answer: Days

Behavior Study Example

WORKBOOK PAGE: 18

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS This is a diagram of how sequencing activities might work in our

example of the interviewer staff portion of our study. Some tasks that must be accomplished are listed on the diagram in the order that they must occur, just as we arranged our tasks for our party. We have connected activities with arrows, to show which activities are dependent upon others. For example, we cannot determine the location or print the materials until we’ve designed the workshop.



Exercise 3 Create a Network Diagram

60 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 19

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Distribute sticky notes to all groups. Have masking tape available

so participants can display their diagrams on the wall. Use your answers from the work breakdown structure to create a

network diagram. In the interest of time, choose one deliverable from your project. Use a piece of flip chart paper and markers.

You have 45 minutes. A representative from your group will explain your results.

As you create the diagram you may identify tasks that you had forgotten in your WBS. Feel free to make adjustments and add/delete tasks as needed.

Circulate around the room to answer questions and ensure that the exercise is completed on time. Help the groups identify tasks that can be done in parallel.

Answers will depend on the results of previous exercises. Debrief the activity by having groups circulate around the room visiting each display. Have a representative from each group briefly describe his diagram.

DAY ONE| 37


The Art of the Sticky Note

WORKBOOK PAGE: 22

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS On page 19 of your workbook, draw a large box representing a sticky

note. I will draw an example on the board which you can record in your book.

As we have seen, sticky notes are invaluable for describing the tasks required in a project. You can use sticky notes for more than this. In fact there is a common method for describing many parts of a project within the boxes of a network diagram, and sticky notes can help you with this too.

Draw a box on the board as seen below.

Task Begin Date Duration Task End Date

Put the task name here

Explain the 4 parts of the sticky note as described above.

Begin with the task name, then the begin date and duration. Use an example

If the task begins on March 12 and takes 2 days, what is the end date?

Allow 2-3 responses. Some will say March 14, others may say March 13.

The end date is March 13. Project management standards assume work begins at the beginning of the start date, and ends at the end of day of the completion date. So a task that takes 2 days will take all day March 12 and 13. This will help you when you create your Gantt chart.



Summary of Day One

10 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE 4

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Summarize the day by reviewing the major sections of the day.

We started today with a small project—who can tell me what it was?Answer: Putting ourselves in order by birthday.

We learned some basics of projects and project management, and the project management method. We completed the Initiate & Define stage, and began the Plan stage, completing steps 2 and 3.

What are the key points that you learned today? What have you learned that you plan to use on your job?

Tomorrow we will complete the plan stage, then continue with implement, monitor & control and finish the day with closing a project. Any questions or comments before we adjourn?

DAY ONE| 39


Day Two Review of Day OneExpected Time: 30 minutes

Project Management

WORKBOOK PAGE: 4

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Today we will begin with a review of yesterday’s activities. Then we will

continue with the planning stage of project management. After lunch we will use the case study to complete the implement, monitor & control and close stages of project management.

Day 1 Review

WORKBOOK PAGE: viii

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Let’s begin with a review of yesterday.



Day 1 Review

25 Minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: vii

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Remember our learning objectives for this workshop. Which of these

learning objectives have we accomplished?

Answer: Objectives 1-3

Let’s conduct a short activity to see how we are doing.

Follow instructions for Class Review Activity, Appendix C. Allow 20 minutes.

Project Management Method

WORKBOOK PAGE: 4

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Here is our diagram, to help us stay on track. If you don’t have any

questions we can begin today with Step 4- Develop schedule.

DAY ONE| 41


Plan StageExpected Time: 3 hours

Step 4: Develop a Schedule

WORKBOOK PAGE: 20

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Once you know the sequence of activities, you can develop the

schedule. First, set the start date of the project, then estimate the duration of each terminal event. This will determine the duration of other events. Estimate the start date and finish date of all elements. Most of these will be directed by the elements’ dependencies and their duration time. Include these estimations in the table.

In our example we will spend January through March of 2011 identifying the priority prevention areas (PPA). We will conduct the interviews during April, & May 2011.

This step is easiest completed graphically: you are creating a diagram of the sequence of activities.

Click—and don’t forget the dependencies-tasks that cannot begin until another task is complete.

Turn to page 22 of your workbook for specific steps on creating a Gantt chart while we look at an example.



Task Schedule: Gantt Chart

WORKBOOK PAGE: 21

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Once you have determined what activities need to be completed in

your project and how long it will take, you work on what order tasks must be completed in. We did this yesterday when we created a network diagram with sticky notes. The next step is to organize and show this information graphically in a Gantt chart.

Gantt charts are useful tools for planning and scheduling projects. They allow you to assess how long a project should take, determine the resources needed, and lay out the order in which tasks need to be carried out. They are useful in managing which tasks must be completed before the next task can be accomplished.

To create a Gantt Chart, begin with a list of tasks. You may have begun this list when you created the work breakdown structure, and added to it when you made a network diagram. Add a horizontal graph to the Activity/Task list. This graph will illustrate time estimates for each task and activity in bar chart form.

You may divide the timeline in the Gantt Chart into days, weeks, or months depending on the time scale of your project. For example, if the project activities will not take more than 3 months, create a timeline that measures progress by weeks. For a longer intervention (one year or more), use months and quarters to track progress. Just as with the work breakdown structure, the most common unit is days.

When a project is under way, Gantt charts are useful for monitoring its progress. You can immediately see what should have been achieved at a point in time, and can therefore take timely action to bring the project

DAY ONE| 43


back on course. This can be essential for the successful and implementation of the project.

Shown here is a Gantt chart that was created in MS® Excel. You can see from it how to chart some of our behavioral study tasks related to identifying the PPAs. Note that this only a small example of what the Gantt chart would look like – we need to track ALL the tasks that must be completed!

This example shows the schedule in days. You can create a Gantt chart to display by month, by week or by day. Typically only very large projects are displayed by month, for high level planning. When you are the managing the specific tasks of a project, you will find it more useful to set up your Gantt chart by day. This will help you monitor if target dates are being met.

When creating a Gantt chart, remember to allow for weekends and holidays! On this chart, weekends are lightly shaded.



Timeline Monitoring: Milestones

WORKBOOK PAGE: 20

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Finally, define your milestones. A milestone is a key event,

achievement, or decision that provides a measure of the project’s progress. It is a highly visible, important event that has occurred and is crucial for project progress.

Examples from various phases of our project might include: identifying the PPAs, completing the staff trainings and completing the interviews with the subjects.

Make sure you have identified enough (but not too many) milestones in order to map the entire development of the project. This will facilitate the monitoring of the project. Select approximately one to three milestones for each main step.

DAY ONE| 45


Reduce Project Duration

WORKBOOK PAGE: 20

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS So, you have determined every task, large and small, that must be

accomplished in order to carry out your project. What if the estimated time to complete these tasks is more time than you have to complete the project? For example, how could you shorten the time it takes to plan the party? You could do some preparation in the kitchen before you buy the food, so that the final food preparation is faster when you return from the store.

In this case, as project manager you must figure out a way to shorten the projected duration of your project, in order to still complete the entire project on schedule. You can do one or more of the options listed here. You can complete different activities at the same time. For example, if you were going to place supplies at clinics after the staff was trained, you could move that task up, and place supplies at clinics during staff training.

You can overlap activities. It may be that two activities depend on each other in some way, so they cannot be done at the same time, but perhaps once you have one activity started, you can then start the next one early. In our vaccination example, instead of identifying clinics and then contacting clinics, you could identify the first several clinics, and then initiate contact with those clinics while you continue to identify the rest of the clinics.

You can reduce the project scope. In other words, since you do not have enough time to do the whole project, you must do less. For example, instead of installing the reporting system in ALL identified communities, you could install it in 85% of the identified communities.

You may be able to save time by changing your approach. For example, maybe there are in-country clinicians that have already



received training for immunization campaigns. You could put efforts into finding these persons, instead of training new ones, and that might save time.

Does anyone have an example where they saved time on a project by using one of these techniques?

DAY ONE| 47


Step 5: Allocate Resources

WORKBOOK PAGE: 22

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Let’s continue to step 5, and then we will do an exercise creating a

Gantt chart and assigning resources. You will see that steps 4 and 5 work very closely together.

You will need to allocate the financial resources for the project, by developing a budget. We will not develop a budget in this workshop.

You will also need to assign responsibility for who will complete each task that you have identified in your work breakdown structure. You will also need to know who the stakeholders are in the project, and what their role will be in project planning and implementation.



Assemble a Team

WORKBOOK PAGE: 23

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS When you are assembling your team, first determine the expertise

needed to accomplish each of the activities, tasks, and sub-tasks relating to the project objectives.

If you do not have adequate staff in your own work area, reach out to partners in the project to recruit team members to fulfill the specific needs of this project.

Once you have determined who can fulfill each area of expertise needed for the project, assign responsibilities to each team member. You should also clearly state your expectations of what each person will accomplish, and by when. Your Gantt chart and network diagram will help organize this information.

DAY ONE| 49


Identify Stakeholders and a Project Champion

WORKBOOK PAGE: 23

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS In addition to listening to members of the community who receive your

products and services, we also listen to and involve a broader group of stakeholders in our project.

In public health, stakeholders may include suppliers, employees, and the wider community, such as funding agents, regulators, departments of health, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), politicians, and other interest groups, including those who prepare the technical standards.

What resources are they contributing? How are their needs being served? What are their expectations for the project?

Your project champion is likely not a member of the working team. The project champion advocates for your project and helps remove barriers. This means that this person must be well respected and in a position of authority, to not only give your project moral support, but to make things happen when obstacles might be in the way. These obstacles may be technical, political, financial, or organizational. This person may or may not be an official member of the team or even a stakeholder. The champion can be a trusted colleague in a position of authority who believes in your project.

Have you had champions for your projects? How have you found them?

Who would be the stakeholders for our HIV prevention example? Who could be a champion?



Team Expectations

10 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 23

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Turn to p 23 of your workbook. All team members, including the project

manager, bring their own expectations to the project. What does a Project Manager expect of the team? What does the team expect of the Project Manager? Take 1 minute to record your ideas. How can you, as the project manager, manage these expectations?

Lead a discussion by asking for ideas in each block. Supplement responses with answers below and your own experience.

Sample answersFrom Project Management, Gary R. Heerkens, McGraw Hill, New York 2002

Project managers expect the team to: Team members expect the project manager to:

Be committed to the project Stimulate group interactionProvide accurate & truthful status Promote participative planningFollow the project plan & defined processes Define all relevant work processesDemonstrate proactivity Define performance expectationsTake direction, but push back appropriately Manage conflict in a constructive wayPropose things that make sense Share information appropriatelyCommunicate/inform proactively Remove obstaclesBe accountable for decisions Insulate team from unproductive pressuresBe respectful of other team members Resist unnecessary changesMaintain a positive attitude Recognize & reward achievement

DAY ONE| 51


Exercise 4 Create a Gantt Chart and Assign Responsibilities

60 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 24

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Distribute calendar- Appendix E, or your own. Ensure groups have

flip chart paper and markers.

Use the chart on page 25 to help you create a Gantt chart of the project activity you described in your network diagram. Consider which elements need to be completed before moving to the next one and which elements can overlap. You have 45 minutes.

Creating the bars to display activities by day is very time consuming. If short on time, have participants focus on the 5 columns of the Gantt chart: task, start date, duration, end date, resources. The importance of this exercise is to work through the difficulties of determining accurate start & end dates.

Circulate around the room and resolve any questions. Remind them to consider the weekends and holidays in their schedule.

Debrief the activity by having the groups hold up or tape their Gantt chart to the wall and briefly review their schedule. You can do a ‘gallery crawl’ by having participants move around the room, visiting each example.

Will this tool help you plan your projects? Do you prefer this or the network diagram, or will you use both?

As you become more experienced with project management, you may find you prefer one tool over another. There is no rule that you must use each of these templates. Some experienced project managers prefer to work only with a network diagram, while others use a Gantt chart exclusively.



Step 6: Plan for Risks

WORKBOOK PAGE: 26

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS What do you think might be typical areas that project face risks? What

kind of risks? Can you give me examples of risks that affected one of your previous projects?

Allow the class to brainstorm for a few minutes or share their experiences

Click

Discuss sources of risk. Use list below to add risks that have not yet been mentioned.

Schedule:- Tasks with several predecessors- Tasks estimated unrealistically- Tasks reliant on external dependencies, such as delivery of

something from a vendor- Major milestones

Resources:- Tasks with many people assigned- Tasks using scare resources- Underskilled people assigned- Illness, staff turnover, etc.

Budget:- Uncertain budget resources- Shifts in budget priorities- Uncertain resource or contract costs

DAY ONE| 53


Scope:- Uncertainty because of new product development- Changing customer requirements- Availability of tools and techniques- Large number of unanticipated defects

External events:- Policy changes- Natural, man-made, political, economic, or organizational

crises

You can see that it is wise to think of the possible risks that are inherent to your project and projects in general. You should always think about what risks might occur and the best way to deal with them. Also consider the possibility of these risks in your timeline, resources, and budget.

Think about our behavioral study example. If you were unable to recruit experienced interviewers there could be a risk that they are not skilled enough to properly collect the data. A risk to the schedule is if you did not realistically estimate how long it would take to complete the interviews.



A Risk Management Plan Reduces the Surprises

WORKBOOK PAGE: 27

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS There are 4 key steps in creating a risk management plan.

1. Identify the potential risksReview the project with your team and think about factors or events which could impact the project. Ask yourselves:

What could cause delays in the schedule?What might threaten the quality of the deliverables?What might increase costs beyond the budget?What is the risk of people or resources not being available when needed?

In our project example, there is a risk that community members will be reluctant to be interviewed. Let’s say there’s also a risk that one of the team members may take maternity leave.

2. Determine the impact of all the risks you have identified. But how can you quantify the risk of a key team member going on maternity leave? And how do you compare that with the risk of insufficient survey participants? To do this, it is helpful to consider the probability of an event occurring as well as the gravity of impact to the project.

Your team may determine that the probability of lack of response is quite high, and that it would have a tremendous impact on your project. This would lead you to making it a priority to address this risk.

3. Use the results of your analysis to identify the risks which present the greatest threat to your project.

The ability to control the outcome of an event may also affect the priority you assign it. For example, if there is an event which is

DAY ONE| 55


completely outside of your control, you may want to include it in your response planning since you will be unable to take preventive measures.

Finally, develop strategies to reduce your risk. For each major risk, what are some approaches you can use?

You can take preventive measures to avoid the risk. Or you can develop a contingency plan which you will implement if the risk occurs. Or you may even choose to accept the risk—for example you may have a highly experienced employee who could step in if the team member does indeed take maternity leave. You may accept this risk and the consequences it could have to your project completion date.

To reduce the risk of insufficient participation within the communities, you could add in extra community outreach meetings and distribute information brochures. You could also schedule more time for the interviewing portion of the project, foreseeing that it may take longer than usual to collect a sufficient number of responses.

Exercise 5 Create a Risk Management Plan

20 minutes


SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Follow the instructions on page 29 to develop a risk management plan.

Work on your own first, then discuss your ideas with your group. Identify the priority risks and determine how you will address them. Use the worksheet on page 30 to record your ideas. You have 10 minutes.

Debrief for 10 minutes. Make sure they are focused on what could go wrong, not on recording every activity that the project will include.



Step 7: Plan Communications

WORKBOOK PAGE: 30

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The next step in our project planning process is to develop the

communications plan. Communication in project management should revolve around how to regularly communicate with stakeholders and members of the project team, the idea being that regular communications will help ensure project's success and more promptly uncover any project problems.

During this planning section you will define the means of communication to be used between you and the team members. For example, for our project this might include weekly teleconferences with the project lead at the national level.

How have you communicated with team members and stakeholders on other projects? What has worked? What hasn’t?

Your project will have both internal and external communication needs. Internal communications are those that take place within the project team. For our purposes “external communications” are those used when you inform those outside the team of the project’s processes and results.

What skills or tools do you need for effective internal communications? Discuss.

Answers include: weekly status reports; a group listserv; quarterly reports; etc.

What skills or tools do you need for effective external communications? Discuss.

DAY ONE| 57


These will depend on how you expect to publicize you project results. Perhaps you will be publishing your results in a peer-reviewed journal and this requires different skills than those required to publicize your results in the local newspaper.

Because of these needs, we will establish a communication plan. A good communication plan heads off potential problems before they become unmanageable. We will present to you on the next slide a model communication plan that you should be able to adapt to your own project.

Communications plans define the project’s communication methods and frequency. For example, the communications plan might outline that there will be weekly teleconferences with the project team at the NGO and project leads at each local health office in the areas where you are collecting data. This also includes communication within the team, which we discussed a few minutes ago. Team communication should be a component of your overall communication plan.

Exercise 6 Create a Communication Plan

15 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 31

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Follow the instructions on page 32 to develop a communication plan.

Use the stakeholders you identified in the workplan yesterday, found on page 10 of your workbook, to complete the worksheet on page 33. You have 10 minutes

Debrief for 5 minutes. Focus on question 3.



Summary – Plan

5 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 33

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Now that you are familiar with the plan stage, which of the steps do you

think you can skip for small projects?Answer—even for very small projects, each of these steps should be at least considered, even if a formal plan for risk or communication is not developed.

What do you think are the most important things to keep in mind during this stage?



DAY ONE| 59


Implement & ControlExpected Time: 40 minutes

Implement & Control

WORKBOOK PAGE: 34

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Next, we implement, the progress of our project. You’ve done all your

planning—now it’s time to just do it!

In other words we begin the planned work and then we will measure how well we are doing that work. This involves two components: day to day management and managing changes that may occur once your project is underway.

What has helped you manage the implementation of a project in the past?



Step 8: Implement the Project

WORKBOOK PAGE: 34

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Who remembers the 3 key components of successful project

management?

Answer: Time, quality, cost

Click

How does a project manager manage the time aspect of a project?

Click

How does a project manager manage the quality aspect of a project?

Click

How does a project manager manage the cost aspect of a project?

Review the 4 main methods for managing implementation on page 36 of your workbook. Take 2 minutes to make notes about how you can use these, and which of the 3 key components this will affect.

What about requests for change? How do you handle those?

A smart project manager will look at the change request and its impact on time, quality or cost; then make a decision. Sometimes it’s worth it to take a little more time if the result is a better product or service. For very large projects, or projects that are very dynamic, you may need to implement a formal change request process. For smaller projects, the project team usually handles changes on a case by case basis.

DAY ONE| 61


Step 9: Monitor and Take Corrective Action

WORKBOOK PAGE: 36

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS The project manager should carefully and regularly monitor the project,

review the achievement of the milestones, and check whether all activities are completed on time and are within the agreed quality standards and budget.

The project team also plays a role. They are often the first to note deviations from the plan or issues that are arising.



Monitor and Take Corrective Action

WORKBOOK PAGE: 36

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Part of implementing and monitoring a project is to manage change.

Project needs and resources can change throughout the life of the project. As the manager you are responsible for anticipating changes as much as possible and responding to them appropriately. Remember that as the requirements for one of key criteria change, it will likely affect the other two. For example, if you need to complete a project sooner than planned, you made need to spend more money or, alternately, the scope or quality could be reduced.

Identify triggers that you can use to root out potential problems. For example, if you know the supplier is frequently late shipping their products, you could have the person in charge of supplies notify you if a shipment is more than one week late. Or if you are expecting 30 people to show up for a health education workshop every day, have the workshop coordinator notify you if there is poor attendance (less than 15 people) more than 3 days in a row. Use the risk management plan that you developed to help you quickly address problems.

Adapt your project plan, based on the lessons you learn during the project, such as the example we just gave of shutting down one unproductive clinic and moving its supplies and responsibilities to a more productive clinic.

The team should identify and analyze deviations from the initial plan, then decide how to proceed and report to the project manager. Update the project development plan accordingly and circulate to the team and the relevant parties.

In our example we have observed that the teams in a specific area are having difficulty getting cooperation in the community and are behind on their data collection. If the issue isn’t resolved by the end of the

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week, they will move to a different area that hasn’t yet been interviewed.

Let’s look at some other examples for our project on page 38. Notice how the project manager identified key elements to watch, and that she has also designated others on the team to keep watch over them. For example, the department manager is watching the budget, and will alert the project manager only if the budget overage exceeds 5%.

Don’t be a micromanager by requiring your team to report every detail to you.



Exercise 7 Create a Project Control Plan

20 minutes


SCRIPT/KEY POINTS

Before this exercise begins, print Appendix B- Unforeseen events and cut them up into individual squares.

Follow the instructions on page 40 to develop a project control plan. You have 15 minutes

After the groups have begun work, circulate the room and drop 1-2 unforeseen events at their table. The groups should determine the impact of the event on their project schedule or resources.

Debrief for 5 minutes. Allow each group to give one example from their worksheet. Have each group read the events that occurred and describe how it affected their project, as well as their planned response.

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Summary – Implement & Control

5 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 40

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS What do you think are the most important things to keep in mind during

this stage?





CloseExpected Time: 15 minutes

Close

WORKBOOK PAGE: 41

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Step 10, the last step, is Close-out and Document or report on the

project. Even though closing out a project is of course done when the project is completed, you should include the plan to evaluate and report on the project in the project schedule, including your budget and timeline, before your project ever begins.

Believe it or not, this is the step that is frequently missed. You would expect that when a project is complete, it is automatically ‘closed’, but often the team disbands, or has even begun another project without taking time to prepare final reports or have a final meeting among the stakeholders.

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Successful Projects Meet Requirements

WORKBOOK PAGE: 41

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS When the customers of a project accept the final product or

deliverables, the project can be closed out. Closing out and documenting the results of the project, including lessons learned, is a critical part of the overall project management method. Only by reviewing what happened during the project can the team learn how to improve project management in the next phase. It is also important to document knowledge gained for others who come later. Every project, whether successful or not, should be a learning experience. A project close-out should focus on the objectives that the project set out to achieve as documented in the project workplan. A successful project is one that met or exceeded stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.

Aspects of meeting stakeholder needs include meeting the key requirements of projects, including:

- Meeting the planned schedule for delivery - Not exceeding planned budgets - Achieving the defined scope and quality requirements for the

product, process, or service - Managing risks to the project effectively - Communicating effectively with all stakeholders throughout the

project cycle



Project Close-Out

WORKBOOK PAGE: 41

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS To document the final results of your project, you need to get feedback

and analyze the project results.

Four steps are recommended for the project close-out phase:

1. Project review and feedback from customers and project sponsor. Solicit feedback and ideas for improvements from the main customers of the project and the project sponsor. Meet with them to review the original project plan and ask for feedback on the following: - Satisfaction with final deliverables - Perceptions on the effectiveness of project process - Communication methods used - Suggestions for improvements

2. Team analysis of project process and ideas for improvements. Have team members complete a post-project review document. Hold a post-project team meeting to discuss those results and agree upon lessons learned and recommendations for improvements for future projects.

3. Create a final close-out report. Create a report for the organization that documents the performance of the project and lessons learned by the team. Use the report to make recommendations to senior management for any necessary organization level improvements in the project management processes. Distribute the report to the sponsor, team members and other teams that might benefit from the lessons learned.

Click

4. Celebrate success! Be aware that the project may have been difficult on the team members. Acknowledge the end of the project

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by conducting a celebration meeting. Recognize the hard work of the team and celebrate the successes. Take the time to acknowledge team members who have made extraordinary contributions.

Use the post-project worksheet on page 41-43 of your workbook to help you conduct post-project reviews.

Should you have a post-project review meeting with all the project members, including all stakeholders and the team?

It’s a very good idea to have a separate post-project review for core team members. This will allow them to be more candid about what went well and what didn’t, with less concern about negative consequences. Of course, you want to have post-project review meetings with stakeholders as well-and you may need to schedule several meetings to make sure all interested parties can participate.

Summary – Close

5 minutes

WORKBOOK PAGE: 44

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS

What will you do differently when you close your next project?




Workshop ConclusionExpected Time: 20 minutes

Summary

WORKBOOK PAGE: 45

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Smooth project management and leadership depends on how well you

plan.

Use the 10 step project management method to ensure that your plan is complete.

Assemble an excellent team by defining team member functions and using those criteria to choose personnel.

Design a communications plan that effectively facilitates communication with stakeholders so that they can assist you with moving the project along and keeping up the level of interest and progress. Communication within the project team is also essential for keeping the project on time, on budget, and correctly executed.

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References

WORKBOOK PAGE: 47

SCRIPT/KEY POINTS Here are some references that can be useful as you work on your

projects. You will find references on page 59 of your workbook.

Let’s review the learning objectives and see if we have accomplished the objectives of the workshop.

Lead a discussion.

Let’s conduct a quick review activity: tell me your favorite thing that you learned during the workshop.

Have a helper record the ideas on the flip chart. Allow duplicates. This will help determine which items of the workshop were the most useful. Comment on the results.

Review your reflections that you made throughout the workshop, at the end of each stage: your participant workbook pages 13, 33, 41 and 46. What have you learned from this exercise?

The above activity is important!! You want to ensure that participants understand that successful project management is far more than filling out all the forms that are provided.

Do you feel ready to tackle your next project?

You may feel like you need more work on certain areas of project management, perhaps communication, leadership or team building skills. Review the What’s Next section of the workbook for ideas on how to practice and build your new skills.



Use the Applied Learning Project Checklist in Appendix A of your book to help you remember the Project Management method.

Thank participants. Thank any assistants.

Ask participants to complete course evaluation forms, on page 61 of their participant manuals.

Collect completed forms from workshop participants.

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Appendices

A Project workplanB Unforeseen eventsC Class review activityD Class review activity answer keyE Sample calendar

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APPENDIX A Project Workplan

Project Title Project Manager

Project Background

Describe the background of this project. What is the problem that this project will address? Is it related to other projects? Is it a subproject of another project?

Project Description/Goal

Write a project description statement here. Describe the goal, scope, or ‘boundaries’ of the project in terms of what is included and what is excluded from this specific project.

Project Objectives

List project objectives

Stakeholders

List project stakeholders (those interested in or affected by the project) who are not on the team.

Project Deliverables

List specific deliverables of the project (specific products the project will deliver, e.g. a product, delivery of a service)



Project Assumptions

Have the team brainstorm at least three assumptions made about the project that identify elements necessary for the project to succeed. For example, availability of special human or technical resources, needed equipment, budget support or any other issues that could affect the success of the project.

Required Resources

Use this section to summarize expected resources requirements or limitations, such as a fixed budget amount. You will develop detailed resource requirements in the planning phase of the project.

Project TeamList project team members, if they’ve already been identified and their primary area of responsibility. If not yet identified, you may want to list general job titles. (ex health economist, HIV epidemiologist)

Budget Estimate

Identify the budget and procurement estimates for the project.

Signature Page Granting Authority to Proceed

Obtain signatures of project sponsor and project manager.

Project Manager Signature:____________________________________________________

Project Sponsor Signature: ____________________________________________________

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ATTACHMENTS

After completing the planning process, attach the following documents to the Project Work

Plan.

1. Task Schedule (Gantt Chart)

2. Communication Plan

3. Budget



APPENDIX B Unforeseen Events

For use with Exercise 7

You have been notified your budget has been

cut by 20%

Decision maker wants you to add training of the

stakeholders to your project

Funding is being cut off for your project 2 months

earlier than expected

Your team lead announced she is leaving in 2 weeks for 3 months

maternity leave

A key supplier has had a quality assurance problem and your

delivery will be 2 weeks late

There has been a natural disaster and the phones will be cut off for at least

2 days

1 team member has missed a key deadline by

1 month

2 team members are constantly fighting

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The women interviewers are asking more in-depth

questions, which is causing a bias in your

data

The decision maker says regular status meetings

are not needed

The community leader wants to postpone all the training until his wife can

teach

Response teams are being interrupted by the police, who say they are

acting suspiciously

Twice as many community members

enrolled in the workshop than you expected, and you won’t have enough

materials

The epidemiologist is not collecting specimens

properly, causing incorrect laboratory

results & requiring re-work



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APPENDIX C Review Activity

INSTRUCTIONS

Before class

1. Cut up the review questions into strips.2. Place the questions in a hat or bag.

During class

1. Have a participant pull a question out of the hat and attempt to answer it.

2. Allow other participants to comment.3. Distribute answer key, if desired.



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1. Is ordering and tracking medicines in a health care facility a project or a process?

2. What is the purpose of a project workplan?

3. The Project Management Method is designed for what size of project?

4. What is the purpose of the project background in a project workplan?

5. At what point in a project should the project manager address strengthening camaraderie in the team?

6. Are the 8 WHO millennium development goals a program or a project?

7. Is Deliver a Project Management Workshop by November 5 a program or a project?



8. Define Project Management.

9. What is more important for being a successful project manager: technical skills or communication skills?

10. Name two uses of a work breakdown structure

11. Is it necessary for the project manager to be the greatest technical expert on the team? Explain your answer.

12. How would the communication skills of the project manager affect the ability of the team to create a work breakdown structure?

13. Explain the relationship between the project objectives and the project deliverables (also known as products).

14. How do you determine the activities to include in a work breakdown structure?

15. Who determines what tasks are included in the work breakdown structure?

16. What comes first: the project budget, or the project activities?

17. How do you determine how much time a task requires?

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18. What is the purpose of a network diagram?

19. Why is it important to determine which tasks are dependent on each other?

20. What would you do if your network diagram reveals that there is not enough time to complete the project by the due date?



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APPENDIX D Review Activity Answer Key

1. Is ordering and tracking medicines in a health care facility a project or a process?

Process

2. What is the purpose of a project workplan?Summarizes all the key components of a project and supports agreement on the project goal, objectives and deliverables.

3. The Project Management Method is designed for what size of project?

Any size project, though smaller ones may not need as many formal documents.

4. What is the purpose of the project background in a project workplan?

Provides the context and a description of the problem for which the project is a solution.

5. At what point in a project should the project manager address strengthening camaraderie in the team?

At the very beginning, when the team is just beginning to form.



6. Are the 8 WHO millennium development goals a program or a project?

A program: even though it has a target date, it contains overarching goals, and is composed of many projects within it.

7. Is Deliver a Project Management Workshop by November 5 a program or a project?

Project – it is temporary and intended to deliver a unique service.

8. Define Project Management.The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.

9. What is more important for being a successful project manager: technical skills or communication skills?

There is no right answer, but the literature says communication skills are more important.

10. Name two uses of a work breakdown structureAmong others: to identify all the tasks required to complete a deliverable, to identify skills required for a project

11. Is it necessary for the project manager to be the greatest technical expert on the team? Explain your answer.

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There is no right answer, but it is generally agreed that the project manager need not be the technical expert if there is access to experts.

12. How would the communication skills of the project manager affect the ability of the team to create a work breakdown structure?

There is no right answer. Answers could include clearly explaining the purpose of the WBS, contacting the experts who can identify all the required tasks, explaining to the team the appropriate level of detail that is required.

13. Explain the relationship between the project objectives and the project deliverables (also known as products).

Deliverables should clearly support at least 1 project objective.

14. How do you determine the activities to include in a work breakdown structure?

Break the work down to the sufficient level of detail to assign a person or team, estimate the cost, and estimate how long it will take to complete.

15. Who determines what tasks are included in the work breakdown structure?

There is no right answer—typically it is a small group of the project team, led by the project manager.

16. What comes first: the project budget, or the project activities?



Ideally, the activities will be identified first, and a budget developed based on required activities. But frequently the budget is fixed, and activities may need to be cut to meet the budget requirement.

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17. How do you determine how much time a task requires?The experience of a team member who has done the work.

18. What is the purpose of a network diagram?To determine task dependencies, and identify which tasks can be done in parallel.

19. Why is it important to determine which tasks are dependent on each other?

So that you can accurately create the project schedule.

20. What would you do if your network diagram reveals that there is not enough time to complete the project by the due date?

There is no right answer: negotiate with stakeholders for alternate solutions, such as assigning additional resources or changing the due date or project scope.



APPENDIX E Case Study

CASE STUDY

You will work through the 10-step project management method using the following case study as an example.

Implementing the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan

BackgroundA novel subtype of avian influenza A virus has been detected in animals throughout the world. There is concern at the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international health agencies that there is a great risk for pandemic influenza. Currently this novel influenza virus subtype has been detected in animals, but occasional cases of animal-human transmission have been reported. While human infections are not common unless there is close contact with sick or dying poultry, severe and fatal virus infections in humans have been reported. In 2005 WHO issued a new set of International Health Regulations to enhance the reporting and response to public health events of international concern, replacing the more narrowly focused International Health Regulation (IHR) of 1969. The IHR established a number of obligations and procedures relating to diseases surveillance, information exchange, and joint action in case of public health emergency of international concern. Implementation guidelines include providing toolkits and materials for capacity strengthening as well as expanding existing training programs to meet the “core capacities” specified under IHR. The Minister of Health has convened an action group to respond to the WHO regulations for pandemic preparedness.

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Project NeedsThe action group has identified specific needs to comply with WHO regulations. The general public will also have to be informed. There will be a need to coordinate trigger detection, alert criteria and disease investigations among human and animal authorities. A strong communication network among all stakeholders will be essential. Cross functional teams will need to be assembled and trained, to respond to suspected cases of novel influenza, or other pathogens with pandemic potential. The action group expects the project to strengthen national capacity for pandemic influenza and diseases surveillance, outbreak investigation, and humanitarian response.Your team will develop the project plan for the implementation of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan. Your sponsor has asked you to apply the tools in the 10-step project management method to develop the plan. The plan must be implemented by December of next year.



APPENDIX F Sample Calendar

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