Project and Portfolio Management

EDUCAUSE New IT Managers’ WorkshopSan Diego - Connect

January 2015

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: OFFICIAL DEFINITION

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. It implies:■ a defined objective and/or deliverable■ a specific timeframe■ a budget■ unique specifications ■ involves multiple individuals

GROUP ACTIVITY

■ Working with your tablemates, please develop the following based on your experiences:

■ The top 3 list of why projects fail

■ The top 3 list of why projects succeed

BEFORE YOU MANAGE A PROJECT

▪ What is the point of the project?▪ Who in authority wants it to succeed?▪ Who has the authority to define success?▪ Who has the authority to make decisions and

resolve issues? Can they delegate that authority when the situation calls for it?

▪ Who has the authority to decide when it is finished?

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

■ Problem identification, scope, limitations■ Executive sponsor■ Project manager■ Stakeholders■ Project team■ Research / Plan / Execute■ Review➔Communications and ongoing feedback

PROJECT TEAM - UNDERSTANDING

▪ The whole team must understand:a. Objective - why are we doing this?b. Where does it fit or contextc. What are the project goals?d. When is it done or deliverablese. What is in and what is OUT of scope?

FIVE STAGES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

■ Initiating ■ Charter and Scope

■ Planning and Design■ Work Breakdown Structure (Outline)

■ Implementing and Executing■ Monitoring and Controlling■ Closing

TRIPLE CONSTRAINT

Cheap

FastGood

Choose two

CORE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

1. Project Charter

2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - Outline

3. Project Schedule

4. Project Budget

5. Communications Plan

1. PROJECT CHARTER

■ What must be done?■ What are the required resources?■ What are the constraints?■ What are the short and long term implications?

■ Why do it?■ When must it be done?■ Where must it be done?■ Who does what?

■ Who is behind the project?■ Who is funding the project?■ Who is performing the work of the project?

1. PROJECT CHARTER

■ Who■ What ■ Where ■ Why■ When

2. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

■ Identify the major task categories - this should be easy, only major items

■ Identify sub-tasks, and sub-sub-tasks - may require team members for sub-sub-tasks and further into the weeds

■ Use verb-noun to imply action to something

2. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

3. PROJECT SCHEDULE■ Many tools available

■ Microsoft Project■ Basecamp■ TeamDynamix■ Zoho■ Excel

■ Most important■ Monitor tasks■ Gantt views of project

■ one page views for executives■ rollout and more complex views for work teams

■ Critical Paths■ Inputs from multiple teams that roll up to project manager■ Dependencies■ Resources assigned to tasks

4. PROJECT BUDGET

■ Direct Costs

■ Indirect Costs

■ Ongoing costs

4. PROJECT BUDGET

■ Direct Costs■ Hardware■ Software■ Contractor fees

■ Estimated hours■ Hourly Rates per

contractor■ Various contractor

rates■ Training■ Fanfare■ Other

TOTALS

● Indirect Costs● Your people’s time and

effort● Estimated time on

project● Estimated cost based

on hourly rate● Other’s time and effort● Opportunity cost

● What projects or tasks are NOT going to get done in order to get this project done?

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

5. COMMUNICATION PLAN

■ Define stakeholders

■ Develop communication plan

■ Identify

■ talents for communication

■ means of communication

■ frequency of communication

■ Over communicate and have success or under

communicate and have a mess!

CASE STUDY

■ See the case study handout■ Pick a project leader at your table■ Begin filling out your charter■ Link to charter http://goo.gl/25xbxQ

Group Discussion

1. What worked, what didn’t work in your project planning/team?

2. What happened after the disruption? How quickly did your group recover? How did you deal with the disruption? How did you deal w/the role playing person?

3. What additional information would you have liked for the case study?

4. What aspects in your project plan do you think would be useful in a Real Life situations?

REVIEW

AVOID THE “SHOPPING CART SYNDROME”▪ People see a moving cart with momentum ▪ It is an easy target to pile their items in the cart -

very true if they have been waiting for a while▪ Project team members can also place items in

the cart

Gartner Hype Cycle

▪ “IT, you raise the child and I will be by when it is 18 to pick up the completed product”

▪ “This is a project for IT!”▪ “I don’t want to know about the

details, just let me know when it is done”

▪ “My staff don’t have time to help, we already have full time jobs”

▪ “Isn’t this what IT does?”

▪ Avoid these projects and explain it will not be successful with this approach

AVOID THE “BABY DROPPED AT THE FRONT DOOR SYNDROME”

WHY PROJECTS FAIL

▪ No executive sponsor▪ Poor communication▪ No project management▪ Scope creep▪ Poor or no BPA or Requirements planning▪ Wrong solution selected▪ Expectations not discussed or agreed upon▪ Lack of Transparency▪ Lack of integration planning with existing workflows

WHY PROJECTS SUCCEED■ Project Sponsorship at management level■ Good project charter - no more than 6-12 months■ Avoidance of the scope creep■ Strong project management■ The right mix of team players (7 or fewer)■ Good decision making structure■ Good communication■ Team members are working toward common goals■ Good project portfolio management

DECISION-MAKING AND GOVERNANCE

■ Get buy-in from sponsor and administrators■ Clarify who makes what decisions■ Establish structure for rapid decision making■ Communicate decisions formally/informally■ Log/track decisions for future reference■ While everyone may not agree with all decisions,

it’s important that team members agree to support the decisions

DECISION MAKING STRUCTURE

■ Define Layers■ Executive

■ will make all decisions on scope, schedule, personnel changes and budget

■ Project Manager■ will make all decisions on team assignments, work allocations

and management of vendors.■ Project Team

■ Sub Teams■ Training team will make decisions about training requirements and

schedules of sessions.

■ Documentation

PROJECT MANAGER’S ROLE

■ Leading■ Organizing■ Communicating■ Planning■ Technical oversight■ Budgeting■ Team building■ Praising■ Documenting■ Negotiating

■ Politicking■ Punishing■ Nagging■ Cajoling■ Reporting■ Monitoring■ Adjusting■ Re-defining■ …

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

■ Select the right players■ Complementary skill sets■ Small teams of 7 or less work better■ Blend of technical and functional users

■ Set expectations■ Define roles■ Understand personalities

COMMON PROBLEMS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

■ The team doesn’t work well together■ Other managers resist having their employees

recruited to your team■ Project goals are not well defined■ Top management changes the scope mid-project■ Communication with top management is

ineffective■ The schedule is difficult to control■ The budget is difficult to control

LIMITATIONS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

■ PM works when there is buy-in for the methods and process

■ It does not work when ■ buy-in is lacking or there is no support for the methods by

executives■ ‘end arounds’ are tolerated■ influential players operate project business outside the project■ decisions made by project teams are not supported■ charters, schedules and other work products of the team are

not supported

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2.0

■ Agile methodology■ delivery time in Agile is in weeks rather than

months, quick iterations

■ Agile Manifesto ■ Individuals and interactions over processes and tools■ Working software over comprehensive documentation■ Customer collaboration over contract negotiation■ Responding to change over following a plan

Quick Wins Strategic (invest, simplify, or split)

Possibly/Reconsider Drop

Low High

High

Difficulty (time, cost, effort, risk, complexity, etc.)

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Two Important Items!

Celebrate Victory!!!

Create a “lessons learned” document

Additional Resources

Project Management Institute – http://www.pmi.org

Project Management http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

Bare Bones Project Management - Bob Lewis - www.issurvivor.com

Agile Software Development http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development

EDUCAUSE Project Management Constituent Group – http://www.educause.edu/groups/project

CLOSING EXERCISE

■ Right now: Jot down 2-3 “routine maintenance” activities in your organization that could benefit from a project management framework.

■ Back at the office: Begin to utilize project management tools and techniques in your everyday work.

WRAP-UP

■ Key elements

■ Obtain buy-in from the top from the start

■ Define project scope, decision making, budget early

■ Understand how your organization works

■ Documentation

■ Clarify roles and responsibilities

■ Communicate, communicate, communicate