Managing Outcome
Practical Project Management | Project delivery: Managing Outcome
Project Deliverables Checklist
Project deliverables checklist provides a quick overview of the project deliverables, which can be used as a tracking tool. It may also include the key responsible and accountable parties to ensure timely completion of the project deliverables or to achieve the milestones. Maintaining one comprehensive checklist, for tracking, enables the project manager to be on top of the key activities, deliverables and emerging issues.
A project deliverables checklist can be organized or categorized by project management and product delivery management process groups. You can track the project progress using the checklist and the milestones timeline. You may drill down, using the project schedule, to track details, particularly when you detect signals or control thresholds which may impact project delivery time, cost or quality. A concise checklist for tracking the project deliverables or milestones completion, responsibility and accountability, including the delegation of authority, is critical to staying focus and on track. Table 13 includes a reference or link to the project control checklist template.
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Table 13 – Project deliverables checklist template
| PPMGuideDeliverResultPPM_ProjectControlChecklist.doc |
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Projects Interdependency
Projects interdependency is an important aspect of project management. It is a key factor in the successful project delivery. There could be project interdependencies between your project and other projects within and outside the organization, or between your project and others within a large project or program. It is important to identify the interdependencies between projects to determine their impacts on your project and your project impacts on them.
Establishing projects interdependency enables you to understand and focus on your primary responsibilities and identify areas not under your control where you need help from, that is other projects or projects’ activities you depend on to complete your assignment. Projects interdependency will be discussed further in the later section (see Figure 41). Table 12 includes a reference or link to the projects interdependency template.
Figure 41: Projects interdependency
project interdependency
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Table 12 – Project Delivery Interface Template (right click and select “Save link as…”
Project Delivery | PPM_ProjectDeliveryInteface.doc | a checklist for projects interdependency.
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Project governance
Project governance ensures practical project communication, which is critical to successful project delivery. Strategic governance is critical to successful project management. It is the last resort to resolving unresolved issues, particularly roles and responsibilities, at every organizational level. Project governance is vital to ensure well defined roles and responsibilities, leadership discipline, exercise some level of control and provide support to ensure project success. A practical project governance model is show in Figure 35. In most cases, the sponsor or his/her delegate leads the steering committee.
Figure 35 – Project Governance
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‘The primary safeguards against abuses of power in an organization are character, humility and judgement’6.
Take note of the following regarding project governance:
- Organization culture that does not comprehend, practice or have the leadership discipline of project management, usually undervalue the role of a project manager. A project manager may have some challenges in this type of organization. However, you can still deliver successful projects through your effective leadership, courage and good judgment. Though it could be sometime at a cost to you; regardless, you have to make your choice. You need to weigh your options – to be more of a professional and less political or become a push over.
- As a project manager, regardless of the organization culture, encourage the executives to acknowledge the formal establishment of governance for each project. It should be clearly defined and respected to facilitate an effective project team (high relationship and high result team).
- Have clearly defined responsibilities for the sponsor, the champion (an industry enthusiast or ‘god-father’) and the steering committee. The steering committee helps to create a green field and settled water to ensure the success of the project.
- Successful communication depends on a practical project governance.
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Categories: Managing Outcome Tags: project communication project governance
Project Schedule
Project schedule provides a tracking mechanism for your project delivery.
Once the key work packages, deliverables and milestones have been defined, project schedule can be created. Project schedule include activities, tasks and their dependencies, resource information and resource assignments. Project schedule can be prepared in different format and levels to represent clear point of responsibility. Keep it simple and understandable by each lead or the assigned resource. Each activity and associated deliverable should have a single point of responsibility. Going into too much details to define tasks, may not be necessary. Do it to a point at which an assignment or responsibility can be defined.
Once the project schedule has been completed, updated, approved and base-lined, the schedule milestones information should be kept in sync with the milestones timeline. Focus your attention on the deliverables and the desired outcome, look ahead and watch for signals (threats and opportunities) and respond appropriately. Every effort should be geared towards the successful completion of the deliverables and the desired outcome.
The key components of a project schedule include:
- Gantt chart: includes activities and tasks by process group or phase, start and end dates, deliverables, dependencies, and the project critical path that needs to be watched at all times to anticipate any slippage in the project schedule.
- Resource schedule: includes resource name, type, availability and rate.
Figure 34 shows a sample project schedule, the Gantt chart, created using Microsoft® Project.
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Figure 34 – Sample Project Schedule
project schedule
Notes on abbreviated columns:
Pre => Predecessor
MO => Mandatory/Optional
This is a sample project schedule.
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Categories: Managing Outcome Tags: Project Schedule
Work Breakdown Structure | WBS | Work Packages
Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a representation, usually in a chart or hierarchical form, of the work packages for a project. It defines the complete scope of the project. The subject matter experts collaborate to identify and define the components of the WBS. Effort should be geared towards achieving the desired outcome, which is determined by the successful and timely completion of the work packages and the associated deliverables. Avoid clouding your plan with irrelevancies and do not trivialize this part. When you are developing the WBS always ask the questions: Why is this work package or activity important? To which deliverable is this activity relevant?
Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a prerequisite for creating the project schedule. A very good tool for creating a WBS is the Mind Manager Pro (a mind mapping tool) or Microsoft® Project or their combination. My preferred method is to start with the Mind Manager Pro and migrate to Microsoft® Project to develop a comprehensive project schedule. WBS and schedule can be created in Mind Manager Pro, which provides the creative medium to brainstorm with the project team members. For example, this guide was planned using the Mind Manager Pro to create the outline (a form of WBS), brainstorm ideas and develop the contents.
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A subset of the WBS for this guide development is shown in Figure 33.
Work Breakdown Structure
Figure 33 – Work Breakdown Structure
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Integrated Project Plan
Integrated project plan is made up of several plans in one (see Figure 30). The integrated project plan serves as the reference guide for the project manager and team members to manage and execute the project agenda. To create a comprehensive integrated project plan, you need the participations of the core project team and other key stakeholders. They help to identify and establish the key elements of the integrated project plan and provide the required commitments to implement the agreed plan. Figure 32 shows a sample workflow that guides the creation, review, update, approvals and baseline of the integrated project plan. Once the project kick-off meeting has been successfully completed, the next key step is the project planning meeting(s).
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein
integrated project plan
Figure 30 : Deliver Result – Key Steps framework
Key steps to successful planning meeting(s), similar to the kick-off meeting, include:
- Establish clear meeting agenda. The project charter, or project agenda/mandate in the absence of a project charter, and the establishment of the core project team are prerequisites for conducting the project planning meeting(s).
- Identify and invite the key participants – the core project team and other stakeholders.
- Provide coordination and facilitation to ensure orderliness and avoid derailment of the meeting in order to keep things on track.
- Brainstorm, analyze and decide. Separate ideas/options generation from analysis in order to take advantage of diverse and alternate ideas/options.
- Obtain agreements from key stakeholders, particularly the core team, sponsor and champion, and ensure their commitments to the contents of the integrated project plan.
- Document discussions and inputs to create the plans.
- Communicate documentation and reports to participants. Follow-up on action items and resolve issues/concerns.
- Obtain feedback and conduct follow-up sessions, if required.
Integrated project plan is a comprehensive plan, which is required for the monitoring and controlling, executing and closing of the project. Integrated project plan could be prepared as a single document, and used as the authorized guide for end-to-end management of the project. However, for convenience, the plans can be kept as separate documents accompanied by a single index-type document for referencing the separate plans.
integrated project plan
Figure 32 – Integrated Project Plan Workflow
The main elements of the integrated project plan include the following:
- Scope management (Deliverables / Work packages / WBS): work packages, usually expressed in a work breakdown structure, are the complete set of work components that need to be performed and completed to fulfill the desired project goals.
- Time management (project schedule): defines the work packages, activities, tasks, dependencies and resource assignment to ensure timely delivery of the work packages and associated deliverables.
- Governance: defines project organization structure and relationship, roles and responsibilities, and interfaces. It could be part of the communication plan.
- Communication plan: defines what, when and how information will be managed and shared with the stakeholders to ensure effective stakeholders, including project team, relationship management.
- Risks management plan: describes how risks will be identified, categorized, analyzed and mitigated; who will be involved and their roles, including the escalation procedure.
- Stakeholders / human capital management plan: defines human capital assignment matrix, availability and absence management, conflict resolution and stakeholder influence matrix (optional).
- Change management plan: defines how you will manage (respond to, analyze and control) changes, particularly scope change and its implications for cost, quality and time. It includes stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities in change management.
- Financial management / procurement management plan: defines procurement plan that is applicable to your project needs. Consider your organization procurement policies and procedures, vendors’ selection, request for information or proposal preparation, bid analysis, contract awards and administration guidelines. Define budget limits and associated delegation of authority to ensure fiscal responsibilities and include the financial approvals turn-around time as part of the planning process. Also, identify delivery and payment schedule, including billing and invoice payment process.
- Quality management plan: defines how to ensure the project deliver the product based on the agreed quality. It includes the guideline to ensure that the performance measures are controlled within the established performance thresholds.
- Project interdependency plan: identifies interdependencies between your project and other projects. It defines how to track and monitor interdependent activities to ensure that commitments between projects are fulfilled.
- You may adjust this list to reflect your organization standard. However, above list should suffice to enable you to effectively manage and deliver your project successfully.
Table 11 includes a reference or link to the integrated project plan template.
Table 11 – Integrated Project Plan Template
| Template: PPMGuideDeliverResultPPM_IntegratedProjectPlan.doc |
Once an integrated project plan has been created, it should be base-lined and approved by the authorized person(s). If the scope changed, particularly the project schedule, always re-baseline the integrated project plan.
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- STEPS IN AN INTERGRATED PROJECT PLAN
Team Formation and Kick-off Meeting(s)
Team Formation and Kick-off Meeting(s)
Initial core team formation is a key prerequisite for the development of an integrated project plan and vital to running the project successfully. The resource requirements should be established as part of the project cost estimation and can be updated, due to other changing factors such as requirements scope and inflation.
Project team resources or members may be acquired internally and/or externally. External resources are acquired as consulting services via procurement process. Internal team resource could be obtained through the established resource sharing arrangement or negotiation with the resource managers or through the portfolio capacity planning exercise (the preferred method). Sometimes service, instead of resource, is procured to deliver part of the project or the entire project.
Once the core team members have been assigned and other stakeholders identified, you are ready to arrange and conduct the project kick-off meeting(s), with the goal of establishing a shared vision, common understanding of the project mandate and consequently developing the integrated project plan.
Key steps to a successful kick-off meeting include:
- Establish clear meeting agenda. The project charter, or project agenda/mandate in the absence of a formalized project charter, is a key input to the kick-off meeting. Information from the project charter should be extracted into a presentation format or the project agenda document.
- Identify and invite key participants.
- Provide coordination and facilitation to ensure orderliness and avoid derailment of the meeting to keep things on track.
- Brainstorm, analyze and decide. Separate ideas/options generation from analysis in order to take advantage of diverse and alternate ideas/options.
- Obtain agreements and ensure commitment to the project agenda/mandate.
- Document discussions, follow-up on action items and resolve issues/concerns.
- Communicate documentation and reports to participants.
- Obtain feedback and conduct follow-up sessions, if required.
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Project Milestones Timeline
Milestones Timeline
Having a clear implementation roadmap is critical to the successful delivery of a project. The deliverables that are required to develop a product or service are vital to developing high level single point accountability and responsibility. The roadmap can be represented in form of a timeline. The timeline is usually created at the preliminary phase prior to developing a full blown work breakdown structure (WBS) and project schedule.
The milestones timeline is very useful for discussing milestones progress with the stakeholders, particularly the executives and sponsor. It is a practical tool for engaging project team members during the kick-off meeting, planning discussions and ongoing milestones tracking, communication, monitoring and control. It is a live document which should be kept up-to-date and in sync with the project schedule milestones, based on the approved changes during the project delivery life cycle. Figure 31 shows a sample project milestones timeline.
Figure 31 – Milestones TimelineTable 10 – Milestones Timeline Template
| PPMGuideDeliverResultPPM_DeliveryTimeline.vsd |
Table 10 includes a reference or link to a sample project milestones timeline template. This timeline is customizable. It was prepared using Microsoft® Visio. You may add legends and other attributes to provide a more descriptive content.
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Project Agenda | Mandate
Project Agenda | Mandate
The project agenda is the first working document (optional, but recommended) you should create when you are assigned to play the role of a project manager or lead a project. You may call it a name that makes sense to you, the key here is the purpose and content of the document. It enables the project manager to have a good understanding of the project goals, scope, deliverables, cost and time constraints, and stakeholders’ expectations. This working document will be useful in creating or updating other key project documents, such as project charter and integrated project plan, and managing the project. It is particularly useful in a situation where the project charter has not been created.
The components of the project agenda document include:
§ Project profile: includes project name, enterprise unique number or ID, goal, description, approved project budget, time constraint, project manager, sponsor, champion and client’s organization.
§ High level deliverables: list of deliverables required to deliver the desired outcome.
§ Stakeholders’ information: includes stakeholders’ contact information and stakeholder-influence matrix (discussed in Part 4 – Project Management, see page 74).
§ Communication checklist: includes stakeholder group information needs, format and frequency.
Table 9 includes a reference or link to the project agenda template.
Table 9 – Project Agenda Template
| PPMGuideDeliverResultPPM_ProjectAgenda.doc |
Depending on the project, some of the contents of the project agenda document could be extracted from the project charter (if it exists) and rolled over to the integrated project plan document.
Categories: Managing Outcome Tags: project agenda project mandate
Project Charter
Project Charter
Ideally, project charter should be created, as a mandate or terms of reference document, for the project manager to implement the project. In reality, the project manager may have to create, update or coordinate the creation of the project charter. A project charter usually includes the following elements, not in any particular order:
§ Project profile: includes project name, owner, projected start and end dates, and key stakeholders.
§ Executive summary: includes project strategic goal, desired outcome, business drivers, summary of deliverables, timeline, cost and benefits.
§ Project background: includes historical perspective, needs met or problem that will be solved.
§ Scope: ‘in’ and ‘out of’ scope.
§ High level milestones timeline.
§ Cost, benefits and funding (budget).
§ Project management approach: it defines the use of applicable methodology and techniques to plan and manage the project.
§ High level risk assessment and impact analysis: includes qualitative impact analysis and risk mitigations.
§ Assumptions and constraints.
§ Project critical success factors.
§ Performance measures: it defines the criteria for measuring the project outcome success, for client acceptance.
§ Stakeholders, their interests, expectations and communication needs.
§ Governance: includes project organization, stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities.
§ Change management guideline: describes how changes will be managed, that is, assessed and approved by the authorized stakeholders.
§ Approvals by authorized stakeholders.
The content of the project charter is project dependent. For instance, the elements above may contain varying degree of details. In some cases, small projects may combine project charter and integrated project plan. Project charter ensures that you have a clearly defined mandate or terms of reference to authorize the implementation of an approved project. At the minimum, the project charter should contain the project goal and scope, cost and funding, risk management, deliverables timeline, stakeholders’ interests and measurable expectations, and approvals. Table 8 includes a reference or link to the project charter template.
Table 8 – Project Charter Template
| PPMGuideDeliverResultPPM_ProjectCharter.doc |
