The Project Management Course:

Beginner to PROject Manager

Course Notes
 Clear your mind

PM principles, tools and techniques are Consider most of the things as guidelines and practical
very much based on common sense. lessons for you – there is no formula on how best to
prepare a project plan.

This does not mean it is easy, and you do Try not to think in absolute terms – rarely, there
not need good preparation to handle a are black and white options. There are often many
project yourself. shades of grey in between.

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Definition of a Project

What is a Project?

“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken

to create a unique product, service or result.”
- Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK Guide 5th Ed

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 Characteristics of a Project

Has a Delivers a Includes

beginning and an end unique output complex activities
Projects are temporary initiatives. Each project is “unique” in the Projects include complex
This is the main difference sense that it creates something activities, which need time for
between projects and the day-to- never done before. Even if the coordination. The complexity
day normal business operations output of the project is very comes mainly from the fact that
(e.g. production, sales, HR, similar to the one of a previous projects have constraints (limited
supply-chain and logistics, IT, project, the fact that it will be at a time and resources) and need to
finance and accounting, etc.). different time with different deal with uncertainty (tasks to
people makes it distinct. be done in the future).

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 The Triple Constraint in Project Management
There are three fundamental factors for each project:
• Scope = the sum of the activities and work to be performed in
order to reach the project goal. In other words, the scope is
Scope
everything that needs to be done during the project.
• Time = the available timeframe given for the project to reach its
goal.
• Cost = the resources available for the project.
The three dimensions always need to be looked at together
because:
If a change is made to one of them, one or both the others
will change as well
Example: you are planning to build a two-floor house (scope) until the end of
Time Cost the summer (time) and within a specific budget (cost). If things change and
you decide you need three floors to be constructed (scope change), you will
need more resources (cost) and most probably more time.
Another example would be if you decide you need the house ready before
the summer (time change). This would mean you need extra workers to
complete the construction faster (cost) and/or you might need to simplify
the construction - e.g. skip the interior works (scope).
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 Brief History of Projects and Project Management

2570 BC 1400 1800 1900 2000

The Great The Age of Industrial 20th Century 21st Century
Pyramid of Giza Discovery Revolution

The Economy development Line.

With the increase of production capacity, globalization,
competition and technology, the efficient use of resources
becomes a key success factor for any business.
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 What creates demand for a project?
Business need Example: Reduce companies’ cost to remain profitable.

Example: Develop a mobile app as your competitors are introducing one to

Market need the market.

Customer request Example: A customer who accounts for 30% of your total sales requests
you to develop a customized product for them.

Legal requirement Example: Any regulation that affects your work / business (e.g. GDPR, Brexit, etc.).

Example: A product that will be used by the citizens: kindergarten construction; highway
Social need
construction; hospitals; etc.

Example: Limit emissions; limit the use of plastic; etc.

Ecological impact

Technological advance Example: Automate manual processes.

Projects are often triggered by a “mix” from more

than one from the above possible reasons.
Who is the Project Manager?
Project management costs generally a total between
7-15% of the project’s Total Installed Cost.
You can think of the PM as the “CEO” of the project.

The accountable person for the project’s success*.

*Project success = accomplish the specific goal of the project,
within the time and budget constraints upon from the beginning.

Why do you need a PM?

✓ To take accountability
✓ To steer people and activities
✓ To handle risks and issues

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 Project Manager Skills
In projects, there are different individuals and organizations that need to work in a coordinated manner for the success of the project. As mentioned, the
PM is the “face” of the project. He/she is the single point of contact who can answer any question about his/her project, including all works streams and
tasks performed by other people. PM is accountable for the end result of their collective work.

It might sound easier than it is. So, how to do it? We explained, that PMs have the knowledge, skills, attitude and practical experience to “manage” not
only their work, but also the work of the others. In addition, by being appointed as a PM, you are being empowered by the Project Sponsor to take action
and make decisions. These skills, knowledge, and attitude are not limited to:
• Project management and business knowledge: Ability to lead project work, and know-how to address classical project situations; knowledge of the
project lifecycle; planning quality; management of project’s critical areas; work with project management tools and documents. Put controls in place
to be able to track progress. Business analysis skills; business acumen; awareness and knowledge of the PM industry standards.
• People and Workflow Management Skills: Efficiently organize project work, and define responsibility and due date. Issue resolution skills; people skills
- work with all stakeholders, motivate project team, communicate in a way to create trust among the team members and senior management.
• Strategy and Leadership Skills: Negotiate, and influence work and stakeholders in the project/program interest; work towards the objectives of the
overall program; ensure work is aligned with the overall corporate strategy. Promote the values and benefits of the project/program to the broad
organization.

These are all central to the PM role. To this, however, we want to highlight a few other characteristics: The attitude, behavior, and professionalism that the
PM expresses are very important for the image of the project - the organization’s perception of the work:
Attitude and behavior: Positive and goal-oriented attitude, especially during difficult times. Projects are complex initiatives that include various subjects,
people and personalities, expectations, and constraints. There can often be competition for resources and tension due to constraints. PM has to be able to
handle the pressure and stress that can emerge. In the meantime, take the right decisions and trade-offs. A good PM works well under pressure to keep
the project on the path to success.
Professionalism: Irrespective of the challenges, a PM is a business professional. As such, they need to act as an example, and show high morale, ethics,
and credibility.

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The development of the skills

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Project, Program and Portfolio

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a

Portfolio Project unique product, service, or result.

A program is a group of related projects managed in a

coordinated fashion in support of the portfolio.

A portfolio refers to a collection of projects and programs

Program managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

А Project Management Office (PMO) is used to name the

department, responsible for managing, coordinating and consulting
project-related work.
Definitions and Terminology
Project Sponsor
The individual accountable for the overall project success and for obtaining the expected
business benefits of the project, usually a senior or executive manager. Key responsibilities:
approve the project, provide the needed resources, support the activities, and resolve issues.

Project Team
The team members are the experts responsible for the actual execution of the work (e.g.
developers on a software project).

Project Stakeholders
All individuals or organizations that can be interested in the project’s work and result and
influence it – participants, management, competitors, vendors, clients, and in some cases, the
society (e.g. public infrastructure projects).
 Project Phases
• As we defined at the beginning of the course, each project is unique. The specificity of the desired result, the involvement of different people and personalities, different time
and circumstances all contribute to separating each project from the rest.
• Nevertheless, the PM’s discipline has established a common view on how each project evolves from the start to the end. The world’s leading project management
professional organization – “Project Management Institute” or “PMI” – has determined projects have five phases (or process groups):
1. 1. Initiation – This is a preliminary phase during which the project foundations are laid by the Project Sponsor. The overall objective, concept, or problem to be
resolved is defined. Overall timeline (expected date for completion) and budget are suggested. These are all documented in the project’s Business Case. A Project
Manager is identified and assigned to start working on the project.
2. Planning – Essential part of any project, which often makes the difference. Good planning increases the chances of completing a project within time and budget.
During this phase, the PM has to do substantial preparation – to correctly define the work to be done, to organize the way the work will be executed, and to estimate
and define timelines, the necessary budget, resources, management attention, etc. PM has to ask the right questions and then work with other project stakeholders
to find the needed information. What do we need to do to meet the objective? How will we do everything? Who will do what work? When should the tasks finish, in
order not to slow down the next ones? How will we make sure issues are quickly identified? What are the risks that can hurt the project? How to make sure we don’t
spend more dollars than needed? Which people are expected to cause problems? How do we keep the project safe from them? And there are many other questions.
The way the PM will answer those questions is key. It can maximize the chances of meeting the project goal, but, if not performed well, it can expose the work to
many additional risks and create an environment of insecurity. Planning = also your strategy on how to win.
3. Execution – This is the phase during which the actual project work is performed, the deliverables are created. In construction projects, this would include constructing
the building or infrastructure. In process improvement projects, these would be all actions aimed at identifying the opportunities and implementing the changes in the
organization. In software development, this would represent coding and programming, etc. The key role of the PM will be to keep the project environment good,
motivate the team, and help to resolve any issues that come up along the way.
4. Monitoring & Control – This phase goes hand in hand with Execution. The project manager uses the control systems developed to track if all project workstreams are
progressing with the speed and quality to be completed within the timeline and budget. If there are any slowdowns, delays, gaps, these will be identified and the
manager will have to take action to “fix” them.
5. Closure – After all work is done and all deliverables are finalized, PM still has some work to do to formally complete the project. This would include doing a formal
handover of the project product to the department or people it was designed for. Formal approval and sign-off have to be given by the Project Sponsor, confirming the
mission describer in the initiation phase has been achieved. Last but not the least, the PM has to gather the team and stakeholders into a meeting to discuss the
Lessons Learned – what went well, what did not go that well, and what can be done better during the next similar project. Continuous improvement is also very
important in projects, as PMs constantly learn new things and build on their expertise. Formally documenting the feedback for the project is a key driver of this
process.
Execution
Initiation Planning Closure
Monitoring & Control
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Initiation Phase Steps

Define the Review the Outline the Conduct Assess risks Assign a
goal of the business project feasibility and project
project case scope study expectations team

All projects are created for a reason. Someone A feasibility study is used to determine the The project sponsor
identifies a need or an opportunity and devises a viability of the project idea. Each project is issues a project
project to address that need. tested in five areas: charter to authorize
A business case is created to define the problem or ✓ Technical feasibility the existence of an
opportunity and identify a preferred solution for ✓ Economic feasibility approved project and
implementation. ✓ Legal feasibility to appoint a project
✓ Operational feasibility manager. Resources
✓ Scheduling feasibility are preassigned to
A project sponsor determines if the project is work on the project
worth undertaking or should be terminated planning.
through a project selection process.
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Project Selection

PROJECT SUGGESTIONS

PROJECT Can it deliver expected benefits?

VALIDATION Do we have the resources?

Can it be executed?

PROJECT
SELECTION

VALIDATED
PROJECT
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Project Charter

The project charter is “a document issued by the project

sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a
project, and provides the project manager with the
authority to apply organizational resources to project
activities.”
- Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK Guide 5th Ed

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Characteristics of a Project Charter

Provides a big-picture view of Gives the PM authority to use Defines objectives and success
the project organization’s resources criteria for the project

A project charter is a broad A project charter serves as a The project objective is clearly
statement of the: contract between the project stated following the SMART
✓ Scope sponsor and the project protocol.
✓ Major milestones manager. It defines the This defines the success criteria
✓ Stakeholders authority of the project that should be met for the
✓ High-level assumptions manager to spend money and project to be completed
✓ High-level risks to commit resources. successfully.
✓ Project constraints The project charter specifies
These components are who should endorse the
specified in detail during the completion of the project.
planning phase.

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Project Phases

Execution
Initiation Planning Closure
Monitoring & Control

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Planning Phase

Planning is thinking and deciding how to do

something and only then do it, instead of doing it
directly.
It is the process of analyzing, evaluating, deciding
and organizing the activities in advance.

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Planning Phase

Lack of proper planning and control results in delays,

higher cost and/or lower quality of output.

Example: Sydney Opera

Expectations: 6 years, $ 7 Million.

Reality: 16 years, $ 102 Million.

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Planning in Project Management

Planning is often underestimated – People think PM’s effort has to be during Execution, but it is the other way
around. It is yet another case following the 80/20 rule: If PM spends a lot of effort in planning, this will pay off with
much fewer thins to run after in the long execution phase.

Project Manager’s Effort – popular belief:

Project Manager’s Effort – best practice:

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The Three Fundamental Steps of Planning

1. 2. 3.
Define Evaluate Choose & confirm
the goal options best option

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Role of the PM in the Planning Phase

PM plans for:
The more things the PM
What we know and can control plans for, the higher the
chances to complete the
project with success –
What we don't know and can't control meet the goal, timelines,
and budget.

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Cost of Change
As time passes, the cost of change increases significantly. Example: Your scope is about the construction of a shopping mall. If a year after the
construction has started, the owners decide it needs to be used as a residential building. The extra time and resources to transform it would be
enormous. If, on the other hand, the same request comes during the planning stage, before construction has even started, the cost of the
change would be much smaller (maybe a few weeks of planning).

Cost Of Change

(extra time, budget, and

wasted resources due to the
change)

Initiation Planning
Execution
Closure Time
M&C
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Planning For Your Planning

What knowledge do I have about the required work? Is it sufficient to build a comprehensive plan?

What knowledge or specific expertise do I lack to make a good estimation of the work?
Who can support the planning for this area?

Have I or any of my colleagues worked on a similar project?

Are all expectations for the end result clearly understood by everyone?

How much time do I need to put all pieces together and complete the project plan?

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Non-straightforward Process

How to “extract” the needed information from a stakeholder, expert, etc.? This can be a difficult process,
as the information the PM is looking for cannot be directly understood (in some cases).

We can call this a non-straightforward process.

Tips: When organizing a meeting/interview/workshop to start planning, make sure you create a good
agenda, including the goal of the meeting, and a list of all topics that need to be covered and questions to
be answered. Then, follow the list during the meeting to ensure you exit the room with the needed
answers, or in case the answers could not be given, with a view on who can provide the needed answers.

Although PM does not need to be a real “expert” in all fields, they must be able to understand how things
operate in each field, in order to correctly manage the project work. Along with the fact that in each
project, there are many parts to be planned and executed (as we will see now in the following lectures). It
is the PM’s core responsibility to perform integration management (PMI quote) or, in other words, be
successful in managing simultaneously all different aspects of the project and factoring all
interdependencies.

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Scope

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Scope: Broader Than Just The "Product" Of The Project
All project outputs Any additional work that has to be done,
Scope =
(product, service, result) + in order to complete the project outputs
Example: Construction project. You need to build a house. However, there is an old smaller house on the land, on which you want to build the new
one. Although the old house is not your project output, it has to be demolished and removed so that you can achieve and create your project output,
which is the new house. The Scope will include the activities for demolishing and removing the old house as well.

How to plan your Scope?

1. Analyze the available 2. Gather detailed 3. Document the scope

information about the requirements and
project scope expectations
 Work Breakdown Structure
The goal of the project needs to be broken down into more details so that the project manager and project team can plan and execute. If the goal is to
“increase sales by creating a showroom to exhibit new cars”, this information is too high-level and vague, hence it’s not useful for planning purposes.
The project manager has to transform this information into smaller pieces. A very useful exercise is to design the Work Breakdown Structure.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a visual representation of the project’s Scope. Starting from the project goal (high-level), you go down a level
and define the major groups of activities or “work streams”. This could be “build a one-story showroom of 500 m2”, “manufacture six new cars”, or
“recruit ten employees to work as sales staff in the showroom”.
Then, add one more level below each work stream, until you reach a task level. The task needs to be big enough to be explained easily and managed
by one person. Example: “Put a safety fence around the construction field”.

Project Goal

Work Work Work

Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 3

Task 1.1 Task 1.2 Task 2.1 Task 2.2 Task 3.1 Task 3.2

The sum of the detailed tasks is often referred to as an “Activity List”. It will be used as the “skeleton” of the Project Plan.
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Time

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Project Schedule And Timelines

A
C
B
D
4. Assign the start & end
dates
Task A +
3. Sequence tasks

Task A 2. Add buffers

1. Estimate the duration

of each task

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Estimate Durations

Planning Pitfalls:
• Optimism bias: focusing on the “positive” future scenarios and missing to consider
the “not so good ones”. If the negative scenarios are forgotten during planning,
this will come as a surprise during Execution. Planning is done for future events, so
we need to limit our own biases.
• Illusion of control: being overconfident that you can control the future events.

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Estimate Durations

3 Point Estimate

Step 1: Define three scenario points:

• Optimistic case
• Normal case
• Pessimistic case

Step 2: Apply the three-point estimate

formula to identify the Estimate (E):

O + 4N + P
E=
6

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 Buffers
The amount of buffer to be added is strictly dependent on the specific case at hand.
Manage on ad-hoc basis.
Factors: Positioning Buffers:
High
On each task
Level of uncertainty Task A + Task B + Task C +
Criticality of the task Buffer On groups of tasks
Task A Task B + Task C +
Owner of the task
(Experience, track record) On the whole project
Low Task A Task B Task C +
When the task is uncertain (e.g. doing it for the first Tips:
time), more critical compared to the rest or the Owner • Avoid big buffers on single tasks (Parkinson’s law).
• Avoid putting the whole buffer in one place at the end of
of the task is less experienced, a bigger buffer should be
the project.
used. • Aim to use buffers after groups of tasks and avoid labeling
them as “buffers”. You can use “Validation” or “Checkpoint”.

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Sequence Activities

Logical Resources External Soft

• Logic-based • Limited • Regulations • Such that the

correlations resources put PM decides to
Dependencies • Physical two tasks in
• Seasonality apply
dependency dependency • Other factors • Subjective

Finish To
Finish To Result:
Finish
Start (FS)
(FF) Identified dependencies

Types Start To A B
Start To
Finish
Start (SS)
(SF)

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Critical Path Method 1/2
Critical Path Method:
• Based on the available information (Tasks, Durations, Dependencies), create a
network diagram with Boxes and Arrows. Also called PERT Chart.
• Identify the longest path from Start to Finish.

Critical Path: Benefit:

The longest chain of Indicates the fastest
dependent activities in possible way to complete
the project. the whole project

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Critical Path Method 2/2
How to perform the Critical Path Method:
1. Use the information available:
• Activity List; Durations; Dependencies
2. Build the network diagram, by drawing Boxes with Task Name and Duration
and Arrows to indicate dependencies:
C F J
4 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks

A B D H
L
1 week 2 weeks 4 weeks 2 weeks

E I K
1 week 3 weeks 1 week

3. Calculate the Longest chain of dependent tasks (the Critical Path).

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Start and End dates: the Gantt Chart
• To the left (Y-axis), the activities are listed (you can take from the Activity list / WBS).
• At the top (X-axis), a calendar is inserted. It can be with days, weeks or months, depending on what you find most convenient
for the work you are planning.
• The tool is a bar chart (horizontal), where each bar is limited by the start and the end date of a specific activity. The length of
the bar represents the duration of the activity. All activities are listed on the side, and to the right, calendar days are displayed.
With this graph, it is very easy to represent the activities and get a good feeling about the duration and when each one is to be
executed.
• Can be used for monitoring, but is also extremely helpful during the planning phase.
• Strongly suggest using it when forming the project schedule.
Month September October November December January February
Date 9/3 9/10 9/17 9/24 10/1 10/8 10/15 10/22 10/29 11/5 11/12 11/19 11/26 12/3 12/10 12/17 12/24 12/31 1/7 1/14 1/21 1/28 2/4 2/11 2/18
Activity week n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
foundations prep works
position the door frames
showroom floor works
build walls
install bathrooms
build roof
install doors and windows
install lights and complete ceiling works
Install pipes (utilities)
Paint outside walls
decorate and position interiors
recruit personnel
train personnel
select and order cars for the showroom
delivery of cars
Position cars in the showroom

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Building the Project Plan
Project Plan (or Schedule)

Activity List

Durations
(incl. buffers) Task A +

Critical Path

Dates
(Start & End)

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Cost

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Project Budget

4. Determine the project

Budget. Consolidate the
Task A estimations and calculations
3. Schedule the expenses, performed.
by putting expected dates
(look at the Gantt chart). It
2. Estimate the cost of is very important to know
each task/deliverable. Add when the financial resources
1. Identify the cost- buffers and understand will be needed (Time value
generating activities from uncertainties. of money and Approval
the project. Start with the Buffers for the Cost should process).
WBS or Activity list created. be bigger than those used
for the Time.

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Project Budget 1/2

Budget Estimations:
• Gather information (price is available; alternatives; gathering information
through quotations [RFQ, RFP]).
• Calculations (lump sum; time and materials; units)
• Buffers – Usually, bigger than the Time buffers, because it is easier to allocate
additional time and harder to get some more money

Timing the Budget – plan and indicate WHEN an expense is expected

to take place (Time value of money; Financial processes)

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Project Budget 2/2
If the project has more work streams and more types of costs to incur, it is recommended to have a
dedicated budget for each separate work stream or cost type.
Consolidate the budgets, displaying the totals per month. This will be the overall budget per month
(or quarter or week, depending on the needs).
2018 2019 Total Budget
Project Overall Budget Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr (per activity)
foundations prep works $ 23,000 $ 23,000
position the door frames $ 1,000 $ 1,000
showroom floor works $ 10,000 $ 10,000
build walls $ 2,000 $ 27,000 $ 15,000
install bathrooms $ 7,000 $ 13,000 $ 20,000
build roof $ 67,000 $ 16,000 $ 83,000
install doors and windows $ 21,000 $ 21,000
install lights and complete ceiling works $ 24,000 $ 24,000
Install pipes (utilities) $ 16,000 $ 11,000 $ 27,000
Paint outside walls $ 17,000 $ 7,000 $ 24,000
decorate and position interiors $ 7,000 $ 10,000 $ 17,000
recruit personnel $ 4,000 $ 3,000 $ 7,000
train personnel $ 5,000 $ 5,000
select and order cars for the showroom $ 3,600 $ 3,600
delivery of cars $ 11,000 $ 11,000 $ 11,000 $ 33,000
Position cars in the showroom $ 4,000 $ 4,000
Total Budget (per Month) $ 39,600 $ 38,000 $ 37,000 $ 139,000 $ 61,000 $ 32,000 $ - $ - $ 302,600

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Planning - Resources: Procurement 1/2
It is often the case that an organization will not have the required resources that a project needs. Therefore,
the PM here has the responsibility to procure what they need externally. By this point, they should be very
familiar with the details of the contract in order to properly assess the costs and the risks of any transaction.
They must be aware of timelines, due dates, and quality levels of all resources they are procuring.
There are three main types of contracts that we will run through now. It is up to the PM to find the best
contract because it is their main tool for keeping track of vendor work and behavior.
So, the first one is called fixed price and it is the simplest type of contract. The vendor commits to doing the
work for a set amount within a certain timeframe.
The pros of this is that any additional spending will be taken on by the vendor – no risk for you. Perfect!
Or is it?
You see that they are aware that with this kind of contract, if the costs are higher than expected, then they
will incur losses. Therefore, there is a chance they will put a big buffer on the initial price.

45
Planning - Resources: Procurement 2/2
Or if they find that costs are getting too high, they may try to decrease the scope or the quality in order to compensate.
So, know that this is beneficial to use when the scope is clear to all parties, but a good analysis is important prior to make
agreements.
The second type is called Cost Plus – This is where the buyer agrees to pay any cost incurred by the vendor performing the work. This
can be a fixed additional fee, a variable fee, or a mix of the two. Either way, it gives the buyer the flexibility to adapt the spending in
accordance with the work being done.
But with that comes the risk of covering all extra costs, along with the chance that the vendor may keep the work going longer than
needed or add extra items to the ‘to-do list’.
This contract makes more sense if the scope is not easy to define. But proper controls need to be put in place to ensure money is only
spent on things essential for the project. A fancy new haircut for the vendor doesn’t fall into this category.
The third type of contract is called time and materials and it’s a mixture of fixed price and cost-plus. It’s where the vendor charges the
buyer an hourly or daily rate. For example, when consultants or technicians charge per day of their services. It’s another good
contract to jump into when the scope is not clear, and the work is more labor-based than material-based. It runs a similar risk to the
cost-plus contract, but that just means the same countermeasures can be taken.
Well, there we have it – the three types of contract, but there can be many variations and, of course, they can all be tailor-made. The
PM could add incentives for the vendor to complete work faster or to better the quality. The contract can even include inflation if the
project spans a long time.

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Human Resources
1. Define the needed resources:
• Engineers, IT Developers, 2. Estimate the effort needed
Business Analysts, etc.
• Number of team members

Start with the Scope – list of activities. The PM needs to understand what
kind of support is needed to execute the project. PM has to identify all
needed experts to perform the work – developers, engineers, analysts, etc.
This depends on the scope of the project.

3. Validate resource availability

• Time that can be dedicated 4. Define roles and responsibilities
• Vacations, bank holidays (see next slides)

a) Create a schedule – who needs to do what and when. Use an actual

calendar (holidays to be accounted for). Create a simple template (add
an example - see next slide).
b) Obtain a confirmation from the departments’ heads that each employee
can participate in a project.
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HR: Roles & Responsibilities
Standard Form:

Role Name Responsibilities Contact

• Accountable for the project’s success.
Project Sponsor Johnson • Supports PM in resolving high-level issues. [email protected]
• Owner of the Budget, Timeline, and Business Case. Approves any changes.
• Accountable for the project’s planning, execution, and closure.
Project Manager Philips • Daily management of project’s team and activities. [email protected]
• Manages resources, risks, communications, and stakeholders.
• Provides status updates (progress, variance, potential issues, etc.) to the Project
Manager.
Functional Team Lead –
Matthews • Supports, guides, and coordinates team members in completing their daily project [email protected]
Software Development tasks.
• Supports other ad-hoc project tasks.
• Works directly to create the project deliverables (scope).
• Uses subject matter expertise.
Team Member –
Henry • Provides progress updates, communicates potential issues and seeks support. [email protected]
Software Development • Suggests improvements.
• Supports other ad-hoc tasks (e.g. testing, trouble shooting, etc.).

The Standard form is simple and easy to use and apply. It is more appropriate for smaller projects with not too many people.
You need to document the Role, the Name and the specific Responsibilities (in this field, you need to go in detail). Contact
details (e-mail, telephone) are also valuable information to add.
Note! Always discuss the responsibilities with the people before you finalize the document.
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HR: Roles & Responsibilities
RACI Matrix:
r t r RACI Matrix crosses the specific Activities (Y axis) and
sor ager ecto alys ecto er
r r ine
Spon an D i
g an Di
g the people involved in the project (X axis). For each
ct tM ing et
in
cti
on en
Activity / Deliverable
roje ojec rket rk u h ief activity, a person can be either:
P Pr a a od C
M M Pr
PMO
Marketing Production • Responsible: the person actually doing the work
Department Department
Project Management • Accountable: the person that must ensure the task
Appoint PM and support project A I I is successfully completed, even if she or he is not
Project Planning and Kick-Off C A/R C C the one doing it (Responsible)
Weekly Status Report I A/R I C I C R - Responsible • Consulted: can be asked to provide advice and
Work-Stream 1: Marketing
A - Accountable
guidelines, based on their own expertise
Marketing Study A C R
C - Consulted • Informed: has to be kept updated on the progress
Marketing Report with findings I A C R I of the activity. Usually senior management.
Work-Stream 2: Production
I - Informed

Analyze future capacity needs

RACI Matrix is very useful in bigger projects, where
I R C
more people are involved (bigger project team). Also,
Build additional capacity / upgrades I A R
in projects where more people work on the same
Work-Stream 3: Supply-Chain
tasks / deliverables.
…

Note! When describing Roles and Responsibilities in a project, do not forget any project management related activities.
Example: team members reporting on their progress regularly to the Project Manager.
49
Quality

“The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind;

What is Quality?
the degree of excellence of something” - Oxford Dictionary
In Project
Management: Customer satisfaction with the project product, service or result.

Defining Quality Requirements: Each project has a Goal. Its output (product, service or result) has to satisfy a specific need of
the organization or of the project client (person/organization). To define what is a successful satisfaction of the need, the PM
has to be analyzed and written as “quality requirements”.
Example: the goal is to produce the fastest and fanciest car on the market, accelerating 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds. The
Scope is the automobile. The project team delivers the car in the agreed time and budget. The car is luxurious and looks
exactly as per the plans. However, accelerates 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. The project is not successful.

Standard Performance
• Physical characteristics (Specs) Quality • Physical (e.g. Durability, etc.)
• Low variation in output Requirements • Speed (e.g. Website response)
• Meeting a specific criteria • Achieving a result without impacting
• Scoring; Y/N other functions
50
 Quality Planning
Review all available information on the project:
• Project documents
1. Define the Quality • Meetings and workshops with the stakeholders
Requirements • Note: Always involve the project client
• Lessons Leared

For each of the criteria identified, specify the targets to be met.

This has to come also from the above process of reviewing the
2. Set Quality Targets standards with the various stakeholders:
• Process design to ensure “fit for purpose”
• Define KPIs
• Training the project team on how to meet the standards

Plan the control mechanisms to be used:

3. Plan Quality Control “QC” • Plan how/when/who to measure

4. Finalize the Quality plan and Perform • Perform variance analysis to ensure KPIs are on target
Quality Control (Monitoring & Control phase) • Take actions, fix issues and bring parameters back on track

Note: After planning Quality, always check the changes triggered for other fields that are already planned (scope, cost, time, roles
& responsibilities, risks). 51
 Expectations 1/2
As a PM, it is important to be able to understand human nature and psychology.
A project involves a lot of people, and if expectations are not the same across the board, some of the people involved
will be disappointed that the project didn’t meet their expectations.
An expectation is the psychological picture we create in our heads for a future event. And, depending on the situation,
it can be easy to set expectations and predict outcomes.

When given more room for interpretation, we are likely to fill our imagination with our subjective views and desires.
The more people are imagining how something could end up, the more chances that expectations will vary.

52
Expectations 2/2

The process of getting everyone on the same page is done mostly when defining the scope, during workshops, and
when meeting with stakeholders. The PM must be able to clearly communicate their expectations and hold sessions
in a way that encourages stakeholders to share their expectations in order to identify any gaps.

Some example questions the PM could ask are: How do you think the final product of the project will be useful to the
organization? Do you believe something can be added to significantly improve the result? Do you agree with the way
the scope is described in the project documents? There are many other questions because the more thorough, the
better.

The PM’s job of leveling everyone’s expectations does not stop there. Not only must the project manager keep all
stakeholders up to date during the various meetings carried out through the scoping phase, but they must also keep
in constant communication for the whole project as any changes occur. The whole idea behind keeping everyone in
the loop, constantly, is to eliminate any opportunities for the stakeholders’ imagination to run wild.

53
Assumptions
An assumption is when something is believed to be true when there is no definite proof. While the planning
process aims to clarify all areas of a project, we must assume that there are areas that we cannot be certain of. For
example, we cannot be 100% sure that all team members will be as productive as they usually are, but we have to
assume they will.
Of course, a PM will be more certain of their assumption if they have worked with the team before, but it is still an
assumption.
When a PM has more past data, the safer their assumptions will be. Imagine Lamborrari needs to hire a certain
number of mechanics to deal with any problems the show cars may have. You, as the PM, could look at previous
data where a similarly trained mechanic from a previous showroom project was able to properly care for five cars.
You plan to have 20 cars in your showroom, therefore you can assume you will need to hire four mechanics. While
there is still a level of uncertainty, it is a lot less than if you had no previous data.

54
Risk Planning

What is a Exposure to the possibility of loss, injury, or other adverse or

unwelcome circumstance; a chance or situation involving
Risk? such a possibility. Oxford English Dictionary

More difficult to plan than the cost, time, or scope. You

PM Context: don’t see them. They are the result of the uncertainties
that expect us in the future.

Risk Management – What to do:

1. Identify the project risks
2. Analyze the risks
3. Develop risk response strategies

55
Risk Planning Review all available information on the project, in order to identify risks:
• Project Documents (Project Charter, Business Case, WBS and Activity
List, Quality Specifications & Requirements)
• Lessons Learned
1. Identify the Project Risks Consult relevant stakeholders and experts. Perform:
• Meetings (one-to-one interviews)
• Workshops (brainstorming sessions)

Severity – What would be the impact of the event on the project scope,
budget, and timeline? Standard is to rank by using three levels – Low,
Medium, High. Of course, this can be customized according to the specific
2. Analyze the Risks needs: e.g. impact from 1 (very low) to 10 (catastrophic event). These can
also be translated into expected impact on the project (e.g. “two months
Two characteristics to be delay” or “up to $40K financial loss”, etc.).
evaluated for each risk Probability of occurrence – How likely will the event actually happen? You
% can use a standard scale (Low, Mid, High) or a more sophisticated one,
depending on the project’s needs (e.g. probability %).

• Eliminate the risk (e.g. avoid doing the risky task)

1) Mitigation • Reduce the severity
3. Develop Risk Response • Reduce the probability of occurrence
Strategies 2) Contingency • Define what the project team needs to do to
limit the damage, if the risk becomes reality
(Plan B)
• Document the findings and decisions
56
Risk Log: example
Probabilty of
No. Risk Description Severity
Occurrence
Contingency and Mitigation Actions (incl. "Plan B")

Risk of People Injuries during construction works. Impact

1) Instruction of all workers on how to prevent incidents;
to people health.
Injuries during construction 2) Provide full equipment and clothing (helmets, gloves, boots, etc.);
1 Possible financial impact in terms of fines, due to Medium Medium
works 3) Shift leaders to control and check each day if workers follow the requirements;
miscompliance with regulatory requirements (up to 50
4) Insurance coverage for all workers;
K$ per person).

No control over weather (Probability of Occurrence). PM team can only act on

decreasing the Severity (damage control):
1) Prepare for bad weather conditions and have a Plan - identify a place to store
Risk of bad weather conditions during autumn to
Bad weather to interrupt equipment that can be damaged (e.g. projectors, insulation materials, etc.).
2 interrupt or slow down construction works and/or High Low
construction works damage equipment.
2) When forecast indicates higher risk of heavy rains, store fragile equipment and
perform tasks that cannot be impacted by weather (e.g. preparation for follwoing
activities).
3) Instruct all workers and shift leads on what to do during such weather;

Risk of connectivity issues software-hardware not fully 1) Testing systems as early as possible;
3
Connectivity failures of the resolved before the Opening event. 2) Contract incentives and clauses (phased payment) with vendor;
Low Medium
Car 3D Visualization effects Impact: Customers will not see the visual effects in the 3) Plan B: In case functionality is not fully ready 2 weeks before Opening day -
first days. print paper catalogues for customers (booklets).

57
Change process 1/2
In a project, frequent changes will incur excessive costs, for budget, scope, quality or time. And the PM tries to eliminate
as much of this cost as possible with a detailed plan. But a good PM is also not stubborn and will adapt to change.
Basically, it is the PM’s job to limit the need for changes on one hand and on the other to manage the changes efficiently in
a way that the project could benefit from it.
First is what we’ve been doing in the course so far, limiting the potential for change through comprehensive planning. By
using the methods that we have been discussing, any PM will miss fewer details in the execution phase and, therefore,
will not need to make many changes.
If they do need to make changes, a PM should implement a change control process. Before moving to execution, how to
manage changes must be agreed upon, and as with most parts of the planning, a process needs to be established.
The thing that will start the process is a change being requested and that request needs to be analyzed. What are the
benefits of the change? What is needed in order to implement the change and what is its impact on the project? Of
course, a formal document must be created to collect this data – a change request form. The PM must understand the
proposal, fill in the form, and then send it for approval.
Who will the PM send the change request form to? The project sponsor, of course; since they have provided the needed
resources, they should also determine if the additional needs are worth it. If the PM has concluded that the change will
benefit the project, they must then convince the project sponsor.

58
Change process 2/2

59
Project Phases

Execution
Initiation Planning Closure
Monitoring & Control

60
 Execution

Execution phase starts with the Kick-off meeting and

Scope finishes with the delivery of the last deliverable.

Main project manager’s activities during execution are:

✓ Work on the scope
✓ Track progress
✓ Monitor quality, resource usage
✓ Watch out for risks and issues, conflicts within the team

Time Cost …and remember: Time is not on your side!

61
The Kick-off Meeting: Objectives

Validate project Agree on project Promote the

plans governance and project
validation points
Go through the plans one by Discuss how the deliverables Do your best to have the client
one. Explain and answer will be approved and how the and senior stakeholders
questions anyone could raise. overall project will be satisfied after the meeting.
approved as completed.
Then, ask if it is okay to
validate it and move to the Define the Success Criteria and
next topic. If someone refuses who will “approve” the project
to agree, understand why. completion. Usually, this
would be the client.
Agree on how often the PM
has to provide an update on
the status of the project.
62
Kick-off Meeting Delivery

✓ Schedule the kick-off

✓ Schedule pre-kick-off, if needed
✓ Prepare presentation
Project
Manager ✓ Introduce everyone in the meeting
✓ Introduce the project
The purpose of the kick-off meeting is to
announce the start of the project and to ✓ Promote the project
ensure that everyone is familiar with its
details and with the people working on it. ✓ Agree on project governance and validation points
✓ Agree on project reporting
✓ Wrap up & follow up

63
 Manage Project Work and Project Team

Project Manager
Be of service to the team and help
Gather performance data. them get the work completed.
Update the project management plan Remove roadblocks.
and project documents. Ensure a common understanding of the
Implement changes. project among stakeholders.
Keep everyone focused and informed.

Work People

64
Manage Project Work
The most important things the PM should do:
• Supervise critical path activities – PM needs to ensure high productivity on these activities. If you get delayed on any of them, you delay the
overall project, remember? PM needs to put extra care on:
• Productivity of the ongoing activity: the work needs to progress at a good rate in order not to get delayed. Productivity needs to be high
enough to complete the work on time. But what is Productivity? It essentially is the output you get out of a given input or the ratio
between the two (output/input). In a project world, the output are pieces of the scope and the input is essentially time and resources –
see, this is again our triangle, but this time put in motion. Available Time and resources will be decreasing and the Scope will become real
(see graph). So the PM will need to maintain the productivity high, especially on the critical path. How to measure productivity in projects?
Again, it will be different for the different projects (the scope is unique). In construction, the productivity could be measured in constructed
stories per month (e.g. two stories per month built). In software development, this can be a number of new functionalities programmed.
Whatever it is, PM needs to ensure the rate is good.
• Readiness of the following activities to start: keeping the best productivity on activity. A high is good, but you can still fail in case the next
activity for any reason is not ready to start on time. The upcoming activities in the chain need to start on time (B, C, etc.). PM needs to ask
the question – is everything ready to start on time? Example: In the showroom case, for example, let’s say the construction works are
progressing on track to be entirely completed (including pipelines, etc.) in the remaining two weeks. However, it turns out there have been
some additional discussions on the design of the interiors, and more specifically, the effects around the car podiums and the next activity
may not be ready to start as planned (“decorate and position interiors).
• Look for opportunities to optimize the workflow using your business knowledge, project management experience, and common sense (it
can be stronger than you think ☺ ). As the project progresses, the PM and project team become more knowledgeable of the work at hand.
Hence, often there are ideas of how to make it better, faster, or both. Is this activity valuable? Are there better ways of sequencing the
work – starting more activities in parallel to save some time? Keep asking these questions.
• Don’t forget other project activities (e.g. legal documents, etc.), the ones that are not on the critical path. Forget? You cannot forget – you
have the recipe! If not supervised or underestimated, activities outside the critical path may become part of the critical path (if delayed
significantly).
65
Project Manager’s Typical Day

The project managers must start their day by looking at two things:

Detailed Project Project Diary

Plan (Action Log)
What is on-going? What are the open actions?
Which deadlines are approaching?
What activities must start soon?

66
Project Diary (Action Log) Format

ACTION - What needs to be done?

OWNER - by whom?

DUE DATE – by when?

The Action Log is supplementary to the project plan and is used to record actions,
which occur ad-hoc and are not included in the project plan.
Characteristics of Project Diary (Action Log)

The Action Log is a formal document.

The Project Manager must make it clear to the project team members
when an action is added for them.

Team members need to commit to each action logged against their name.

68
Project Diary (Action Log) - Example

No. Action Owner Due Date

Update Project Schedule to reflect new duration of the "recruit personnel" activity. Increase to 11
weeks. If PM pushes the Due Date by 3 weeks, this will be the new Critical path. Hence, PM to
1 Project Manager 4-Feb
change the start date, in order to keep the initial buffer:
-Change start date to 13-Apr, instead of 4-May. Update project plans
…

Negotiate and sign an agreement with a new Design agency in the next 2 weeks. Marketing manager
13 to participate the negotiation, in order to ensure the requirements are understood by the new vendor Finance manager Assistant 3-Jun
and added to the contract.

14

15

16

17

69
Manage People

Project Team Stakeholders

✓ Provide regular updates
Before ✓ Prepare the team adequately
✓ Establish and follow agreed communication
✓ Lead and coordinate channels
During ✓ Correct and make changes if necessary ✓ Be proactive in the communication
✓ Motivate
✓ Keep key stakeholders engaged
✓ Give feedback
After
✓ Congratulate Be the first one to deliver bad news or you
may lose your credibility!

70
Project Phases

Execution
Initiation Planning Closure
Monitoring & Control

71
Monitoring and Control
In Project Management, the Monitoring and Control phase is
basically about analyzing the Actual against the target and
understanding early on, through numbers, if something is not
working “fast enough” or “well enough”. In other words,
measuring project performance against the project plan.

The monitoring and control phase consists of 3 key activities:

➢Define Metrics & Targets
➢Collect Actuals
➢Identify any areas in which changes are required
➢Initiate changes where needed

72
 Measure Project Performance

Metrics & KPIs Target Actual

The project manager defines metrics and The project performance baseline is Collection and Reporting of Actuals. PM to
key performance indicators (KPIs) to used as a benchmark. establish:
measure the project performance. • Responsible: PM will predominantly perform the
Optimally, three to five KPIs should be tasks, but other team members will also participate.
selected for each project. • Frequency: data collection has to happen regularly
(daily/weekly/monthly) and not only around the end
of the project.

Variance is the difference

between target and actual

73
Measure Project Performance

Metrics & KPIs Target Actual

Metrics and Targets – For each of the criteria identified, specify the targets to be met. This has to come also from the above
process of reviewing the standards with the various stakeholders. Let’s see a few examples of standards in different fields:
• Construction – most of the quality standards are set by regulation. Here, the standards to be met are many and require
engineering expertise to be managed properly. Examples of regulation topics: structural stability, fire safety, air ventilation,
drainages, electrical safety, quality of materials, etc. Meeting the quality standards is crucial to the project’s success, as the
building may not get the needed authorization documents.
• Production – defect rate is a popular metric in this area. If the production volumes are 100 000 units per month, the company
decides to have a target of less than 50 defective units per month. The target would translate into 0.05% tolerance. As it
would cost too much time and money to test all 100 000 units, a sample is selected – let’s say 1 000 units. Out of those,
0.05% would be the maximum number of units with a defect. We will take a deeper look at the last part of the project
(Improvement projects, six-sigma).
• Customer service – let’s say a company has outsourced a call center to a vendor. It will be critical to keeping the customers
happy after the shift of service. Here, quality standards can be set for the vendor like calls lost (target <5 / month); cases
resolved (target >98%); collecting surveys from a customer on satisfaction after each call on a scale from 1 to 5 (target >4).

74
Earned Value Analysis (EVA)
Earned Value Analysis (EVA) or Earned Value Management is a tool to measure project performance
against all three project baselines. Earned Value Management has three basic elements:

Planned Value (PV) Example:

Approved value of the work to be completed as per You have a project to be completed in 12 months.
schedule The budget of the project is $100 000. Six months
PV = Planned % Complete x Budget have passed and the schedule says that 50% of
the work should be completed. $60 000 has been
spent, but on closer review, you find that only 40%
Earned Value of the work has been completed so far.
Value of the work actually completed to date
EV = Actual % Complete x Budget Planned Value (PV) = 0.5 x $100 000 USD =
= $50 000

Earned Value (EV) = 0.4 x $100 000 USD = $40 000

Actual Cost (AC) Actual Cost (AC) = $60 000
There is no special formula to calculate Actual Cost. It is an
amount that has been spent

1. Assuming equal distribution of cost (spend the same monthly amount)

75
Variance Analysis
The variance analysis gives you information about the project’s progress or health. With variances, you find
the difference between two values. The result comes in dollar form.

Schedule Variance (SV) Example:

= Earned Value – Planned Value We’ve already found that:
PV = 50, 000 USD
EV = 40, 000 USD
AC = 60, 000 USD

Hence,
Cost Variance (CV)
SV = 40, 000 – 50, 000 = -10,000 USD
= Earned Value – Actual Cost or the project is behind schedule

CV = 40, 000 – 60, 000 = -20, 000 USD,

or the project is above budget
Variance interpretation
Positive is GOOD (ahead of schedule or under
budget)
Negative is BAD (behind schedule or above budget)

76
Performance Index Analysis
The performance index is the ratio between two parameters. This makes it possible to compare projects.
SPI and CPI help you analyze the efficiency of any project.

Schedule Example:
Earned Value
Performance Index = We’ve already found that:
Planned Value
(SPI) PV = 50, 000 USD
EV = 40, 000 USD
AC = 60, 000 USD

Hence,
Cost Earned Value SPI = 40, 000 / 50, 000 = 0,8
Performance Index = Actual Cost or less work has been completed than the
(CPI) planned work.
The project is behind schedule.

Variance interpretation CPI = 40, 000/ 60, 000 = 0,7

or the project has earned 0,7 USD for every 1 USD
>1 is GOOD
invested.
SPI: more work is completed than planned
The project is above budget.
CPI: more money is earned than spent
<1 is BAD
SPI: less work is completed than planned
CPI: less money is earned than spent 77
 Quality Control

Remember what Quality is in projects – the characteristics of the project’s final deliverable.
Project work needs to be executed in a way to guarantee that the final product possesses the desired characteristics and
capabilities.
During planning the Quality piece, the PM has collected all requirements, set quality targets, and prepared a plan of
quality control (measurement of actuals vs targets). The quality standards, targets, and how they are controlled will be
very different from one project to another, as is the scope, but we will highlight common things that need to be done in
the Control Quality activities. The Actuals are collected through quality audits, checks, and inspections (this corresponds
to the registration of Actual values – which we reviewed for Timelines and Cost (again – data, data, data ). Our Quality
control efforts are aimed at answering one general question: Are the quality targets being met?
In order to answer the question, the quality may be analyzed on three points: Input-Process-Output.

78
 Quality Control
Let’s see a couple of different quality checkpoints that can be controlled, just in our Lamborrari project:
• Input: Here, the PM must be sure the works start with the right foot. Are all the needed inputs okay for us to reach the goal? If we need
to start with resources that cannot be transformed in the desired scope, why start at all? In our case, these would be the construction
materials – verify if they meet all standards. A logical step would be for the one responsible for the construction workstream to do an
initial validation of the construction materials procured. They will be the appropriate team member, as this is a specific field, which
needs to be validated by an expert (engineer). A checklist would be an appropriate tool to go through all these.
Same verification can be done for the car production – are all materials procured meeting the established standards (by regulation
and/or internally set)? Examples: Car body, doors, windows, electronics, interior, etc.
• Process: Here, the PM needs to check if all steps required in an activity are being completed. For example, in the preparation of the
newly hired staff, to engage with customers, there is a program which each one needs to take. Each salesperson needs to know specific
details about each model. Although that would be the most important piece of the training, the management decides they all need to
do a two-day customer service training – learning the important soft skills and customer satisfaction. If that step (training) is skipped,
Lamborrari may have great technical consultants there, but the lack of customer care and appropriate behavior may be sufficient to
push away clients. Not what we want! Here, the control can be assigned to a sales or marketing employee who would deliver the
training to put a checklist and mark each time someone passes this training.
• Output: These will be the quality checks at the completion point of the various deliverables (or sub-deliverables). Note, that this is
before the final validation of the project with all its parts. Here, PM needs to understand, as deliverables are being completed, if
everything is meeting the standards. For example, the augmented reality effects on the displayed cars that are being prepared. Is the
connectivity speed sufficient – i.e. when a customer selects on a monitor to see the car in a different color? A projector needs to light
the car in the selected color. The target is below three seconds. Nine out of ten, it has to be under three seconds. Is that criterion met?

79
Performance Reporting

Senior
Management
PM obtains raw data about
Actual Performance
Project PM analyzes the
Manager performance data and
turns it into Performance
Report

Project Team

80
Project Status Indicator (RAG)

Green = On Track Amber = At Risk Red = Off Track

➢ Progress according to the ➢ Issues that put the ➢ Project is seriously getting
plan completion of the project delayed, project scope is
At-Risk not being met and/or
resources are becoming
exhausted
➢ Sponsor’s attention and
support is needed

81
Issues Management – 4Rs

REACT – assess the damage and perform damage control.

READ – understand the reason and the root cause of the problem.

RESPOND – create an action plan and take steps to correct the issue.

RESOLVE OR REPEAT – confirm the issue is resolved from your response

through monitoring. If so, carry on with the execution. If not, go back a
step or two. Change something until step four is resolved.
82
Project Phases

Execution
Initiation Planning Closure
Monitoring & Control

83
Closure
Why are Closure activities important?
• The deliverables may be completed, but a formal acceptance is needed to close the project
effectively. Note: During the kick-off meeting (or earlier), the sponsor and stakeholders have
Official sign-off of deliverables confirmed how and who will give the final approval
• All contractual agreements (made at the beginning of the project) need to be closed
• All outstanding payments need to be finalized

• Projects are temporary initiatives. The project team can now be released as their
responsibilities for the project tasks are now over
Resources are no longer available • This includes the Project Manager
• Formal communication has to be done by the PM that the project is over

• Projects are unique. The product, work, and/or combination of people, circumstances and
problems encountered always bring something new
Lessons learned • The PM has to organize a meeting with all key stakeholders to document:
• What worked well? What did not work well? How to overcome such a challenge or issue
the next time we do a similar project?
• The Lessons learned are a key source of information and knowledge for a Project Manager

• Projects are complex initiatives. People from various departments, backgrounds and cultures
are brought to work together towards a common goal
Celebrate success • Working on new activities with new people and under a time constraint costs a lot of energy
• People need to be explicitly congratulated and recognized as their efforts have led to
successfully reaching the project’s goal. Accountable for this work is again – the PM

84
 Project Management Methodologies
“Waterfall” (standard) Project Management
In the standard project management, the Planning is performed before the execution starts. Efforts are invested in detailed
planning, where the PM and project team structure all the work to be done (see pic.1). The execution plan consists of sequenced
activities, according to their dependency. As a result, on a calendar (on the Gantt chart), the plan resembles a waterfall (see
pic.2).

Pic.1: Pic.2:
Year 2020 January February March April May
Execution 1/6 1/13 1/20 1/27 2/3 2/10 2/17 2/24 3/2 3/9 3/16 3/23 4/20 4/27 5/4 5/11 5/18
Ind Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 20

Initiation Planning Closure A

B
Prepare land for construction works
Excavate foundations (Digging)
M&C C
D
Build foundation structure
Build Showroom spaces (floor 1)
E Complete Roof works

AGILE Project Management

In the past 20-30 years, project complexity has increased significantly. Internet, new technology, and globalization have changed
the business world. Projects and project management have also been impacted inevitably. The project goals and their scope have
become much more difficult to describe in advance. Hence, planning with a great level of detail without making multiple changes
to this plan is almost impossible. AGILE has been introduced as a new approach to address this challenge. The method suggests
planning and executing pieces of the scope and factoring in any changes in between these pieces. They are called “Iterations”
and include detailed planning and the respective execution.

Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3

Overall PLAN & PLAN & PLAN &

Initiation … Closure
Planning EXECUTE EXECUTE EXECUTE

85
Agile Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
© 2001, the above authors
this declaration may be freely
copied in any form,
but only in its entirety through this
notice. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on

the right, we value the items on the left more.

Kent Beck James Grenning Robert C. Martin

Mike Beedle Jim Highsmith Steve Mellor
Arie van Bennekum Andrew Hunt Ken Schwaber
Alistair Cockburn Ron Jeffries Jeff Sutherland
Ward Cunningham Jon Kern Dave Thomas
Martin Fowler Brian Marick
Project Structure
• The main phases in Scrum projects are standardized “SPRINTS”

• The sprints are of the same duration, usually between one and four weeks

• Each sprint has to deliver a specific part of the product backlog

Overall
Initiation Sprint 1 D Sprint 2 D Sprint 3 D … Closure
Planning

DEMO
• A “Demo” D meeting is organized at the end of each sprint. The goal is to
show the completed work to the product owner and stakeholders
Defining the Scope
Defining the Scope:

Project Goal

EPIC A EPIC B User Story

(format)
User User User User User User
Story Story Story Story Story Story
A1 A2 A2 B1 B2 B2 As a user, I
want to be
able to …

A1 A2 B1 B2
…
Features Features Features Features

Product
BACKLOG
 SCRUM: Concepts
Defining the Scope:
The scope is structured from high to low level in the following way:
• As always, you start from the Project Goal definition: E.g. As an extension to the existing
financial services of the company – “Create a mobile payment application” Project Goal
Then, you proceed with the high-level requirements. They are called EPICs:
• EPIC example: “Creation of an electronic wallet”; “Deposit funds to e-wallet”; “Transfer
funds to recipients”;
EPICS are still high-level so we move down to the details by defining “User Stories”. They are
EPIC A EPIC B
detailed descriptions of what the customer or user of the product wants to be able to do. Their
main goal is to translate the user expectations, desires, and wishes into separate easy-to-
User User User User User
understand requirements or “stories”. Story Story Story Story Story
• User Story example: “As a user, I want to create a wallet via registering through e-mail”; A1 A2 A2 B1 B2
“As a user, I want to be able to top-up my wallet by using a bank account”;
The User Stories finally give the needed granularity. However, one more step is needed for the
developers – the User Stories need to be translated into technical tasks. They are called
“Features”:

User Story Feature A1 A2 B1

…
• Implement a registration wizard for first-time users Features Features Features
I want to create wallet via registering through e-mail; • Implement Secure Log-in using Username and Password
• Implement Log-out
I want to be able to upload a profile picture • Implement a dialogue to upload a profile picture (. jpeg; .png;)
Note: 1 user story may correspond to one or more Features

Product
Finally, all Features and User Stories are collected in a list. This list is BACKLOG
the backbone of the project Scope and is called “Product Backlog”
Defining the Scope: Example

Create a mobile payment application

Deposit funds to e-wallet Transfer funds to recipients

I want to create a I want to be able I want to be

wallet via to top-up my able to
User User User As a user, I
Story
registering through wallet by using a upload a
Story Story
want to be
able to …
B1 B2 B2
e-mail bank account profile picture

Implement Implement a
Implement Implement B1 B2
an dialogue to
registration secure log-in Features Features
integration upload a profile
wizard using username
to a Bank picture (. jpeg;
and password
API .png;)

Product
BACKLOG
 Roles and responsibilities Development (or delivery) Development team responsibilities:
Scrum Master responsibilities: team • Perform work as per backlog
• Leads the Scrum team priority
• Guides the Product Owner in • Deliver ready to use product each
defining the backlog priorities Sprint
• Works to ensure the Sprint • Work with customer to translate
commitments are met user stories into features
• Works to remove roadblocks for the • Develop software features
development team according to priority
• Facilitates Daily Stand-Up meetings • Resolve technical issues and test
(DSUs) solutions
• Facilitates Demo Sessions
• Facilitates backlog grooming and
Retrospective sessions
Scrum Master

Product Owner responsibilities:

• Is or represents the product's customer or user
• Defines the backlog Product Owner
• Reviews and accepts the completed backlog
• Prioritizes the backlog for each Sprint
• Approves/requests changes to the backlog priority
 SCRUM: Project Overview (e.g. Software development)
The standard phases of software development include designing the This has been leading very often to heavy reworks and multiple
solution, coding, and finally, testing the software. The original way of changes in a single project.
structuring such similar work included performing these steps only
once (designing the whole work, coding the whole program, and then Start Design Code Test End
testing the entire software created).

The lifecycle of a Scrum project suggests, on the other hand, to

work step by step – designing, coding, and testing one part,
before moving to the next one:
❖ Overall Planning (Sprint 0)
❖ Sprint 1:
• Backlog planning
• Execute work
• Demo
• Release of the completed product
❖ Sprint 2:
• Backlog planning
• Execute
• Demo
• Release of the completed product
❖ Sprint 3 (…)
In order to ensure the work meets expectations and needs, the
Product Owner has to play a very active role. The PO has to always
attend the planning and demo sessions of each Sprint. 92