ncv 3 project management hands-on support slide show - module 2

Project Management 3

Project Management 3 1Future Managers

Module 1: Fundamentals of project management

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Module 2: Project management tools and techniques

• After completing this outcome, you will be able to:– Demonstrate an understanding of project

management tools and techniques

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Project management tools and techniques

• After completing this outcome, you will be able to:– Collect and organise information to identify techniques

and tools used in accordance with a project– Identify the established standards and procedures for a

range of project management tools and techniques– Discuss and explain advantages and limitations of

project management tools and techniques– Demonstrate the application of project management

tools and techniques and provide hard copy example

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Key management tools and techniques

• We will look at the following:

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Benchmarking Project organisational structure Work breakdown structure

Work packages Project scope statement Project scope change control

Change control system Project charter Statement of work

Contracts Network diagram Critical path

Project duration compression

Gantt or bar chart Milestones

Cost control Cost estimating Control charts

Cost/benefit analysis Project budgeting Project management information systems

Status review meetings Quality audits Inspection

Contingency plan

Benchmarking

• Benchmarking involves comparing actual or planned project practices to those of other projects to generate ideas for improvement and to provide a standard by which to measure performance

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Purely project organisational structure

• When the project is separated from the rest of the parent organisation and becomes a self-contained unit, it is called a purely project organisation structure

• The advantages of this tool are:– Communication is easier when team members are only

required to communicate with other members of the team– Team members report directly to the project manager– The project manager has full authority over the project– A project team can develop a strong sense of commitment– Decision-making is easier, since the entire organisation does

not need to be involved

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Work breakdown structure

• A WBS identifies all of the deliverables required for a project and is a standard way to organise the work

• Outlined WBS

• Graphical WBS

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Work breakdown structure

• Benefits of a WBS– The project team develops confidence in their goal– A framework is provided within which you can identify

projects separately from organisations, accounting systems, and funding sources

– Specific work packages are available with which you can estimate and assign work

– Responsibilities are clearly defined, resulting in accountability

– Team members find it easier to focus their attention on project objectives

– It is easier to develop detailed planning and documentation.

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Other breakdown structures

• A bill of materials (BOM) is a breakdown of the physical elements needed to assemble a manufactured product

• A contractual work breakdown structure (CWBS) is used to detail the work breakdown of any products or services related to a project that are provided by someone outside the organisation.

• An organisational breakdown structure (OBS) identifies which deliverables have been assigned to functional departments within the organisation

• A resource breakdown structure (RBS) identifies which deliverables have been assigned to individuals within the organisation.

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Work packages• What are work packages?

– The lowest level of a deconstructed package• Benefits of work packages

– Work packages are a way of modularising the project into manageable segments. Thus, tracking the progress of work packages is a way to assess and control the work done on a project

– By breaking work into work packages, you can determine the skills you need to complete the work on a project, and you can quantify how many people will be required to do the work

– Work packages allow you to communicate the work that needs to be done to other team members without getting into too much detail

– Breaking the work into work packages ensures that all work sequences are identified and understood.

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Project scope statement

• A scope statement defines the project’s scope, or size

• A scope statement also describes the problems or opportunities addressed by the project, the project’s objectives, how progress will be measured, and what risks and assumptions can affect the project’s outcome

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Project scope change control

• A scope change is any adjustment that is made to the approved project scope as it is defined by the work breakdown structure (WBS)

• Scope change control is one part of overall project control, which also includes time control, cost control, quality control, risk control, and contract control. Depending on the modification, scope change control can either widen or narrow the overall project scope.

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Change control system

• A change control system is a collection of formal, documented procedures that defines how project performance will be monitored and evaluated, and includes the steps by which official project documents may be changed

• Many change control systems include a group responsible for approving or rejecting proposed changes

• The change control system must also include procedures to handle changes that may be approved without prior review

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Project charter

• The document that formally authorises the project

• Provides project manager with the authority to apply organisational resources to project activities

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Statement of work (SOW)

• A statement of work (SOW) is a description of the products or services for a project that are completed by a group outside the organisation.

• Once you determine that part of a project is going to be outsourced, the SOW should be included in the scope statement

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Contracts

• A contract is a legally binding agreement

• A contract can be terminated if there is contract violation

• A contractor might also have the right to terminate a contract if the project is not going well

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Network diagram

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A B C F G K

D E

H I J

Network diagrams

• Networks are used when planning a project’s schedule for a variety of reasons:– Networks highlight dependencies among project

activities– Networks identify the critical path– Networks indicate amounts of time needed for each

activity– Networks illustrate float and free float– Networks indicate milestones on a network

diagram

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Critical path

• As part of a project network diagram, the critical path indicates the sequence of activities flow from a project’s start to finish and represents the earliest possible completion date for the project or the longest time duration of the project.

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Project duration compression

• Crashing– Crashing accelerates activity completion by

using more resources to complete activities on the critical path

• Fast tracking– Fast tracking is the rearrangement of activities

in the network diagram to perform the activities simultaneously and therefore reduces project duration

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Gantt or bar chart

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Gantt or bar chart

•  Advantages of a Gantt chart are:– Incorporate the work breakdown structure to

illustrate a project’s activity sequence from start to finish

– Show individual activity start and finish dates– Summarise activity descriptions, which makes

the charts easy to understand– Can be updated simply by adding or deleting

lines and columns from the chart– Can be read easily by team members

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Gantt or bar chart

• Disadvantages of a Gantt chart– Doesn’t illustrate activity dependencies

– Doesn’t exhibit the effects of early or late activity start times

– Doesn’t show variations in activity duration

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Milestones

• Indicate that a series of activities is complete;

• Represent progress points

• Denote when a meeting should be held

• Although milestones might appear along the critical path in a project network diagram, it is important to note that milestones don’t affect the flow of a project

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Cost control

• Steps to follow when controlling project costs include:– Monitor project costs through status reports to detect

variances from the cost baseline– Identify why the variance has occurred– Record any changes that are made to the cost baseline– Avoid making inappropriate or unauthorised changes

to the cost baseline– Acquire authorisation for changes made to the cost

baseline– Inform project stakeholders of any changes made to the

cost baseline

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Cost estimating

• Cost estimating involves developing an approximation (estimate) of the costs of the resources needed to complete project activities

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Control charts

• Control charts are a graphic display of the results, over time, of a process. They are used to determine if the process is “in control”. When a process is in control, the process should not be adjusted.

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Control Charts

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Cost / benefit analysis

• Benefit/cost analysis involves estimating tangible and intangible costs (outlays) and benefits (returns) of various projects and product alternatives, then using financial measures, such as return on investment or payback period, to assess the relative desirability of the identified alternatives.

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Project budgeting

• Cost budgeting involves allocating the overall cost estimates to individual activities or work packages to establish a cost baseline for measuring project performance

• The benefit of a budget is that it serves as a control mechanism

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Project management information system

• A PMIS consists of the tools and techniques used to gather and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems– Computerised tools– Work breakdown structure (templates)– Network templates

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Status review meetings

• Status review meetings are regularly scheduled meetings held to exchange information about the project

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Quality audits

• A quality audit is a structured review of other quality management activities. The objective of a quality audit is to identify lessons learned that can improve performance of this project or of other projects within the performing organisation

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Inspection

• Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and testing undertaken to determine whether results conform to requirements

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Activity 1

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• As an experienced project manager, advise a newly appointed project manager on the importance of project management tools, referring to the following:1.  What is a project tool?

2. Inform the newly appointed project manager on any ten basic, but valuable tools that he/she can use to help him/her to be successful with the project.