1. Project Management Module 3

2. Keep focused on the timeline Week 1234567891011 Prepare for Kick-off Meeting Assign teams Team forming Review and execute consulting contract Interview and research business Draft, revise and execute team contact Draft and revise project management plan Start secondary research Draft and revise business case statement Analyze and organize secondary research Plan, draft and test primary research Conduct primary research Analyze and organize primary research Draft and revise preliminary recommendations Draft final report Draft, revise, rehearse presentation Revise final report DUE Consulting Contract Team Contract Project Manage- ment Plan Business Case Statement including SWOT analysis Primary Research Instrument Prelimin- ary Recom- mend- ations Draft report Final Present- ation Final Report

3. Phases of project management Time spent to plan a project is well spent Specific documents support project phases Each of these will be required as part of the project

4. Define Project Goal Break it down to specific objectives Know what can’t be done Document: Project Mission Statement For example, increase market share to a certain percent or develop a marketing program to increase a target market by a certain number.

5. Select the team Make sure you include all the necessary people from the business Not restricted to “official” team members, call on mentors and advisors as necessary Set roles, ground rules, and scheduling logistics Document: Team Contract

6. Knowledge management Very important to large and small projects Keep central depository of data and research Have meeting agenda, minutes, and action plan templates Keep all team members informed and make sure they attend to communication protocols Document: Project Notebook

7. Project Planning Include key players in planning (especially faculty) Keep focus on objectives (scope creep is a real problem) For each objective break down in subtasks Determine standards for completion of tasks Create milestones for go and no go Determine time, people, resources and budget for each task Review project plan for risks Project management software can be used to set this up Document: Project Plan

8. Steps for Project Planning Get a calendar and put down all key deadlines Determine all the tasks you need to complete a step Break each into subtasks and determine how many hours each will take Assign individuals to each task Enter each individual as a resource in MS Project – use $15 per hour for student members and $100 to $150 per hour for advisors and faculty Enter each task starting with the subtasks – specify time and the individual responsible Transfer this information onto an Excel spreadsheet so that project activity can be tracked against plan

9. Project Management and Control Track all activity on a weekly basis and update status report with hours by task and team member Keep all team members informed with status reports and discuss task completion and process improvement at weekly team meetings Review the completion of tasks against the standards set Document: Project status reports

10. Project Close Have a deliverable of value to the business Provide a way of measuring whether the project was effective Provide complete documentation including an accounting of consultant hours and project costs Reflect on what could have been done better Document: Final project accounting

11. Assignment Read Module 3 (with particular attention to the Healia case) and complete a project plan (see Assignment at end of module).