Project Management

Main Phases of Project Development Start with the End in mind.

Project Management Tools Team contract Mission/vision/goal statements Timeline/Schedule Project status reports Action Item list Meetings Team Assignment, Client Interviews, and Engineering Requirements

Project Schedule - Activity Identify all of the tasks required for a person to get ready for work in the morning Estimate the duration of each task Order the tasks in a logical sequence How long will the whole procedure take? If you had another person to help you, which tasks could they do? Re-sequence (with assistance in parallel) Now, how long will it take?

Project Schedule – Gantt Chart Spreadsheet: or Microsoft Project:

Scheduling Considerations Capture Events/Milestones (fixed dates): Client meeting(s) Due dates (Wikipage, log book, Citizenship etc..) Snapshot Days Design Reviews Also: Keep some margin for error. Account for holidays, busy times, and other commitments What needs to be done before each milestone? Keep some margin for error.

Project Tracking - Approaches Status toward Schedule: Dashboard: When the schedule changes – Change the schedule.

Action Item List All members must agree and understand actions Allocate action items equitably Must include: Owner Target Date Completion Date Review and update at team meetings Action Register # Task Owner Action Item Owner(s) Target date Completion date Comment

Project Communication

Meeting Guidelines All team members must attend Set a date and time – start on time Set the Agenda prior to every meeting Typical Agenda: Review of open Action Items Status toward Schedule Open Issues and Risks Assignment of new Action Items Review of Minutes

Meeting Agenda - Activity Review an example Meeting Agenda Identify the Good / Bad qualities of each Agenda. How could it be improved? Which meeting are you more likely to be interested in going to?

Meeting Decorum Be on time, start on time Help everyone stay on track Use direct language and be succinct Eliminate “sort of”, “kinda”, etc. from vocabulary “Yes”, “No”, or “I don’t know” Email / texting Never the place to have a disagreement Can (and will) become public