Project Management Practices Vesa Tenhunen University of Eastern Finland LUMA Centre

2 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Project Plan 3. Communication Practices 4. Customer Focus

3 1. Introduction Project is a temporary endeavor under- taken to create a unique product or service To successfully carry out a project, some kind of project management is needed  planning  scheduling  communicating  monitoring ...

4 1. Introduction IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS (do the right thing) + CONTROL PROCESS (do it in a right way) = PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5 2. Project Plan Project plan is a written document defining  what are the project's objectives  what are the project's contents  how the project is carried out  what is the project's schedule  what resources the project needs  what are the project's costs

6 2. Project Plan Some of the purposes of a project plan:  to act as a project manager's tool  to act as a reference for monitoring progress  to act as a means of communication (e.g. for the customer) Project plan is about the project, not about the product Project plan is a work in progress

7 2. Project Plan The following items should be included in a project plan: 1. Change history 2. Introduction  project overview 3. References  contracts, legislation, other documents etc.

8 2. Project Plan 4. Glossary 5. Results  work products, deliverables 6. Project phases  phases  milestones and their schedules  products created in each phase

9 2. Project Plan 7. Work breakdown (describes each activity)  outcome  estimated outcome size  estimated workload  dependencies  schedule  responsibility

10 2. Project Plan 8. Project organization  personnel (including customer's) 9. Budget  estimated costs  financial plan

11 2. Project Plan 10. Work methods  practices, guidelines & standards  tools  method of approving work products  change management  quality management 11. Metrics  measuring the product and the process

12 2. Project Plan 12. Quality goals 13. Procurement plan 14. Monitoring progress  methods  meetings  reporting and informing 15. Risk management 16. References to other plans

13 3. Communication Practices Projects are managed by communication The goals of communication  to support the activities  to profile the work community  to inform about events  to tie people to the work community  to satisfy the individual needs of interaction

14 3. Communication Practices The project manager has the biggest role in communication within the project  s/he is the only one knowing what is going on For an ordinary development project to succeed, it is crucial to define the communication between the supplier and the customer  create a separate communications plan

15 3. Communication Practices Common methods of communication  meetings (with minutes)  telephone   written announcements  written work orders  project diary  documents (project and other plans, instructions, records etc.)

16 4. Customer Focus One of the critical success factors for software projects is the commitment of both customer and end users  regular meetings  using support groups The customer and the end users know best the aspects of application domain

17 4. Customer Focus Customer focus is usually forgotten in later phases - after requirements and planning - of the project Customer must be kept up to date during the whole project according to communications plan

18 The End Download a project plan template from Thank you!