1 Our Expertise and Commitment – Driving your Success Project Management Brown Bag October 2014 Offices in New York and Northern VA

2 What are we discussing today? As part of every Actualize project our consultants manage tasks, schedules, deliverables, resources, risk, issues, etc. In other words we manage the project and contribute greatly to the success of each initiative. The goal of this presentation is to: Define a project and project manager Discuss why projects fail and tips for success Deep dive into some of project responsibilities using Project Management Body of Knowledge guidelines to help non- project managers manage projects. Introduce the PM Community at Actualize Consulting

3 What is project management? Application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements What is a project? A “temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or results” Definite beginning & end Team is formed & reassigned at completion Vs. operations – ongoing, repetitive Progressively elaborated Overview – Project

4 Project Challenges Why are projects challenging? Unique, something new, no blueprint Sometimes difficult to define – what is it, when does it end Working with people Too much to do, too little time As soon as you start, something changes

5 Why do Projects Fail? Some Top Reasons for Project Failure : Lack of clear project objective or business benefits Lack of defined scope or constantly changing scope Inadequate project resources or project resources without appropriate skillset The wrong business requirements have been understood, addressed, or communicated Business Case is unattainable Stakeholders are not engaged or properly identified Poor Project Governance Poor Project Implementation People lose focus on the project's benefits The environment changes

6 Group Examples Group Discussion – Examples of Projects that you have been on that have failed.

7 Tips for a successful project: It’s not enough simply to manage your project competently, and deliver a good quality product. To avoid failure: Make sure you have identified the right business requirements Created an achievable business case Strong project governance High-quality implementation Continuously manage project benefits throughout the lifecycle of the project Monitor your changing environment Manage the expectations of your stakeholders

8 Why are Project Managers Important? Manage projects from conception to completion. Assists organization to carry out projects and other initiatives: On time On budget With minimal disruption to the rest of the business. Meets objectives and achieve business benefits Evaluates changing project scope and executes appropriate change management process (minimize scope creep) Ensures appropriate resources are allocated to the project Address project risks and issues (escalating when necessary) Develop and manage project governance structure.

9 Project Governance Project Managers need to work with internal policy and stakeholders to determine the correct level of project governance, escalation channels, and project reporting. Enough to achieve end goal with balance between becoming burden or impediment. Common forms of Project Governance: System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Provides a framework that describes the activities performed during each phase of a project. Proper amount of SDLC on a given project should come from and be governed by the internal Project Management Office (PMO). Project Steering Committee Provides executive oversight, advocacy, support and decision making for single projects, multiple projects or an entire project portfolio

10 Project Triple Constraint Project Managers need to properly manage the “Triple Constraint”. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others.

11 Project Management Knowledge Areas Developed by the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 1.Integration Management 2.Scope Management 3.Time Management 4.Cost Management 5.Quality Management 6.Risk Management 7.Human Resource Management 8.Communications Management 9.Procurement Management Each of the nine knowledge areas requires: Inputs from other areas Processes that need to be completed Output to other areas In order to achieve effective project management. Each of these areas fall into the 5 process groups. Note: Bolded Subjects to be expanded further in presentation

12 1.Initiating 2.Planning 3.Executing 4.Controlling (and monitoring) 5.Closing Project Management Process

13 Project Integration Management Collection of processes required to ensure that the various elements of the projects are properly coordinated. It involves making trade-offs among competing objectives and alternatives to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations. Project Charter / Project Definition / Business Case What are you doing? What are you NOT doing? Why are you doing this? How will you know when you’re done? Stakeholder Buy-In Identifies Project Champion and leadership support Project Scope Statement – Outlines the high level scope of the project Project Management Plan – Defines and Coordinates all planning efforts throughout the life cycle of the project. Integrated Change Control – Coordinating changes across the project

14 Scope Management Ensure that the project includes all the work, and only all the work required to complete the project successfully. Develop Requirements – In order for the project scope to be fully identified detailed requirements should be drafted and understood Define Scope Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – breaking the scope in to smaller tasks to divide work in to more manageable concepts Scope monitoring and changes to baseline

15 Time Management Defining and sequencing activities and estimate the duration and resources needed for each activity. The goal is to build the project schedule subsequently manage changes and updates to the schedule. Develop Project schedule – once scope is identified the items can put together to develop detailed plan. Define activities Sequence activities Estimate activities resources Estimate activities duration Control Project Plan - tracking and reporting on the progress of work, as well as adjusting time outputs to address shifts and changes in the project plan.

16 Cost Management Effectively planning and controlling the costs involved in a project Estimating Costs Determine Budget Monitor Costs

17 Risk Management Identification of risks and plan how to respond to the risks if they occur. Identification (what could happen) Risk analysis (likelihood, impact, cost ) Risk planning (mitigation, contingency) Risk monitoring

18 Communication Management What information needs to flow in and out of the project? Who needs what information? When is the information needed? What is the format of the information? Who will be responsible for transmitting and providing the information?

19 PM Community at Actualize Share project management experiences, challenges, approaches, and lessons learned Provide project management tips, tool, and templates to Actualize consultants Provide project management training, coaching, and mentoring Provide access to project management deliverables from previous projects Provide specific guidance for obtaining your Project Management Professional (PMP) designation Provide centralized repository on the Actualize Consulting Google Docs site – management-community-of-practice/

20 Project Management Certification Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge – PMBOK 9 knowledge areas – Inputs, Methods, and Outputs 5 process groups and the relation to the 9 knowledge areas Project Management Professional (PMP) Requirements A four-year degree (bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent) three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects 35 hours of project management education. Pass Exam Actualize PMP’s Kurt Rasmussen, Jean Ballard, Krishna Ravula, John Pomaranski