Curso Parte 2 Notas

1.
Question 1
In this exercise, you will read a scenario and identify the six key components of project initiation:

 Goals
 Scope
 Project deliverables
 Success criteria
 Stakeholders
 Resources
Start by reading the scenario:

Imagine you are a project manager at an educational software company. You’re assigned a new project
to develop a digital grading platform for a local high school. Before beginning the project, you meet
with teachers, school administrators, the school IT department, and the district superintendent to
discuss the project and get their input.

During these meetings, you organized your thoughts by writing down project key components that the
stakeholders have requested. Your notes on the key components are:

 $150,000 maximum budget

 Team: can add one member from the school IT department
 Platform should allow teachers to enter grades and allow students/parents to view grades
 Need full teacher buy-in at high school: 100% adoption within next nine months
 Project should focus only on the digital grading platform and NOT impact other digital
platforms (ex. attendance, school lunch payments)
 Overall, the school is seeking a platform for digital grading
The next step in the project is to organize the key components into a project charter. You will then
present the charter to the individuals involved with the project. The project charter ensures everyone is
aligned before planning and then executing the project.

Which of the key components is the project’s goal? Write one sentence.
Which key component outlines the project’s scope? Write one sentence

Which key component is the project deliverable? Write one sentence

Which key component outlines the project’s success criteria? Write one sentence.

Who are the project stakeholders? Write one sentence

Which key components outline the resources you will have at your disposal for the project?

Performing a cost-benefit analysis

Previously, you learned that a cost-benefit analysis is the process of adding up the expected value of a
project—the benefits—and comparing them to the dollar costs. In this reading, we will discuss the
benefits of conducting a cost-benefit analysis, guiding questions to help you and your stakeholders
conduct one, and how to calculate return on investment (ROI).
The benefits of a cost-benefit analysis

A cost-benefit analysis can minimize risks and maximize gains for projects and organizations. It can
help you communicate clearly with stakeholders and executives and keep your project on track.
Because this type of analysis uses objective data, it can help reduce biases and keep stakeholder self-
interest from influencing decisions.

Comparing a project’s benefits to its costs can help you make a strong business case to stakeholders
and leadership and ensure your organization pursues the most profitable or useful projects.
Organizations use cost-benefit analyses to reduce waste and invest their resources responsibly.

Guiding questions for a cost-benefit analysis

When you’re pursuing a project, the benefits should outweigh the costs. It’s important for you and your
stakeholders to consider questions like the ones that follow early on, while you prepare the proposal.

To determine the benefits of a project, you might ask:

 What value will this project create?

 How much money could this project save our organization?
 How much money will it bring in from existing customers?
 How much time will it save?
 How will it improve the customer experience?
And to determine the costs of a project, consider questions such as:

 How much time will people have to spend on this project?

 What are the one-time costs?
 Are there any ongoing costs?
 What about long-term costs?
You might also consider questions about intangible benefits. These are gains that are not quantifiable,
such as:

 Customer satisfaction. Will the project increase customer retention, causing them to spend
more on the company’s products or services?
 Employee satisfaction. Is the project likely to improve employee morale, reducing turnover?
 Employee productivity. Will the project reduce employee’s overtime hours, saving the
company money?
 Brand perception. Is the project likely to improve the company’s brand perception and
recognition, attracting more customers or providing a competitive advantage?
You can also flip these questions to consider intangible costs. These are costs that are not quantifiable.
For example, might the project put customer retention, employee satisfaction, or brand perception at
risk?

When assigning values to tangible or intangible costs and benefits, you can reference similar past
projects, conduct industry research, or consult with experts.

Calculating costs and benefits

The process of calculating costs and benefits is also called calculating return on investment, or ROI.
There are many ways to determine a project’s ROI, but the easiest way is to compare the upfront and
ongoing costs to its benefits over time.
One common ROI formula is:

In this formula, G represents the financial gains you expect from the project, and C
represents the upfront and ongoing costs of your investment in the project.

For example, imagine your project costs $6,000 up front plus $25 per month for 12
months. This equals $300 per year, but you estimate that the project will bring in $10,000
in revenue over the course of that year. Using the formula above, you calculate the ROI as:
($10,000 - $6,300) ÷ $6,300 = 0.58 = 58%

The ROI comes to 0.58, or 58%. You consider this to be a strong ROI, so you decide to
pursue the project.

Key takeaway

Performing a cost-benefit analysis can help you and your stakeholders determine if it
makes sense to take on a new project by evaluating if its benefits outweigh its costs. When
conducting cost-benefit analyses for your prospective projects, you can use the guiding
questions and ROI formula provided in this reading as a reference.

To learn more about performing a cost-benefit analysis, check out these articles:

https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/cost-benefit-analysis-for-projects-a-step-by-step-guide

https://pmstudycircle.com/cost-benefit-or-benefit-cost-analysis/

SMART goals: Making goals meaningful

In this lesson you are learning to define and create measurable project goals and
deliverables. Now, let's focus on SMART goals.

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals are very
helpful for ensuring project success. As you start your career in project management, you
may not directly set the project goals, but you should be able to clarify and understand
them. SMART goals help you see the full scope of a goal, determine its feasibility, and
clearly define project success in concrete terms.
Let’s recap what we discussed in the previous video by taking a look at a breakdown of the
criteria for SMART goals below:

 Specific: The objective has no ambiguity for the project team to misinterpret.
 Measurable: Metrics help the project team determine when the objective is met.
 Attainable: The project team agrees the objective is realistic.
 Relevant: The goal fits the organization’s strategic plan and supports the project
charter.
 Time-bound: The project team documents a date to achieve the goal.
You may see variations on what each letter in the “SMART” acronym stands for. (For
example, you may see “actionable” or “achievable” instead of “attainable” or “realistic”
instead of “relevant.”) However, the general intent of each of these terms—to make sure
the goal is within reach—is always similar.

Focusing on the "M" in SMART

Let’s take a moment to zoom in on the M in SMART, which stands for measurable. Having
measurable goals allows you to assess the success of your project based on quantifiable
or tangible metrics, such as dollar amounts, number of outputs, quantities, etc.
Measurable goals are important because they leave little room for confusion around
expectations from stakeholders.

Not every metric will have value, so you will have to determine which metrics make sense
for the project. For example, measuring how many meetings the software engineers on
your project attend on a weekly basis may not be the most valuable metric for a
productivity goal. Alternatively, you might measure other aspects of the engineers’
productivity, such as a particular number of features created per engineer or a specific
number of issues flagged per day.

Defining a SMART goal

Let’s explore an example related to making a personal goal measurable. Imagine you are
looking to make a career change, and you set a goal to complete a Google Career
Certificate. You can measure the success of this goal because after completing the entire
program, you will receive a certificate—a tangible outcome.

Now, let’s determine how to make the remaining elements of this goal SMART. In this
example, your specific goal is to attain a Google Career Certificate. You can make this goal
attainable by deciding that you will complete one course per month. This goal is relevant
because it supports your desire to make a career change. Finally, you can make this goal
time-bound by deciding that you will complete the program within six months.

After defining each of these components, your SMART goal then becomes: Obtain a Google
Career Certificate by taking one course per month within the next six months.
Key takeaway

Determining metrics can be extremely helpful in capturing statuses, successes, delays,

and more in a project. As a project manager, identifying meaningful metrics can help
move the project toward its goal. Additionally, by defining each element of a project goal
to make it SMART, you can determine what success means for that goal and how to
achieve it.

1.
Question 1

To pass this practice quiz, you must receive 100%, or 1 out of 1 point, by completing the activity below.
You can learn more about the graded and practice items in the Course Overview.

Activity Overview

In this activity, you will analyze a scenario to identify project goals. Then, you will write the goals using
SMART criteria.

As a reminder, SMART goals must be:

 Specific:
 Measurable
 Attainable:
 Relevant
 Time-bound
Be sure to complete this activity before moving on. The next course item will provide you with a
completed exemplar to compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until
you have completed this activity.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

Office Green, LLC, is a commercial landscaping company that specializes in plant decor for offices and
other businesses. The company is getting ready to introduce its new Plant Pals service, which will
provide high-volume customers with small, low-maintenance plants for their desks. You are the project
manager assigned to manage the Plant Pals launch.

Office Green’s main goal for this project is: “Increase revenue by 5% by the end of the year by rolling out
a new service that provides office plants to high-volume clients.”

You recently met with the project sponsor (the Director of Product) to discuss two additional goals for
the Plant Pals project:

1. Boost Office Green’s brand awareness

2. Raise Office Green’s customer retention rate
In order to help your team achieve these two additional project goals, you need to turn them into
SMART goals. The notes from your meeting with the Director of Product are below. You can use this
information to create SMART goals:
  Office Green’s customer retention rate was 80% last year, but the CEO wants that number to
increase by at least 10% this year.
 Last year, 70% of customers who left Office Green for competitors said they did so because
they wanted more extensive services. When surveyed, 85% of existing customers expressed an
interest in Plant Pals.
 The Vice President of Customer Success expects Office Green to achieve a customer
satisfaction rating of over 90% this year—a slight increase over last year. The rating has stayed
between 85%-90% for the last five years.
 The company plans to create an Operations and Training plan for Plant Pals to improve on
existing customer service standards and boost efficiency.
 Office Green will promote the new service with a new marketing and sales strategy, a
redesigned website with a new Plant Pals landing page, and a print catalog.
 With the publicity around the launch, Office Green projects that their customer base will grow
by at least 15%.
 Website traffic has dipped slightly over the past three years, from 15K to 13K visits each month.
The Marketing Manager wants unique page visits to increase by at least 2K each month by the
end of the year, which is in line with the results of prior marketing campaigns.
 The project is scheduled to launch by the end of the third quarter. The project team will
continue to collect data on the project’s progress through the rest of the year and assess how
well it has met its goals at the end of the fourth quarter. (It is currently the start of Q1.)

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Revise the goals to be SMART

The template contains the two additional project goals for Plant Pals, neither of which
meets all the SMART criteria:

1. “Office Green will boost brand awareness”

2. “Office Green will raise their customer retention rate”
Turn these two goals into SMART goals using the information from the scenario above.
Write the revised goals next to SMART Goal One and SMART Goal Two. Your goals
should be complete, but brief—one or two sentences is enough.

For example, here is a goal that’s missing some of the SMART criteria:

“Office Green will soon create an app to help customers care for their plants.”

That’s not a bad start, but it isn’t specific, measurable, or time-bound. Here’s the same
goal, rewritten as a SMART goal:

“Office Green will create an app that offers tips and reminders to help customers care for
their plants. The app will be completed within 18 months and be compatible with 100% of
the types of plants Office Green sells.”

Step 3: Explain what makes each goal SMART

Now that you’ve rewritten the goals, explain what makes them SMART by answering the
following questions:

1. What makes the goal specific? Does it provide enough detail to avoid ambiguity?
2. What makes the goal measurable? Does it include metrics to gauge success?
3. What makes the goal attainable? Is it realistic given available time and resources?
4. What makes the goal relevant? Does it support project or business objectives?
5. What makes the goal time-bound?Does it include a timeline or deadline?
Be specific in your answers. For instance, the plant care app SMART goal is:

 Specific: The team knows what they’re building: an app that helps users care for
their plants and reminds them to do so.
 Measurable: The app will be complete when it includes 100% of the plant types
Office Green sells.
 Attainable: The company has the knowledge, time, resources to build the app.
 Relevant: Office Green’s business model relies on customers caring for their plants
successfully.
 Time-bound: The goal includes an 18-month timeframe.
If you find that either goal does not meet all the SMART criteria, try revising it and
answering the questions again.

What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed SMART goals activity:

 Goal one is rewritten to meet all the SMART criteria

 Goal two is rewritten to meet all the SMART criteria
 There is an explanation for why each rewritten goal is specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed SMART goals activity. Review your work using
each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use
your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the
course.

Note: Your SMART goals may differ from the exemplar in some ways. That’s okay—what’s
important is that your goals meet as many of the SMART criteria as possible.

Let’s review each SMART goal:

SMART goal one

The original goal indicates that Office Green will boost its overall brand awareness
through Plant Pals, but it doesn’t indicate how they will do it, whether it's possible, why
it’s important, or when they will get it done. The SMART goal addresses all these
questions, which increases Office Green’s chances of reaching their aim:

“Office Green will boost brand awareness with a new marketing and sales strategy and
website update that will increase page views by 2K per month by the end of the year.”

Specific: Office Green will update their website and launch a new marketing and

sales strategy to boost awareness of their brand.
 Measurable: The goal includes a metric of 2K new page views per month.
 Attainable: They have a year to reach this goal and the target of 2K new page
views per month is in line with prior marketing campaigns.
 Relevant: Greater brand awareness can mean new customers, which supports the
overall project goal of a 5% revenue increase.
 Time-bound: The deadline is at the end of the year.
SMART goal two

The original goal indicates that Office Green will raise their customer retention rate, but it
doesn’t indicate how they will do it, whether it's possible, why it’s important, or when they
will get it done. The SMART goal addresses all these questions, which increases Office
Green’s chances of reaching their aim:

“Office Green will raise their overall customer retention rate by 10% by the end of the year by
implementing a new Operations & Training plan for the Plant Pals service.”

 Specific: Office Green will implement an Operations & Training plan that will
improve on existing customer service standards and boost efficiency.
 Measurable: The goal includes a metric of a 10% increase in retention.
 Attainable: They have a year to reach this goal and many former and existing
customers are interested in the new service. It has the potential to help them keep
customers who may be thinking about leaving for a landscaper with more services.
 Relevant: Increasing customer retention can lead to more sales, which supports
the overall project goal of a 5% revenue increase.
 Time-bound: The deadline is at the end of the yea

Creating OKRs for your project

In this lesson, you are learning to define and create measurable project goals
and deliverables. This reading will focus on creating effective objectives and
key results (OKRs) and how to implement them into your project.
What are OKRs?

OKR stands for objectives and key results. They combine a goal and a metric to determine a
measurable outcome.
Company-wide OKRs are used to set an ultimate goal for an entire organization, while
team, department, and project-level OKRs describe the focused results each group will
need to achieve in order to support the organization.

OKRs and project management

As a project manager, OKRs can help you expand upon project goals and further clarify the
deliverables you’ll need from the project to accomplish those goals. Project-level OKRs
help establish the appropriate scope for your team so that you can say “no” to requests
that may get in the way of them meeting their objectives. You can also create and use
project-level OKRs to help motivate your team since OKRs are intended to challenge you
to push past what’s easily achievable.

Creating OKRs for your project

Set your objectives

Project objectives should be aspirational, aligned with organizational goals, action-
oriented, concrete, and significant. Consider the vision you and your stakeholders have for
your project and determine what you want the project team to accomplish in 3–6 months.

Examples:

 Build the most secure data security software

 Continuously improve web analytics and conversions
 Provide a top-performing service
 Make a universally-available app
 Increase market reach
 Achieve top sales among competitors in the region
Strong objectives meet the following criteria. They are:

 Aspirational
 Aligned with organizational goals
 Action-oriented
 Concrete
 Significant
To help shape each objective, ask yourself and your team:

 Does the objective help in achieving the project’s overall goals?

 Does the objective align with company and departmental OKRs?
  Is the objective inspiring and motivational?
 Will achieving the objective make a significant impact?

Develop key results

Next, add 2–3 key results for each objective. Key results should be time-bound. They can
be used to indicate the amount of progress to achieve within a shorter period or to define
whether you’ve met your objective at the end of the project. They should also challenge
you and your team to stretch yourselves to achieve more.

Examples:

 X% new signups within first quarter post launch

 Increase advertiser spend by X%
 New feature adoption is at least X%
 Maximum 2 critical bugs are reported by customers per Sprint
 Maintain newsletter unsubscribe rate at X%
Strong key results meet the following criteria:

 Results-oriented—not a task
 Measurable and verifiable
 Specific and time-bound
 Aggressive yet realistic
To help shape your key results, ask yourself and your team the following:

 What does success mean?

 What metrics would prove that we’ve successfully achieved the objective?

OKR development best practices

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when writing OKRs:

 Think of your objectives as being motivational and inspiring and your key results as
being tactical and specific. The objective describes what you want to do and the
key results describe how you’ll know you did it.
 As a general rule, try to develop around 2–-3 key results for each objective.
 Be sure to document your OKRs and link to them in your project plan.

OKRs versus SMART goals

Earlier in this lesson, you learned how to craft SMART goals for your project. While SMART
goals and OKRs have some similarities, there are key differences, as well. The following
article describes how SMART goals and OKRs are similar, how they differ, and when you
might want to use one or the other: https://www.smartsheet.com/content/okr-vs-smart-
goals
To learn more how OKRs work to help project managers define and create measurable
project goals and deliverables, check out the following resources:

https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/google-okr-playbook

https://asana.com/guide/examples/project-management/goals-okrs-planning

https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/okrs-smart-goals-difference-between

https://www.reflektive.com/blog/okrs-and-kpis-what-they-are-and-how-they-work-
together/

https://www.perdoo.com/resources/okr-and-project-management/

https://www.workfront.com/strategic-planning/goals/okr/okr-examples

https://www.whatmatters.com/articles/ted-talk

1.
Question 1

This practice activity is an opportunity for you to apply the concepts that you learned throughout the
course. We provide a completed example activity so you can compare and contrast your work and grow
as a project manager.

To pass this optional activity, you must receive 100%, or 1 out of 1 point, by reviewing or completing
the activity below. You can learn more about the graded and practice items in the Course Overview.

Activity Overview

In this activity, you will practice creating OKRs (objectives and key results) for a project. OKRs combine
a goal and a metric to determine a measurable outcome. Objectives define what needs to be achieved
and describe a desired outcome, while key results define how you will measure that outcome.

As a project manager, creating OKRs can help you clarify both your overall project goals and the
deliverables you’ll need to accomplish those goals. You can also create project-level OKRs to help
motivate your team.

When you finish the activity, we'll take you through an exemplar of the completed assignment that you
can compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until you have completed
this activity. Be sure to review these exemplars carefully, so you know what you did well and how you
can improve next time. Keep in mind that some activities can have more than one right answer, just
like real problems can have more than one solution. The exemplars for these activities explain one way
of doing things, but they also point out where you could do things differently. This helps you check
your approach to an assignment, not just your answers

Scenario
Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

Wonder City is a mid-sized city where increasing growth and traffic are impacting quality of life.
According to a recent market assessment, the region’s population is expected to double in the next five
years. Job growth is also expected to increase by 48%. This growth will impact street networks, parking
and mobility.

Wonder City has several city-wide objectives related to reducing traffic congestion and improving the
city’s infrastructure. In order to support these city-wide objectives, the Wonder City Transportation
Authority (WCTA) will be launching five new bus lines. This initiative has been nicknamed Project Move
It.

You have been hired as the project manager for this initiative. As the project manager, you will set OKRs
to help clarify the project goals and define what needs to be done in order to deliver a successful
project.

Here is some additional information about the project:

 The project needs to be completed within two years.

 Community member buy-in and support for the locations of the new bus lines will be required.
 The project must adhere to all government regulations.
 Stops along the new bus lines must connect neighboring suburbs to downtown and public
resource facilities.
 Bus lines must service at least 50% of the most densely-populated areas of Wonder City.
 The project is intended to help improve wait times and increase ridership.
 The plan includes a marketing campaign to promote the new lines.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Draft your first objective

A list of objectives for Project Move It have been provided for you below. Select one and
add it next to “O1” on the first line of the OKR card.

Potential objectives for Project Move It:

 Actively and meaningfully engage the public to generate buy-in and project
support.
 Make it easy to get around the greater Wonder City area via public transportation.
 Promote public transportation as a convenient alternative to driving.
 Provide a reliable and consistent public transportation service.
Or, if you prefer, you may draft your own objective based on the scenario.

Remember that effective objectives are:

 Aspirational: Is the objective challenging and inspiring?

  Aligned with company goals: Does the objective support company and/or
departmental OKRs?
 Action-oriented: Does the objective motivate the team to take initiative?
 Concrete: Can the project team easily grasp the objective?
 Significant: Will achieving the objective make a meaningful impact or change from
where you are currently?
For example, if the objective of an educational technology company was to provide
products that consistently meet new educational standards, a project objective might be:
“Successfully launch version 2.0 of our early learning app in time for the national curriculum
conference.”

Step 3: Add key results

Next, write at least three key results for your objective next to “KR1,” “KR2,” and “KR3.”
(You may add up to five key results for each objective, but only three are required for this
activity.)

Each key result should address the following questions:

 Does the key result help define success for your team?
 Can it be measured to prove that you’ve achieved your objective?
 Is it specific and time-bound?
 Is it ambitious yet realistic?
Your key results should build on the scenario and additional project information, but it’s
up to you to determine your success criteria. As an example, let’s return to the objective,
“Successfully launch version 2.0 of our early learning app.” If you knew that a successful
launch meant getting new users to download the app, you could create any of the
following key results for the objective:

 15,000 new downloads within first quarter post launch

 75,000 new downloads within first year post launch
 25% of monthly downloads from new customers
Remember: OKRs are never set in stone--they can and should be revised as you make
progress, so it’s okay if you need to adjust your key results later on.

Step 4: Write 1-3 more OKRs

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a second, third and fourth objective to fill up the template.

Pro Tip: Save the template

Finally, be sure to save a blank copy of the OKR template you used to complete this
activity. You can use it for further practice or in your own personal or professional
projects. These templates will be useful as you put together a portfolio of project
management artifacts. You can use them to work through your thought processes as you
demonstrate your experience to potential employers.
What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed OKR card:

 The objective defines what needs to be achieved and describes a desired outcome
 The key results are ambitious, specific, measurable, and define success for the
objective

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed OKRs. Review your work using each of the
criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers
to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: The exemplar gives three key results for each objective, but there are many more you
could develop. Because you can measure success in various ways, your lists of key results
may differ. The important thing to keep in mind is that your OKRs should help you expand
upon your project goals and further clarify the deliverables you’ll need from the project in
order to accomplish those goals.

Let’s review each OKR in the exemplar:

OKR #1: Actively and meaningfully engage the public to generate buy-in and project
support

Each key result uses measurable data to define success for the objective. For
example, “400 attendees to 12 public meetings focused on transit talks” measures
engagement in the number of attendees at public meetings about transit.

OKR #2: Make it easy to get around the greater Wonder City area via public
transportation.

Each key result uses measurable data to define success for the objective. For example,
“New ridership increases by 25% within three months” measures the increase in bus
ridership in the city in response to the community’s improved ability to get around the city
with ease.

OKR #3: Promote public transportation as a convenient alternative to driving.

Each key result uses measurable data to define success for the objective. For example,
“80% click-through rate from banner ads on social media” measures the success of the
promotional campaign in public engagement with social media ads.

OKR #4: Provide a reliable and consistent public transportation service.

Each key result uses measurable data to define success for the objective. For example,
“100% of new busses meet government safety standards at monthly inspections” measures
the reliability and consistency of busses that pass regular safety inspections.

Gathering information to define scope

In this lesson, you are learning to define project scope status and differentiate in-scope, out-of-scope,
and scope creep factors that affect reaching the project goal. Let’s focus here on how to identify vital
elements of a project’s scope and examine the right questions to ask in order to define it.

Asking scope-defining questions

Imagine that while working in a restaurant management group, your manager calls and asks you to
“update the dining space,” then quickly hangs up the phone without providing further instruction. In
this initial handoff from the manager, you are missing a lot of information. How do you even know what
to ask?

Let’s quickly recap the concept of scope. The scope provides the boundaries for your project. You
define the scope to help identify necessary resources, resource costs, and a schedule for the project.

In the situation we just described, here are some questions you might ask your manager in order to get
the information you need to define the scope of the project:
Key takeaway

Taking the time to ask questions and ensure that you understand the scope of the project will help
reduce expenses, rework, frustration, and confusion. Make sure you understand the who, what, when,
where, why, and how as it applies to the scope. If you are missing any of that information, focus your
questions on those elements. The initiation phase of the project sets the foundation for the project, so
ensuring that you understand the scope and expectations during this stage is essential.

Strategies for controlling scope creep

In this lesson, we have discussed the importance of defining and documenting a project’s scope and
how to identify scope creep factors that can affect reaching a project’s goal. In this reading, we will
focus on how to control scope creep.

Scope management best practices

The scope of a project can get out of control quickly—so quickly that you may not even notice it. Scope
creep is when a project’s work starts to grow beyond what was originally agreed upon during the
initiation phase. Scope creep can put stress on you, your team, and your organization, and it can put
your project at risk. The effects of scope creep can hinder every aspect of the project, from the schedule
to the budget to the resources, and ultimately, its overall success.

Here are some best practices for scope management and controlling scope creep:

 Define your project’s requirements. Communicate with your stakeholders or customers to

find out exactly what they want from the project and document those requirements during the
initiation phase.
 Set a clear project schedule. Time and task management are essential for sticking to your
project’s scope. Your schedule should outline all of your project’s requirements and the tasks
that are necessary to achieve them.
 Determine what is out of scope. Make sure your stakeholders, customers, and project team
understand when proposed changes are out of scope. Come to a clear agreement about the
potential impacts to the project and document your agreement.
 Provide alternatives. Suggest alternative solutions to your customer or stakeholder. You can
also help them consider how their proposed changes might create additional risks. Perform a
cost-benefit analysis, if necessary.
 Set up a change control process. During the course of your project, some changes are
inevitable. Determine the process for how each change will be defined, reviewed, and
approved (or rejected) before you add it to your project plan. Make sure your project team is
aware of this process.
 Learn how to say no. Sometimes you will have to say no to proposed changes. Saying no to a
key stakeholder or customer can be uncomfortable, but it can be necessary to protect your
project’s scope and its overall quality. If you are asked to take on additional tasks, explain how
they will interfere with the budget, timeline, and/or resources defined in your initial project
requirements.
 Collect costs for out-of-scope work. If out-of-scope work is required, be sure to document all
costs incurred. That includes costs for work indirectly impacted by the increased scope. Be
sure to indicate what the charges are for.
Key takeaway

You can only avoid scope creep if everyone involved in the project understands and agrees on
responsibilities, boundaries, and timelines. Avoiding scope creep also requires clear communication,
expectation management, and a well-defined path to your desired outcome. Following the strategies
discussed here can help you proactively manage scope creep before it creeps into your project!

Optional: Reviewing the Triple Constraint

As you’ve just learned, project managers may refer to the triple constraint model to manage scope and
control scope creep. It can serve as a valuable tool to help you negotiate priorities and consider trade-
offs.

For further reading on utilizing the triple constraint model in real-life scenarios as a project manager
and how the triple constraint model has evolved over time, we recommend checking out this article: A
Project Management Triple Constraint Example & Guide.

https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/triple-constraint/

1.
Question 1
In this quiz, you will practice applying the Triple Constraint (budget, time, scope) to the following
project scenario:

Imagine you are a User Experience (UX) Program Manager at a small design agency. You are asked to
manage an 8-week project for $800,000 USD. The project includes conducting field research and
synthesizing results. As the final deliverable, your agency will create a research report and facilitate a 3-
day workshop. You need to align with the client’s Vice President (VP) of Design, Ria. Luckily, you have a
team of five teammates to work on this project together!

For the three situations below, describe how you would apply the Triple Constraint model. Provide
examples to help illustrate your explanations. Are you ready?
1 / 1 point

I’m ready!
Correct
Great! Now, compare your answers to the feedback below.

2.
Question 2
Situation 1

During the scoping of this project, Ria says her budget maxes out at $650,000 USD—she can’t afford the
$800,000 USD that this project will cost. What are some proposals you can provide to Ria to reduce the
budget? Think of the Triple Constraint and remember that one constraint will always have the priority.
So if the budget is a constraint, what areas might Ria adjust to reduce project costs? Write 2-3
sentences.
1 / 1 point
Ria could reduce the amount of team members and incresing the time we
have to deliver the project thus diminishing the costs.
Correct
Did you write that the scope and time constraints are options to help reduce the cost? Here’s an
example proposal:

Reduce the scope: Maybe you can convince Ria to have a 1-day workshop instead of a 3-day workshop.
This will help trim the budget.

Reduce the time: If you can deliver just the research report presentation instead of a 3-day workshop,
you can trim the budget by shaving-off the three workshop days. This also reduces the time you need
to prepare for the workshop.

3.
Question 3
Situation 2

Recruiting for field research will take a week longer than expected. However, Ria told you that the
project end date is a hard deadline. What can you do? Think of the triple constraint and remember that
one of them will always have the priority. So if time is a constraint, what areas might Ria adjust to
reduce the time in the project? Write 2-3 sentences.
1 / 1 point
We could reduce the scope of the research and trying to do a smaller or less
extensive reasearch in this way we could deliver the research report on time.
Correct
Did you write that the budget and scope constraints are options to help reduce the time? Here’s an
example proposal:

Increase the budget: If you can increase the budget and add an additional field researcher, you could
complete the research faster and meet the hard deadline.

Cut the scope: If you can eliminate sections in the research report, you could save time. Or, similar to
the example above, cut the workshop to a 1-day workshop to meet the deadline

4.
Question 4
Situation 3

After the stakeholders agree on the project scope, Ria finds out that her CEO wants more information in
the research report. She asks you to include details on the market opportunities for new product ideas,
technical constraints, and design considerations. How do you manage this additional scope? Write 2-3
sentences.
1 / 1 point
We could increase the amount of time we have to deliver our research report
and also increase our budget because we would need our team to work more
hours on the research.
Correct
Did you write that the time and cost constraints are options to help reduce the scope? Here’s an
example proposal:

Decrease the time: If you can cut the depth of the initial market research, you will shave a few days off
the project. This will allow additional time to work on the information on new products at the end of
the project.

Increase the cost: If Ria can agree to increase the project budget to accommodate her CEO's request,
you can add additional team members to work on the expanded scope and meet the existing project
timelines.

5.
Question 5
As a reminder, if there are changes in time, budget, and scope, remember to notify your project
sponsor and key stakeholder and make sure they’re aligned. In this specific example, you should notify
the internal stakeholders, so that they can make decisions about what to do about the changes in the
project, while considering the Triple Constraint.
1 / 1 point

Alright!

Don't forget to land: Measuring project success

In this lesson, you are learning to distinguish the difference between a project launch and
a project landing. Let’s focus here on the difference between launches and landings and
how to ensure that your project will be completed successfully.

You will often hear companies celebrating the launch of a new product, service, or
initiative, and it is important to remember that even when your project is out in the world,
your work isn’t complete. When working on a project, the goal isn’t simply to launch it, but
to land it. Landings occur once your project achieves a measure of success. As project
managers, landings are what we strive for and what we celebrate. They are the ultimate
reward for all of our efforts.
Launching vs. landing a project

In project management, a project “launching” means you have delivered the final results
of the project to the client or user. You can’t solely base project success on when the client
accepts the project, though. Your work on a project won’t be complete until you “land” it
by thoroughly measuring the results. This is when the success criteria and the metrics you
defined initially when setting SMART goals will come in handy.

Teams should be clear on what they are trying to accomplish, beyond just launching
something to users. Will your project increase retention? Will your project speed up a
product feature? Depending on the product and situation, the answers will differ, but it is
important that your team aligns and works toward the same measurable goal.

Launch first, land later

Let’s consider an example: imagine you are a project manager for an eco-friendly
organization. Your organization asks you to create a training program for middle school
students in your county to teach them about the impacts of recycling. The county's goal is
to increase recycling by 20% over the next five years. You gather your team and start
developing the learning content to build out this training program. It takes you and your
team one year to complete the research, development, and production of this training.
When you hand over the training to the school district, you are launching the project. In
order to know your project actually landed at the intended goal, you need to check back
in periodically over the next five years to see if the training program is on target to
produce a 20% increase in recycling in the county.
Launch and forget

A common mistake of many project teams is to “launch and forget” the results. This
happens when a project manager delivers the project to the client and the client accepts
the project delivery, but the project manager doesn’t assess if the project deliverables
satisfy the customer or user. In the example above, if you didn’t check back periodically
over five years to assess the results, you would have only launched—but not landed—the
project. Launching and landings work in tandem to ensure true success.

A project landing shouldn’t create more hurdles. If done correctly, a landing creates
greater alignment within the teams on the end results you all desire, and it gives
everybody on the team better visibility on how to achieve success.

Key takeaway

Launching your project to the client can be a very big moment for you. You handed over
the project to your client and now you can take a step back and breathe. But make sure
you land your project, as well. Look over your notes, talk with your team, meet with the
client, and remember to return to your intended deliverables and metrics to help you
measure success.

Tracking and communicating success criteria

We recently covered the topic about launching and landing projects, and now we will turn our focus to
ensuring that our landings are successful.

Recall that SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound and help
keep a project on track for success.

We can also determine the success of a project by the quality of the product, the ability to fulfill the
needs of your customers, and the need to meet the expectations of your stakeholders. For this reading,
we will discuss these particular success criteria, the metrics we use to track them, and how and why we
communicate our findings.
Product quality

The product, or final result, of a project has its own set of attributes that define success. The product
attributes that are necessary for the product’s success include completeness in features, quality of
features, unit cost, usability, etc. The extent that a product is complete will contribute to the product’s
success. This can apply to any project in which you deliver a product or tangible outcome at the end.
To keep us on track for success, we can create a list of product requirements to ensure that you do not
miss anything. For example, if the project produces word processing software, you need basic features
like text entry, formatting, saving, and printing. Since you require each feature to have a functional
word processor by today’s standards, you include these features on your checklist.

To measure the success of a product, consider including these metrics on your checklist:

 Track if you implemented the product’s priority requirements

 Track and assess the product’s number of technical issues or defects
 Measure the percentage of features you delivered or released at the end of the project

What is important to the customers or stakeholders

We have to pay attention to product metrics, but we also have to be mindful of stakeholder and
customer additional expectations for features and objectives. In the word processor example, a
stakeholder may want to add an additional functionality to easily create tables in a document with
text. Additionally, a strategic goal of the organization could be to create word processor software with
more collaborative ability than the word processors currently on the market. Each component is
necessary in order to meet customer and stakeholder expectations. Think about what needs the
project satisfies for your stakeholders or customers. These strategic goals tie back to the business case
and the reason you initiated the project in the first place. Often, you can measure the fulfillment of
strategic goals via user or customer metrics. Metrics to consider include:

 Evaluating user engagement with the product

 Measuring stakeholder and customer satisfaction via surveys
 Tracking user adoption of the product by using sales data

Document, align, and communicate success

Understanding where we are and where we are going helps the project team determine if they are on
track. As you learned in the video on this topic, you need to get clarity from stakeholders on the project
requirements and expectations. There are many people involved with any project, and success will
look different for each of them. You want to ask questions, such as: Who ultimately says whether or not
the project is successful? What criteria will be measured to determine success? What is the success of
this project based on? It is best practice to get the key stakeholders or the steering committee to
review and approve your success criteria. This becomes a mutual agreement on how all parties define
the success of the project.

Key takeaway

Remember, all projects encounter change. All parties must have continuous access and alignment to
the success criteria agreed upon to avoid scope creep (uncontrolled change of the project’s scope) or
failed expectations at the end of the project. It’s important to document success criteria upfront and
continue to report on it throughout the project. You can make a copy of this document to help you get
alignment or download it here:

Using OKRs to evaluate progress

In this lesson, you are learning to define a project’s success criteria, the measurable attributes project
managers use to determine whether or not a project was successful as a whole. This reading will focus
on using OKRs to evaluate a project’s progress.

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

You have learned that OKRs—Objectives and Key Results--combine a goal and a metric to determine a
measurable outcome. Setting OKRs is a technique that can help project teams define, communicate,
and measure shared success criteria.

Objectives: Defines what needs to be achieved; describes a desired outcome.

Key results: The measurable outcomes that objectively define when the
objective has been met

Communicating and tracking OKRs

Conducting regular check-ins and actively tracking progress with your team can help ensure that
objectives are being met and that any issues are resolved as soon as possible.

Share your OKRs with your team. Once you’ve created OKRs for your project, it’s important to
communicate them to your team so that everyone knows how to focus and align their efforts. You can
do this by sharing a digital document, presenting them in a meeting, or adding them to an internal
website. OKRs can help your project team stick to its goals, monitor which are falling short, and be
continuously motivated to meet project objectives.
Assign owners. Assign an owner to every key result so that everybody knows who’s responsible for
what. This helps add clarity and increases accountability.

Measuring progress

Measuring your OKRs is an important part of tracking and sharing your progress. One shortcut to
determining the status of a project is to score or grade your OKRs. While scores or grades don’t provide
a complete assessment of a project’s success, they’re helpful tools for determining how close you came
to achieving your objectives. You can then share your OKR scores with project stakeholders and team
members as part of your overall project updates.

Determine how you will score your OKRs. OKRs can be scored in different ways. You can score based
on a percentage of the objective completed, the completion of certain milestones, or a scale of 1 to 10,
for example. You can also use a “traffic light” scoring approach, where red means you didn’t make any
progress, yellow means you made some progress, and green means you completed your objective. The
simplest approach to scoring OKRs is the “yes/no” method, with “yes” meaning you achieved your
objective and “no” meaning you didn’t. Using this approach, a key result such as “Launch a new widget
marketing campaign” might be graded a 1 or 0 depending on whether it was launched (1) or not (0). A
more advanced scoring approach is to grade your key results on a scale. With this method, if a key
result was to “Launch six new features” and only three new features were launched, the OKR might be
graded 0.5. Generally, if the KR helped you achieve the objective, your OKR should receive a higher
score; if it didn't, your OKR should receive a lower score. At Google, OKRs are usually graded on a scale
of 0.0 to 1.0, with 1.0 meaning the objective was fully achieved. Each individual key result is graded and
then the grades are averaged to determine the score for that OKR. Set your scoring expectations. With
Google’s 0.0–1.0 scale, the expectation is to set ambitious OKRs and aim to achieve an average of at
least 0.6 to 0.7 across all OKRs. For OKRs graded according to percentage achieved, the sweet spot is
somewhere in the 60–70% range. Scoring lower may mean the team is not achieving what it could be.
Scoring higher may mean the aspirational goals are not being set high enough.

Schedule checkpoints. It’s important to regularly communicate the status of project OKRs with your
team and senior managers. For example, it can be helpful to have monthly check-ins on the progress of
OKRs to give both individuals and your team a sense of where they are. Typically, at the end of the
quarter, you’ll grade each of your OKRs to evaluate how well the team did to achieve its goals.

Key takeaway

OKRs can help you define and measure your project’s success criteria. In order for OKRs to be used to
effectively meet your project’s success criteria, it’s important to share them with your team, assign
owners to each key result to ensure accountability, measure your OKRs’ progress by scoring them, and
track your OKRs’ progress by scheduling regular check-ins with your team.

To help you get started practicing writing your own OKRs, check out the templates below. To use the
templates, click the links below and select “Use Template.”

 OKR Scorecard Template Doc

 OKR Scorecard Template Sheet
Review: The building blocks of a project dream team
In the previous video, we explored some considerations for choosing your project team and assigning
their roles and responsibilities. Let’s recap what you learned and expand upon what to think about
when building your project team.

Too big, too small, or just right?

Once you lay the foundation for your project by outlining your goals and expectations, it is time to build
your dream team! Though before we can build our dream team, we need to figure out how many
people we need. This number will largely depend on the size of the project itself. Complex projects with
large divisions of work will usually require larger project teams. Simple projects with straightforward
expectations may only require a few people on the project team. As a project manager, it is your job to
help find the right balance based on what is needed.

The right skills and abilities to fill the role

Multiple roles exist in every project. On smaller teams, multiple roles may be filled by one person. To
meet the needs of more specialized projects, project managers might require people who have the
necessary technical skills. Technical skills are the skills specific to the task that needs to be performed.
For example, on the Office Green project, necessary technical skills may include indoor landscaping
design for the layout of the plants within the offices and floral design of plant arranging.

Technical skills are highly valued, but they are not the only skills that are important for high functioning
teams. Interpersonal skills, also known as people skills or soft skills, such as patience and conflict
mediation, can help team members. This allows the team to blend their technical expertise with
collaborative skills in order to get the job done. When a team applies their interpersonal skills, they can
minimize team-related issues.

Problem-solving skills are a must for all team members, especially when it comes to large, complex
projects. As a project manager, you will not be able to solve every problem for your team. At some
point, they will need to use their own judgment to problem-solve and get the work done.

An underrated skill set for project team members are leadership skills. Strong leadership skills help
team members navigate organizational boundaries and effectively communicate with stakeholders to
generate buy-in.

Who is available?

In projects, the availability of your team is always a big concern. This is especially true in Matrix
organizations, where team members have multiple bosses. It is not uncommon to pull a team member
onto another project before your project is complete. In a perfect world, you only pick those who can
stay on the project for its entire life cycle. You may find that you don’t get to pick certain members of
your team at all, which is called a pre-assignment. In these cases, the sponsor assigns team members
to your project.

Keep in mind that you need to value diversity early on when building your team. On diverse teams,
everyone is able to use their unique professional and personal experiences to contribute to a more
successful project. Diversity is best leveraged when it is acknowledged and highlighted as an asset.
Many people avoid discussing their differences, but if you encourage those conversations, you will find
a richer understanding and greater creativity that comes from people working together across identity
differences. To do this effectively, it is important to dedicate time early on in the team building process
to develop trust between team members. Team members who understand one another are more likely
to trust each other and feel safe sharing different points of view or offer a competing perspective. This
will also allow them to more easily offer constructive feedback or be supportive if the team dynamics
face challenges at any point.

What motivates them?

Be sure to take note of the motivation level of your team members and the impact it may have on your
project. Just because a person is pre-assigned to a project, doesn’t necessarily mean they have low
interest in it, but a person who proactively volunteered for it may have additional motivation to do the
work.

As a project manager, it is your responsibility to engage your team and keep them motivated. This is
where your influence as a leader is required to keep the team engaged and ready to overcome any
obstacles that may appear. Engaging in a respectful manner and maintaining a positive outlook with
your team during times of adversity are simple ways to keep your team motivated.

Key takeaway

In summary, team size, skills, availability, and motivation are the building blocks to creating your very
own dream team. Always keep in mind that a project manager does not just select dream teams, they
create dream teams through collaboration under great leadership. This is the leadership that you will
provide as a project manager.

Essential project roles

In this lesson, you are learning to define project roles and responsibilities. Let’s now build on what you
have learned about building your project team and focus on how to further identify the core roles and
responsibilities that are critical to any project.

The project manager

Although all team members are responsible for their individual parts of the project, the project
manager is responsible for the overall success of the team, and ultimately, the project as a whole. A
project manager understands that paying close attention to team dynamics is essential to successfully
completing a project, and they use team-building techniques, motivation, influencing, decision-
making, and coaching skills, to keep their teams strong.

Project managers integrate all project work by developing the project management plan, directing the
work, documenting reports, controlling change, and monitoring quality.
In addition, project managers are responsible for balancing the scope, schedule, and cost of a project
by managing engagement with stakeholders. When managing engagement with stakeholders, project
managers rely on strong communication skills, political and cultural awareness, negotiation, trust-
building, and conflict management skills.

Stakeholders

Have you ever heard the phrase “the stakes are high"? When we talk about “stakes,” we are referring to
the important parts of a business, situation, or project that might be at risk if something goes wrong.
To hold stake in a business, situation, or project means you are invested in its success. There will often
be several parties that will hold stake in the outcome of a project. Each group’s level of investment will
differ based on how the outcome of the project may impact them. Stakeholders are often divided into
two groups: primary stakeholders, also known as key stakeholders, and secondary stakeholders. A
primary stakeholder is directly affected by the outcome of the project, while a secondary stakeholder is
indirectly affected by the outcome of the project.

Primary stakeholders usually include team members, senior leaders, and customers. For example,
imagine that you are a project manager for a construction company that is commissioned to build out
a new event space for a local catering company. On this project, the owners of the catering company
would be primary stakeholders since they are paying for the project.

Another primary stakeholder could be the CEO of your construction company. If the CEO likes to be
directly involved with projects for local businesses like the catering company, that would make them a
primary stakeholder.

An example of a secondary stakeholder might be the project’s point of contact in legal. While the
project outcome might not affect them directly, the project itself would impact their work when they
process the contract. Each project will have a different set of stakeholders, which is why it’s important
for the project manager to know who they are, what they need, and how to communicate with them.
Project team members

Every successful team needs strong leadership and membership, and project management is no
exception! Project team members are also considered primary stakeholders, since they play a crucial
role in getting the job done. Your team members will vary depending on the type, complexity, and size
of the project. It’s important to consider these variables as you select your project team and begin to
work with them. Remember that choosing teammates with the right technical skills and interpersonal
skills will be valuable as you work to meet your project goals. If you are not able to select your project
team, be sure to champion diversity and build trust to create harmony within the team.

Sponsor

The project sponsor is another primary stakeholder. A sponsor initiates the project and is responsible
for presenting a business case for its existence, signing the project charter, and releasing resources to
the project manager. The sponsor is very important to the project, so it’s critical to communicate with
them frequently throughout all project phases. In our construction company example, the CEO could
also be the project sponsor.

Key takeaway

Although the roles involved in each project will vary, all projects will include a project manager and
primary stakeholders who are directly impacted by the project’s outcome, such as team members,
senior leaders, the customer, and the project sponsor. Secondary stakeholders, whose work less
directly impacts the project, may also play a role. Keep these roles in mind as we take a closer look at
the importance of stakeholders.

Prioritizing stakeholders and generating their buy-in

In this lesson, you are learning to complete a stakeholder analysis and explain its significance. Let’s
focus here on how to prioritize the various types of stakeholders that can exist on a project, generate
stakeholder buy-in, and manage their expectations.

Conducting a stakeholder analysis

Stakeholders are an essential part of any project. A project manager’s ability to balance stakeholder
requirements, get their buy-in, and understand when and how to involve them is key to successfully
fulfilling a project.

It is key to keep stakeholders organized in order to understand when and how to involve them at the
right time. In an earlier video, we introduced the stakeholder analysis, a useful tool that project
managers use to understand stakeholders’ needs and help minimize hiccups during your project life
cycle.

Let’s review the key steps in the stakeholder analysis:

1. Make a list of all the stakeholders the project impacts. When generating this list, ask yourself:
Who is invested in the project? Who is impacted by this project? Who contributes to this
project?
2. Determine the level of interest and influence for each stakeholder—this step helps you
determine who your key stakeholders are. The higher the level of interest and influence, the
more important it will be to prioritize their needs throughout the project.
 3. Assess stakeholders’ ability to participate and then find ways to involve them. Various types of
projects will yield various types of stakeholders—some will be active stakeholders with more
opinions and touchpoints and others will be passive stakeholders, preferring only high-level
updates and not involved in the day-to-day. That said, just because a stakeholder does not
participate as often as others does not mean they are not important. There are lots of factors
that will play a role in determining a stakeholder’s ability to participate in a project, like
physical distance from the project and their existing workload.
Pro tip: You might want to form a steering committee during some projects. A steering committee is a
collection of key stakeholders who have a high level of power and interest in a project. A steering
committee can influence multiple departments within the organization, which means that they have
the potential to release a greater number of resources to the project manager.

Visualizing your analysis

A power grid shows stakeholder interest in the project versus their influence over the project. This four-
quadrant tool helps project managers evaluate how to manage their stakeholders. It is used to
determine the appropriate level of engagement required by the project team needed to gain the
stakeholders’ trust and buy-in.

Take the time at the start of the project to establish your stakeholder approach. List the stakeholders
and then place them into the appropriate places on the grid. Being able to visualize their placement
will help you manage communications and expectations. Having a quick reference tool to drive your
communication actions will also allow you to have the ability to spend more time doing other tasks on
your project.

Pro tip: While these tools help organize information, they do not necessarily make the difference
between successful and unsuccessful stakeholder engagement. What will make for successful
stakeholder engagement is the project manager’s ability to know their stakeholders’ motivations and
inspirations. This takes time, interpersonal skills, and insight into the organization’s internal political
workings. Remember, each project is different, and your project may need tweaks along the way as you
grow as a project manager. Making necessary changes means you are doing something right. Just
make sure to check in and ensure that you are well on track, engaging your stakeholders successfully,
and delivering on your project!

Generating stakeholder buy-in

Once you organize and assess your stakeholders, it is time to start making some decisions on whose
buy-in is absolutely necessary for success, whose requirements deserve the most attention, and what
level of communication each stakeholder will require.

Gaining key stakeholder buy-in is essential to ensuring that your project is not deprioritized or deprived
of resources.

Tips for gaining key stakeholder buy-in include:

 Clearly mapping the work of the project to the goals of the stakeholder.
 Describing how the project aligns with the goals of the stakeholder's department or team.
  Listening to feedback from the stakeholder and finding ways to incorporate their feedback into
the project's charter where appropriate.
Manage your stakeholders’ expectations by presenting a realistic view of your team’s abilities. Do not
over-promise and under-deliver!

Optional reading
This article, titled Roll Call: We Asked the Project Management Community: What Steps Do
You Take To Identify and Prioritize All Stakeholders at the Start of a Project?, describes
additional strategies for identifying stakeholders to further increase your understanding.

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/identify-prioritize-stakeholders-11408

1.
Question 1

To pass this practice quiz, you must receive 100%, or 1 out of 1 point, by completing the activity below.
You can learn more about the graded and practice items in the Course Overview.

Activity Overview

In this activity you will complete a stakeholder analysis and power grid.

As a project manager, it’s important to understand how each stakeholder relates to your project.
Completing a stakeholder analysis and power grid allows you to determine each stakeholder’s
influence and potential impact on a project, which is crucial to managing communications and
expectations.

Be sure to complete this activity before moving on. The next course item will provide you with a
completed exemplar to compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until
you have completed this activity.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

You are the project manager at Office Green, a commercial landscaping company that specializes in
plants and greenery for offices and other businesses. The company is getting ready to introduce its new
Plant Pals service, and you will manage the launch. You and your team need to maintain trust and
generate buy-in from your stakeholders. Some of your stakeholders include:

 Director of Product: The Director of Product is the project sponsor. As the sponsor, they fully
support the project, sign off on high-level decisions, and sometimes act as a resource for the
team. They are deeply invested in the outcome of the project, but less involved with its day-to-
day operations.
 Landscape Designer/Web Designer: This person has two roles at Office Green, and within the
Plant Pals project. In addition to their web design skills and knowledge of plants, they have
strong relationships with a range of people across the company. The Plant Pals project could
affect their role as Landscape Designer if it results in a pivot toward new services. If they don’t
want their role to change, it could be harder to get their buy-in.
  Existing clients and their employees: The core customers for this product launch are Office
Green’s existing clients and their employees. Their feedback can help Office Green improve the
customer experience for the new service. Depending on their needs, some clients will be very
interested in Plant Pals, while others will be less so. Lower-interest clients are unlikely to resist
the project unless it impacts the existing product line.
 Office Green’s investors: The investors support Office Green financially, so the company
wants to keep them happy. Likewise, because Office Green’s performance affects their
investments, the investors want Plant Pals to succeed. However, they will not be directly
involved in the project and it will not affect them before launch. They are therefore unlikely to
oppose the project at this stage.
 Office Green’s receptionist: The receptionist will not be directly involved with the Plant Pals
project. They will need to answer customer questions about the service later on, but don’t
need to know many details until closer to launch. They have no major concerns about the
project at this stage.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Part 1 - Understanding stakeholders with a stakeholder analysis

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Identify stakeholders

Start with the Understanding Stakeholders table on the first slide of the template. This is
where you will organize your information. First, identify the stakeholders from the Office
Green scenario (e.g., Director of Product, Landscape Designer/Web Designer, etc.) and
write their titles in the Stakeholder column of the table.

Step 3: Determine stakeholder roles

What roles do your stakeholders play in the project? Write down each team member’s role
in the Role column. Select from the following options when determining project roles:

 Project sponsor
 Project team member
 Office Green employee
 Office Green customer
 Secondary stakeholder
Step 4: Determine stakeholder involvement

How will each stakeholder participate in the project? What resources do they have that
can help project success? Consider each stakeholder’s involvement in the project, as well
as any tools (software, hardware, etc.), knowledge, or relationships that could be helpful.
Make note of these activities and assets in the Involvement column.

Step 5: Determine the impact on your stakeholders

How will the project outcomes affect the needs of each stakeholder? Do you expect any
resistance that could affect their buy-in? Record this information in the Impact column.

Step 6: Determine each stakeholder’s level of power or influence

How much influence does each stakeholder have over the project? Consider the
information you added to the Involvement and Impact columns. Then record each
stakeholder’s level of power or influence as high (H), medium (M), or low (L) in the Power
or Influence column.

Note: You should gauge each stakeholder’s level of influence on this project, not within
Office Green in general.

Step 7: Determine each stakeholder’s level of interest

How involved is each stakeholder in the project on a daily basis? How much will the
project impact the needs of each stakeholder? Estimate each stakeholder’s level of
interest in the project at this stage, considering your notes from the Involvement and
Impact columns. Then indicate high (H), medium (M), or low (L) in the Interest column.

Be sure to consider interest in project outcomes and interest in day-to-day operations. If a

stakeholder is interested in both, their overall interest level is likely high. If neither, their
interest could be low. If they are interested in one, but not the other, a medium rating
might be appropriate.

Leave the Engagement column blank for now. You will return to it once you have
completed the power grid.

Part 2 - Prioritizing stakeholders in a power grid

Step 1: Place stakeholders in the power grid

Now go to the second slide of the template: Prioritizing Stakeholders (power grid).
Consider your power or influence ratings from the stakeholder analysis. Then drag the box
containing each stakeholder’s name to the appropriate place in the power grid.

High-interest, high-power stakeholders should go toward the upper-right corner. Low-

interest, low-power stakeholders go toward the lower-left corner, and so forth. You can
place stakeholders anywhere on the power grid—even between quadrants. For example, a
stakeholder with a medium level of interest would straddle the high and low interest
quadrants.

Note: Consult slides 3-5 for a demonstration of how to place your stakeholders.

Step 2: Determine how to engage with stakeholders

Now that you’ve placed your stakeholders in the grid, go back to the Engagement column
in the stakeholder analysis table. Think about where each stakeholder falls in the grid:
monitor, show consideration, keep satisfied, or manage closely.

Based on this information, determine how often you should communicate with each
stakeholder and what form that communication should take (e.g. semi-regular
consultations, frequent updates, etc.). Depending on their role or resources, you might
communicate with them daily, regularly, or rarely. Record your answers in the
Engagement column.

Pro Tip: Save the Template

Finally, be sure to save a blank copy of the stakeholder analysis and power grid template
you used to complete this activity. You can use it for further practice or in your own
personal or professional projects. Templates like this one will be useful as you put
together a portfolio of project management artifacts. You can use them to talk through
your thought processes as you demonstrate your experience to potential employers.

What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed stakeholder analysis table:

 The table includes all five stakeholders and groups from the scenario.
 The table lists information on each stakeholder’s role, resources, potential
resistance, and engagement.
 The table lists each stakeholder’s level of power or influence as low, medium, or
high.
 The table lists each stakeholder’s level of interest as low, medium, or high.
Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed power grid:

 The grid contains all the stakeholders from your stakeholder analysis.
 The position of each stakeholder corresponds to their level of interest and
influence in your stakeholder analysis.
Activity Exemplar: Complete a stakeholder analysis and power
grid
Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations
for the activity.

Assessment of Exemplar
Compare the exemplar to your completed stakeholder analysis and power grid. Review
your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you
improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress
through the course.

Note: Some of the information in your stakeholder analysis and power grid may differ from
these exemplars. Some variation is to be expected.

Let’s review the stakeholder analysis table:

 The Stakeholder column includes the titles of the five stakeholders (and
stakeholder groups) from the scenario.
 Each stakeholder’s role is in the Role column.
 Each stakeholder’s involvement (including helpful tools, knowledge, or
relationships) is recorded in the Involvement column.
 The project’s impact on each stakeholder’s needs (along with any potential
resistance ) is described in the Impact column.
 Each stakeholder’s level of power or influence is classified as high (H), medium (M),
or low (L) in the Power or Influence column.
 Each stakeholder’s level of interest is classified as high (H), medium (M), or low (L)
in the Interest column.
 The level and type of engagement determined for each stakeholder is recorded in
the Engagement column.
Let’s review the power grid:

As the project sponsor, the Director of Product has a high level of influence on the
project. They are invested in the project’s success, but not involved on a day-to-day basis,
so their interest is medium. You should communicate with them regularly, but not daily,
to ensure they are satisfied with project progress.

 The Landscape Designer/Web Designer has a high level of both influence and
interest, which means you should manage them closely. You should communicate
with them daily to discuss project tasks and to ensure you have their buy-in. If you
have them on your side, they can help you manage relationships with other Office
Green employees.
 Existing clients and their employees are the core customer base for Plant Pals, so
you need to make sure you’re building something they want to buy. Their feedback
can help you measure project success, but you don’t need to communicate with
them frequently. Occasional check-ins to gauge their satisfaction are appropriate.
This is a large group of people with varying priorities and concerns, so their interest
and influence are both marked as medium.
 Office Green’s investors will not be directly involved in the project, so their
interest in daily operations is low. However, their influence level is medium, since
you need to protect their investment to keep their financial support. Giving them
periodic updates on project milestones and performance would be appropriate.
 The Office Green receptionist’s influence and interest in the project are both
relatively low. You don’t need to communicate with them often until the project
 nears completion. They are not part of the project team, and you do not need to
discuss the details with them until later in the process.

1.
Question 1
Imagine you are a project manager for a healthcare company. When building a team for a new research
project, you create a power grid to help you figure out which stakeholders to prioritize. Which box in
the grid represents the stakeholders who are the key players on your team?

Stakeholder Analysis grid with Power and Interest on each axis. Box A in upper left (high power, low
interest); Box B in the upper right (high power, high interest); Box C in the lower left (low power, low
interest); Box D in the lower right (low power, high interest)
1 / 1 point

Box B (high influence, high interest)

Box A (high influence, low interest)

Box D (low influence, high interest)

Box C (low influence, low interest)

Correct
As a project manager, you should prioritize the stakeholders with higher interest and influence on your
team. You should closely partner with key stakeholders to reach the desired outcomes.

2.
Question 2
What is the correct order of tasks in a stakeholder analysis?
1 / 1 point

Determine each stakeholder’s level of interest and influence, list all the stakeholders the project
impacts, and find ways to involve them.

List all the stakeholders the project impacts, find ways to involve them, and determine their level of
interest and influence.

List all the stakeholders the project impacts, determine their level of interest and influence, and find
ways to involve them.

Find ways to involve each stakeholder, list all the stakeholders the project impacts, and determine
their level of interest and influence.
Correct
First, a project manager needs to determine who their stakeholders are and understand their level of
influence and interest. Then, a project manager needs to decide how to involve them in a project.

3.
Question 3
What does stakeholder analysis enable project managers to do? Select all that apply.
0.5 / 1 point

Select more impactful projects

Accurately predict project outcomes

This should not be selected
Stakeholder analysis does not help you predict project outcomes, but it can help you identify
opportunities for success and potential risks. It can also illustrate stakeholder responsibilities and help
you determine which people to include in important conversations.

Avoid potential risks down the road

Build necessary partnerships

Correct
Stakeholder analysis tells you which people to include in important conversations.This is key to getting
the support you need throughout the project. It also helps you know what to expect so you can avoid
surprises down the road.

4.
Question 4
What is it called when a project manager involves stakeholders in decision-making to reach a broader
consensus?
1 / 1 point

Stakeholder buy-in

Stakeholder analysis

Stakeholder mapping
Stakeholder identification
Correct
Stakeholder buy-in helps stakeholders feel invested in the outcome of a project by involving them in
decision-making.

Building out a RACI chart

A RACI chart can be an extremely effective way to define project roles, give direction to each team
member and stakeholder, and ensure work gets done efficiently. Having a RACI chart available
throughout the duration of your project as a quick visual can be invaluable. In this reading, we will
cover the function of a RACI chart and its components and explore how project managers use RACI
charts to define and document project roles and responsibilities.

Elements of a RACI chart

A RACI chart creates clear roles and gives direction to each team member and stakeholder. Over your
career, you may hear a RACI chart referred to as a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), RACI
diagram, or RACI matrix. The ultimate goal of this chart is to clarify each person’s role on your project.

First, let’s break down each of the roles people can be assigned:

R: Responsible: who gets the work done

A: Accountable: who makes sure the work is done

C: Consulted: who gives input or feedback on work

I: Informed: who needs to know the outcome

Note that RACI charts can be organized in different ways, depending on personal preference, number
of tasks being assigned, and number of people involved. In the previous video, we showed you one
RACI chart format. The template below shows another way a typical RACI chart might be organized.
Let’s further examine each of the roles and how to determine which team member should be assigned
to which role.

Responsible

Individuals who are assigned the “responsible” role for a task are the ones who are actually doing the
work to complete the task. Every task needs at least one responsible party. It’s a best practice to try to
limit the number of team members assigned to a task’s responsible role, but in some cases, you may
have more than one.

A couple of questions to ask yourself when determining which person or people should be placed in the
responsible role for a given task are:

 What department does the work fall under?

 Who will perform the work?
It is helpful to evaluate the people on your team to determine the role that suits them. Remember that
you may need to list roles rather than names, if some people take on more than one role.

Let’s dig deeper into our example with Office Green. Our task is to develop price points for the project,
and the Financial Analyst will complete the work for this task. Therefore, we will list “Financial Analyst”
in the responsible role for this task in the RACI chart.

Accountable

The “accountable” person is responsible for making sure the task gets done. It is important to have
only one individual accountable for each task. This helps clarify ownership of the task. The accountable
person ultimately has the authority to approve the deliverable of the responsible party.

In order to determine who should be tagged as the accountable team member, consider:

 Who will delegate the task to be completed?

 Who will review the work to determine if the task is complete?
You may encounter a situation where the responsible party is also accountable, but where possible, it
is helpful to separate these roles. Ensuring that accountability is not shared ensures that there is no
confusion on who the ownership belongs to.

Continuing with our Office Green example, you have assigned the “accountable” role to the Head of
Finance. The Head of Finance has to make sure the project stays in budget and makes a profit, so they
have the ultimate authority over the price points for the product. Therefore, they will need to approve
the Financial Analyst’s work on the task.
Consulted

Team members or stakeholders who are placed in the “consulted” role have useful information to help
complete the task. There is no maximum or minimum number of people who can be assigned a
“consulted” role, but it’s important that each person has a reason for being there.

Here are a few ways you can help identify who is appropriate for the role:

 Who will the task impact?

 Who will have input or feedback for the responsible person to help the work be completed?
 Who are the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the task?
The consulted people will be in frequent, two-way communication with the responsible party, so it is
key to make sure that the right people are in this role to help accomplish the task efficiently and
correctly.

Back to the project at Office Green, we’ve got a “responsible” Financial Analyst and an “accountable”
Head of Finance. Who else would need to provide input on the product’s price points? Whose decisions
and feedback will directly affect the task? The Director of Product will need to be consulted on the
matter, as they oversee all product offerings. This person will have information about potential
changes to the product and how these changes might affect price points.

Informed

Individuals who are identified as needing to be “informed” need to know the final decisions that were
made and when a task is completed. It is common to have many people assigned to this category and
for some team members to be informed on most tasks. Team members or stakeholders here will not be
asked for feedback, so it is key to make sure people who are in this group only require status updates
and do not need to provide any direct feedback for the completion of the effort.

Key questions to ask yourself in order to ensure that you have appropriately captured individuals in the
“informed” role are:

 Who cares about this task’s completion?

 Who will be affected by the outcome?
Now that you’ve determined who is responsible, accountable, and consulted on the Office Green
project task, it is time to determine who needs to be informed about the task. Your Financial Analyst
has set the price points with input from the Director of Product, and the Head of Finance has approved.
You will now need to inform the Sales Team about the final price points, as they will need this
information to sell the product.

Pro tip: You could end up with a large number of team members and stakeholders who are placed in
the “informed” role. If so, make sure that you have a plan to keep them informed that is not labor-
intensive. Something as easy as view-only access to your project plan or meeting notes could prevent
you from having to create separate communications along the way.

Key takeaway

The RACI chart is a valuable tool. It can help you define and document project roles and
responsibilities, give direction to each team member and stakeholder, and ensure work gets done
efficiently. A RACI chart can also help you analyze and balance the workload of your team. While it may
take many revisions to make sure that your team members and stakeholders are being placed into the
right roles in your RACI chart, doing this work up front helps save time and prevent miscommunications
later on.

1.
Question 1

To pass this practice quiz, you must receive 100%, or 1 out of 1 point, by completing the activity below.
You can learn more about the graded and practice items in the Course Overview.

Activity Overview

In this activity, you will use a RACI chart to assign roles and responsibilities to project stakeholders. You
will analyze a scenario and determine each stakeholder’s relationship to project tasks and deliverables.

As a reminder, RACI charts help you determine who is:

 Responsible
 Accountable
 Consulted
 Informed
Be sure to complete this activity before moving on. The next course item will provide you with a
completed exemplar to compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until
you have completed this activity.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

As the project manager for Plant Pals, you must assemble a team that can develop and execute the
marketing and sales strategy to prepare for the launch. You must also assign roles and responsibilities
for each of the project tasks and identify stakeholders impacted by the project. You’ve determined that
the following people will be involved:

 Director of Product: Oversees the product offerings, and serves as a resource for marketing
and sales questions. Their knowledge of customer needs is vital to the project.
 Marketing Manager: Makes key decisions about the service launch and monitors task
completion. They oversee all marketing efforts, including concept development, and sign off
on the service launch plan.
 Marketing Coordinator: Creates the marketing strategy, including all marketing assets. They
work closely with the Copywriter and report to the Marketing Manager.
 Copywriter: Produces all Plant Pals ad content, writes product descriptions, and creates
promotional copy. They work with the Marketing Coordinator on all aspects of the marketing
strategy and report to the Marketing Manager.
 Head of Sales: Sets Office Green’s overall sales strategy and tracks the company’s progress
towards its sales goals. Their knowledge of customers’ buying behaviors can help the
marketing team develop their campaign. The Head of Sales oversees the Sales Manager.
 Sales Manager: Responsible for customer outreach and relationship management strategies,
so that Office Green meets its sales goals. They need to understand the final marketing
strategy and product offerings and convey that information to the Sales team. The Sales
Manager reports to the Head of Sales.
To develop and execute the marketing strategy and sales, your team must complete the following
tasks:

1. Create a marketing plan for the new service

2. Write promotional copy
3. Design marketing assets (e.g., flyers, brochures, and online advertisements)
4. Create a customer outreach and onboarding plan

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Add tasks to the RACI chart

Add the four tasks from the scenario to your RACI chart template under the
Task/Deliverable heading. Replace “Task/Deliverable” with the name of each task.

Step 3: Add team members to the RACI chart

Add your team members to the template. Replace “Role A” with “Director of Product,” and
so on.

Step 4: Assign letters in the RACI chart

For each task, assign the letters R, A, C, and I to the team members involved. Consult the
descriptions below to determine how your team members relate to the tasks:
Responsible: Who is responsible for completing this task? Consider these questions when
determining who is responsible:

 Which department manages the work?

 Who should perform the work?
Accountable: Who is accountable if the task isn’t completed? Remember that only one
person should be accountable for each task or deliverable. When deciding who is
accountable, ask yourself:

 Who might delegate the task to another team member?

 Who makes final decisions about the task?
 Who should review the work to confirm it is complete?
Consulted: Who should be consulted for their insights, expertise, or strong opinions on
the task? Here are a few questions to help identify whether someone should be consulted:

 Who can give feedback to responsible individuals to help them complete tasks?
 Who are the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the task?
Informed: Who should be kept informed about task progress or project decisions? Key
questions to ask yourself include:

 Who is invested in task completion but not directly involved in the work?
 Who is affected by the project outcome?
Note: The number of stakeholders you keep informed about each task can vary depending
on your situation. In some cases, you might choose to inform all stakeholders who aren't
responsible, accountable, or consulted. In others, you could leave some cells in your RACI
chart blank for certain tasks. Both approaches are fine for this activity.

Pro Tip: Save the template

Finally, be sure to save a blank copy of the RACI chart template you used to complete this
activity. You can use it for further practice or in your own personal or professional
projects. These templates will be useful as you put together a portfolio of project
management artifacts. You can use them to work through your thought processes as you
demonstrate your experience to potential employers.

What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following elements in your completed RACI chart:

 The RACI chart includes all of the project roles from the scenario.
 The RACI chart includes all the deliverables/tasks from the scenario.
 The appropriate individuals are Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and
Informed.
 Only one individual is accountable for each task or deliverable.
  At least one individual is responsible for each task. (Note: Some tasks may not need
Consulted or Informed individuals.)
Exemplar: Set project roles and responsibilities in a RACI chart
Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations
for the activity.

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed RACI chart. Review your work using each of the
criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers
to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: Your answers may vary (particularly for Consulted and Informed individuals),
depending how you interpreted each stakeholder’s responsibilities.

In the exemplar for the Plant Pals service, each role has a RACI designation for each task or
deliverable. Let’s review each of the tasks:

Create a marketing plan for the new service.

 The Marketing Coordinator reports to the Marketing Manager and is responsible for
creating the marketing plan.
 The Marketing Manager is accountable for marketing efforts, including the
marketing concept. They have the final say in launching and advertising the Plant
Pals service.
 The Copywriter writes and edits the promotional copy, therefore they are
consulted on the marketing plan.
 The Director of Product and Head of Sales are consulted on marketing campaigns
since they understand customer needs and buying behaviors.
 The Sales Manager can be kept informed of marketing efforts since they need to
convey that information to the Sales Team.
Write promotional copy.

 The Copywriter is responsible for drafting and editing promotional copy.

 The Marketing Manager is accountable for the Copywriter’s work.
 The Marketing Coordinator is consulted on the promotional and sales copy as they
create the marketing plan.
 All other members of the team can be kept informed about the status of the
promotional copy.
Design marketing assets.

 The Marketing Manager delegates tasks to the Marketing Coordinator, who is

responsible for producing assets.
 The Marketing Manager is accountable for marketing efforts because they make the
final decisions.
  The Copywriter is consulted about the marketing assets by the Marketing
Coordinator.
 All other team members can be kept informed about marketing design matters.
Create a customer outreach and onboarding plan

 The Sales Manager is responsible for customer outreach and onboarding plan.
 The Head of Sales oversees the Sales Manager, so they are accountable for the
customer outreach and onboarding plan.
 The Director of Product is consulted on questions about customer needs, while the
Marketing Manager is consulted about the marketing plan.
 All other team members can be kept informed about customer outreach.

Getting the most out of a RACI chart

In the previous video, you learned how critical a RACI chart is for creating clear roles and
giving direction to each team member on a project. In this reading, we will further explore
the function and components of RACI charts and how to use them to communicate
responsibilities to project teams.

Definition and structure

Determining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed on your projects

allows you to keep control of the stakeholders roles on your project.

Workload balance

Are there too many tasks assigned to one stakeholder? When you complete your chart, it is
a good idea to go back through and tally the number of Rs assigned to each stakeholder.
This can help you identify potentially overloading one team member with work. Using a
RACI chart to determine responsibility for tasks can help mitigate single points of failure
(known as creating silos, where the knowledge and responsibility for a task falls on one
person) and allow you, as the project manager, to delegate tasks and avoid burnout.
Maintaining workload balance is a critical part of project management. It is easy to fall
into the pattern of relying on your top performers to keep the project moving forward. But
this isn’t always healthy for the project or your team. If you find that you don’t have the
right people to assign responsibilities to, take a step back and evaluate your team.

Put your RACI into practice

Once you have created your RACI chart, it is time to put it into practice. You will first need
to share your RACI chart with your sponsors and stakeholders to get buy-in and sign-off.
When you get stakeholder buy-in, you will be able to set clear expectations for your team
and ensure that everyone is aligned on their responsibilities.

You can document your team and stakeholders’ acknowledgment of these expectations
through the project charter, meeting notes, and in the RACI chart itself. Think back to a
time when you were expected to do something you did not agree with, or weren’t clear on.
That disagreement or lack of clarity made it difficult to do your best work, right? Getting
buy-in and continually checking in with your stakeholders and your team is the way to
avoid this potential pitfall!

As you take the time to ensure that each task has an owner identified with the appropriate
level of engagement, you are streamlining your communication and decision-making
process over the life cycle of your project.

When should you use a RACI chart?

If you are wondering if you should use a RACI chart on your project, it is a good idea to
evaluate the complexity of the effort. For example, if you have a very small project team
with a small amount of stakeholders, clearly defined roles, and a short timeline,
introducing a RACI chart could possibly slow down the project. However, larger projects,
or even projects that involve a large number of stakeholders, could greatly benefit from a
RACI chart. It is always a good idea to work through the creation of a RACI chart and
evaluate the outcome. Even if you do not end up using the RACI chart, you will have a
better understanding of the project, and your effort will contribute to your project
management experience overall.

1.
Question 1

To pass this practice quiz, you must receive at least 80%, or 4 out of 5 points, by completing the activity
and answering corresponding quiz questions. You can learn more about the graded and practice items
in the Course Overview.
Activity Overview

In this activity, you will apply your knowledge of RACI charts to a new phase of project planning. You
will analyze a scenario about the execution phase of the Plant Pals project. Then you will use a RACI
chart to determine each stakeholder’s relationship to project tasks.

As a reminder, RACI charts help you determine who is:

 Responsible
 Accountable
 Consulted
 Informed
Be sure to complete this activity before moving on. The next course item will provide you with a
completed exemplar to compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until
you have completed this activity.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

As the lead project manager for the Plant Pals project, you’re managing the launch of this new service.
Previously, you worked with your project team as they developed a marketing plan, wrote promotional
copy, designed marketing assets, and created a sales plan for customer outreach.

Now you are gathering a new team to design and develop the Plant Pals landing page. When potential
customers click on Plant Pals advertisements, the landing page is the first part of the Office Green
website they will see. The team members you need to build the landing page include:

 Web Manager: Makes final decisions about new site features and content changes. They sign
off on the landing page design and launch plans. They also coordinate maintenance and
management tasks to keep the page operating smoothly.
 Graphic Designer: Creates and chooses images and typefaces for the landing page and
submits them to the Web Designer for approval. They also provide feedback on the landing
page design and mockup.
 Web Developer: Supports the product team by writing the code that powers the site. They give
feedback to the Web Designer on the landing page mockup. The Web Developer also helps set
quality standards for the project.
 Quality Assurance Tester: Reviews system specifications and runs quality tests for the new
landing page. They run test scripts and review results, create reports, and document technical
issues. These tests identify problems that the team can then resolve before launch.
 Content Writer: Creates the written content that explains how Plant Pals works and helps
potential customers sign up for the service. They give feedback to the Web Designer on the
landing page mockup.
 Web Designer: Creates the landing page design, determining how the page looks and how
customers interact with it. The Web Designer connects the creative and technical elements of
the project, ensuring that the website is both attractive and functional. They report to the Web
Manager, who makes final decisions on new site features.
To build and launch a landing page for Plant Pals, the team needs to accomplish the following tasks:

1. Design a landing page

 2. Create a landing page mockup
3. Design image assets
4. Write content
5. Code the landing page
6. Test the landing page

Step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Add tasks to the RACI chart

Add the six tasks from the scenario to your RACI chart template under the Task/Deliverable heading.
Replace “Task/Deliverable” with the name of each task.

Step 3: Assign roles to the RACI chart

Update the Role headers with each team member role from the scenario. Replace “Role A” with “Web
Manager,” and so on.

Step 4: Assign letters in the RACI chart

For each task, assign the letters R, A, C, and I to the team members involved. Consult the descriptions
below to determine how your team members relate to the tasks:

Responsible: Who is responsible for completing this task? Consider these questions when determining
who is responsible:

 Which department manages the work?

 Who should perform the work?
Accountable: Who is accountable if the task isn’t completed? Remember that only one person should
be accountable for each task or deliverable. When deciding who is accountable, ask yourself:

 Who might delegate the task to another team member?

 Who makes final decisions about the task?
 Who should review the work to confirm it is complete?
Consulted: Who should be consulted for their insights, expertise, or strong opinions on the task? Here
are a few questions to help identify whether someone should be consulted:

 Who can give feedback to responsible individuals to help them complete tasks?
 Who are the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the task?
Informed: Who should be kept informed about task progress or project decisions? Key questions to ask
yourself include:

 Who is invested in task completion but not directly involved in the work?
 Who is affected by the project outcome?
Note: The number of stakeholders you keep informed about each task can vary depending on your
situation. In some cases, you might choose to inform all stakeholders who aren't responsible,
accountable, or consulted. In others, you could leave some cells in your RACI chart blank for certain tasks.
Both approaches are fine for this activity.
Pro Tip: Save the Template
Finally, be sure to save a blank copy of the RACI chart template you used to complete this activity. You
can use it for further practice or in your own personal or professional projects. Templates like this one
will be useful as you put together a portfolio of project management artifacts. You can use them to talk
through your thought processes as you demonstrate your experience to potential employers.

What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following elements in your completed RACI chart:

 The RACI chart includes all of the project roles.

 The RACI chart includes all the tasks.
 The appropriate individuals are listed as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.
 Only one individual is accountable for each deliverable/task.
 At least one individual is responsible for each task. (Note that some tasks may not need
Consulted or Informed individuals.)

Did you complete this activity?

1 / 1 point

Yes

No
Correct

Thank you for completing this activity! RACI charts help ensure that everyone understands their roles
and responsibilities for each phase of a project. Review the quiz feedback below to find out how you
did. Then go to the next course item to compare your work to a completed exemplar.
2.
Question 2

In the RACI model, which role reviews the work to confirm it is complete?
1 / 1 point

Responsible

Accountable

Consulted

Informed
Correct

The accountable stakeholder has final decision-making authority, so they need to make sure the work
is complete.
3.
Question 3

What key questions should you consider when deciding who should be consulted about a task? Select
all that apply.
1 / 1 point

Who might delegate the work to another team member?

Who are the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the task?
Correct

Finding out who has expert knowledge in certain areas helps you determine who should be consulted.

Who can give feedback to responsible individuals to help them complete tasks?
Correct

Finding out who can give feedback on task completion helps you determine who should be consulted.

Which department manages the work?

4.
Question 4

In your completed RACI chart, how many stakeholders are accountable for the “design the landing
page” task?
1 / 1 point

2 or more
Correct

Only one stakeholder should be accountable for a given task. In this case, it’s the Web Manager.
5.
Question 5

In your completed RACI chart, who is responsible for creating the landing page mockup?
1 / 1 point
The Web Designer

The Graphic Designer

The Web Manager

The Web Developer

Correct

The Web Designer creates the layout, determining how the page looks and how customers interact with
it.

Activity Exemplar: Assign project roles and responsibilities in a

RACI chart
Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations
for the activity.

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed RACI chart. Review your work using each of the
criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers
to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: Your answers may vary (particularly for Consulted and Informed individuals),
depending how you interpreted each stakeholder’s responsibilities.

Let’s review the six tasks in the RACI chart. The exemplar includes RACI assignments for
each task and role:

Design a landing page

 The Web Manager has the final say on many aspects of the project. They are
accountable for most tasks, including the initial design of the page.
 The Web Designer is responsible for designing the landing page, which they submit
to the Web Manager for approval.
 The Graphic Designer is consulted on the landing page design.
 The Web Developer, Quality Assurance Tester, and Content Writer can all be kept
informed on the state of the design throughout the process.
Create landing page mockup
  The Web Designer is responsible for creating the landing page mockup and
incorporating it into the Office Green website.
 The Web Manager signs off on the mockup, making them accountable.
 The Graphic Designer, Web Developer, and Content Writer are all consulted on the
mockup because they contribute content and design elements to the landing
page.
 The Quality Assurance tester can be kept informed.
Design image assets

 The Graphic Designer is responsible for creating the image assets for the landing
page.
 The Web Designer signs off on the image assets, making them accountable.
 All other stakeholders can be kept informed.
Write content

 The Content Writer is responsible for writing the landing page content.
 The Web Manager signs off on the content, making them accountable.
 All other stakeholders can be kept informed.
Code the landing page

 The Web Developer is responsible for writing the code that powers the landing
page.
 The Web Manager makes sure the Web Developer produces functional code,
making them accountable.
 All other stakeholders can be kept informed.
Test the landing page

 The Quality Assurance tester is responsible for running quality tests for the landing
page.
 The Web Developer should be consulted about coding requirements.
 The Web Manager signs off on the final product, making them accountable.
 All other stakeholders can be kept informed.
.
Why projects fail: Initiation missteps
You have been learning the necessary planning steps to take in order to set a project up for success.
But despite your best efforts, projects can still fail. Sometimes the factors that lead to project failure
are out of your control. The technology to complete the project is unavailable, for example, or a
stakeholder decides to drastically change the goals of the project. However, there are factors that can
lead to failure that are more in your control, such as being unable to complete the project deliverables
within the agreed upon time or being unable to fulfill the stakeholder’s vision for the project.

In this reading, we will explore a few key reasons why projects fail and examine how missteps during
the initiation phase can lead to project failure.
Unclear expectations

You may remember the questions you need to answer at the start of the initiation phase of the project,
including:

 What is the end goal?

 What are the expected deliverables and schedule?
 What is the budget?
 Who are the stakeholders?
Not taking the time at the beginning of a project to ask essential questions, document decisions, and
understand the true scope of the project may lead to failure. After all, without directions, you can never
reach your destination.

Unrealistic expectations

We all like to impress our managers, but sometimes, we accidentally agree to unrealistic expectations
and set our projects up for failure from the start. For example, if a project is expected to take two weeks
due to the level of detail and effort required but we try to complete it in one week, we will not have the
resources available to meet the consolidated schedule. This will likely result in quality issues. It’s
important to understand the requirements of a project before agreeing to any deadlines. As a best
practice, don't commit to firm dates when initiating the project to avoid setting unrealistic
expectations. You will have more information and will be able to better manage expectations in the
planning phase.

Miscommunication

Clear communication is key. If information is not communicated in a timely manner, does not include
pertinent information (risks, decisions made, scope changes, etc.), or is not sent to the correct
stakeholders, then you may be setting yourself up for failure. Conducting a stakeholder analysis and
then utilizing a RACI chart to understand which stakeholders should be kept informed or consulted is a
great start to creating an effective communication strategy.

As a project manager, you do not necessarily have to cater to everyone’s unique communication styles,
but you do have to set expectations about how communication will occur. As you are kicking off a
project, make sure you take some time to understand the communication needs of your team and
stakeholders. Some people dislike emails and would prefer to have a phone conversation, some prefer
to have communication in writing, and some prefer face-to-face meetings. A strong communication
system incorporates all of these methods. Set expectations for your communication approach early so
that you, your team members, and your stakeholders have a clear understanding of how you will all
communicate.

Lack of resources

Resources include your team members, budget, and materials. Unfortunately, without proper
planning, your resources can quickly be over-tasked or depleted. Sometimes project managers don’t
account for the fact that team members are juggling multiple tasks and may not be able to devote the
time necessary to complete all of their assigned tasks correctly and on time. Or, project managers may
not realize that a specific skill set is required to complete certain tasks. Ensuring that the right team
members are available at the right time is crucial.

Another common error is to incorrectly calculate your project expenses. For example, imagine you
have a project budget of $10,000. If your project requires $10,000 for materials and you also have to
ship and install those materials, then you will not have enough money to complete your project. Clarify
your resource needs and confirm their availability with leadership up front to avoid delays or issues
further along in the project.

Scope creep

The scope provides an overarching framework of what is and is not included in the project’s work and
deliverables. Defining the scope in the initiation phase helps identify the resources needed, the cost
associated with those resources, and the schedule required to complete the work. Sometimes projects
fail because the scope of the project grows and impacts to the scope are not captured.

For example, imagine that you are given a project that originally includes three deliverables. During the
course of the project, a stakeholder requests that two additional deliverables be included, but no
changes are made to the schedule, budget, or team members to reflect the impact of the increased
number of deliverables. As a project manager, when deliverables change, you have to make sure that
you are capturing the potential impact of those changes to the schedule, budget, and quality. This is
why it is so important to make sure that everything is documented in the initiation phase. Have a plan
for how to handle scope creep if it occurs, and clarify who has the authority to approve scope changes.

Key takeaway

Taking the time to clarify expectations—particularly around communication methods, resources

available, and scope—during the initiation phase will increase the chances of your project’s success.
Even if you follow these best practices, you may still encounter failure. Remember that in every failure,
there is the opportunity to learn, grow, and do better the next time.

For additional reading on lessons that can be learned from projects that have failed, check out this
article: Seven Lessons to Learn from a Failed Project

https://project-management.com/7-lessons-to-learn-from-a-failed-project/
Managing resources to get the job done

As we continue learning the tools and techniques that will help you succeed in project
management, let’s consider the importance of project resources. Project resources are
who and what you depend on to complete a project, including budget, materials, and
people. While each resource is a separate entity, they all depend on one another—your
team cannot do the work without materials, and you cannot purchase materials without a
budget. In this reading, we will discuss some key project resources and tips for managing
them.

Budget

Have you ever created a budget for yourself or your family? If you have, you know that a
budget includes a wide variety of expenses. For example, a monthly personal budget can
contain items that include anything from food to transportation costs to rent. With only a
certain amount of funding to cover each expense, it is important to closely monitor your
spending to avoid going over budget. If you go over in one category of your budget, you
will impact the others and will need to make adjustments. As a project manager, you will
take the same general approach with your project budget.

Common aspects of your project budget will include:

 Team: the cost of the people performing the work

 Services: any outside vendors helping your project
 Materials: any tangible items purchased to complete the project
Throughout your project management career, you will encounter various types of projects
with a wide range of budgets. Some budgets will have no margin for error, whereas other
budgets may be more flexible. Regardless of this variability, budget issues will inevitably
arise, so it is important to make sure that the budget is aligned with the project scope and
the stakeholders’ asks.

People

People are a vital resource on your project; you cannot complete your project on your
own! You will need to rely on a strong team of people with a variety of skill sets and
specialties to get the job done. As a project manager, make sure that you have
commitment and buy-in on the number of hours it will take for your resources to
complete their tasks. Additionally, you will find the best partners on a project are people
who are aligned to the goals of the project or who are most interested in the project's
work.

Materials

Materials can be different on every project. For example, if you were working on an IT
project, materials could include hard drives and computers to handle the coding efforts.
You can also have materials that are intangible. For example, on the same IT project,
online storage, software programs, or employee training may also be considered
materials. It is important to account for any and all potential materials in order to execute
a successful project with the right people and within budget.

Key takeaway

Your project resources include things like the budget, people, and materials. As a project
manager, remembering that your resources are dependent on one another is key to
understanding the function of each resource and determining how to manage all of them.
Take the time to interview stakeholders and potential team members about what
resources they think they will need in order to deliver the project. They may have an idea
of materials they require that you may not have accounted for within the budget, for
example, or can identify people with expertise that would make them an asset to the
project team.

Next, we will discuss project charters, which are an important tool that project managers
use to gain clarity on the resources that they will need for a project.

Project charters: Elements and formats

A project charter clearly defines the project and outlines the necessary details for the project to reach
its goals. A well-documented project charter can be a project manager’s secret weapon to success. In
this reading, we will go over the function, key elements, and significance of a project charter and learn
how to create one.

The charter is the formal way that the project’s goals, values, benefits, and details are captured. You
can think of the charter as the compass for your project since you will use it throughout the life cycle of
the project. Many stakeholders will look to your project charter to ensure that you are indeed aligned
with strategic goals and set up for achieving the desired end goal. Since the project charter carries so
much importance, it is important to incorporate the right amount of detail while omitting
miscellaneous elements.

As with any of your project documents, it is a good idea to collaborate with your team and stakeholders
early and often. Developing the project charter in collaboration with both groups can help you make
sure that your project charter addresses your key stakeholders’ most important concerns and keeps
your team aligned. Be sure to use the business case—the reason for initiating the project—as the
guiding direction to your project charter. Project charters can vary from organization to organization
and from project to project. It is key for a project manager to identify the best type of charter for the
project in order to capture the relevant information and set your project up for success. Project
charters will vary but usually include some combination of the following key information:

 introduction/project summary
 goals/objectives
 business case/benefits and costs
 project team
 scope
 success criteria
 major requirements or key deliverables
 budget
 schedule/timeline or milestones
 constraints and assumptions
 risks
 OKRs
 approvals
You will likely use many different project charter formats throughout your project management career.
One example is a condensed, simplified document, like the one you'll learn about in the upcoming
video and the one linked in the activities. A short and simple project charter can be used on smaller
projects that are not very complex.

For more complex projects, you may link to additional analysis or documents. You can house these
items in the appendix.

Your organization may have a unique template for you to use, or you may have the flexibility to
leverage one you come across in your career. As your project progresses, you may also encounter
revisions to your project charter—and that is okay. Remember, it is a living document; let it grow with
your project, and review and revisit it often to ensure you are aligned.

Introducing new tools to a team

Project management tools and processes are always evolving. In this reading, we will
discuss the importance of choosing the right tools for a project and the implications of
introducing new tools to your team.
As a project manager, it is important to be open to implementing new tools that may be
beneficial to a project's outcome. You will experience change in lots of forms throughout
your project’s life cycle, and navigating change is essential. But if you choose to
implement a tool that your team is unfamiliar with—especially if you decide to roll it out
midway through a project—your team may be hesitant. People embrace change
differently, particularly if the change will directly impact their routine and the way they
work. Simply put: Change can be met with resistance.

Before you introduce a new tool to your team, you should be sure that this change is
actually going to benefit the project, and ensure that those involved in your project
understand the benefits of this change. Demonstrating to your teammates and
stakeholders that you understand the tool and have evaluated its competency will help
build trust, especially if this new tool is replacing an existing tool. Taking the time to
introduce the new tool to your team members will also demonstrate that you have the
best interest of the team in mind—not just the success of the project.

Here are some important considerations and keys to successfully introducing new tools:

 Discuss the tool early and often, if possible. The team should not feel blindsided
by a new change. Make sure they know the change is coming as early as possible.
This will help them prepare for an introduction or migration to the new tool.
 Ask for feedback from key stakeholders. You could get great feedback on features
that you may have overlooked without asking for their expertise. You can solicit
this feedback by requesting their input about functionality or have them list
features in order of priority. The key is to create an opportunity for stakeholders to
provide their feedback and allow you to incorporate their feedback into next steps.
 Involve the key stakeholders in demonstrations as you get closer to making the
final decision on the project tracking tool. You will be able to leverage key
stakeholders' acceptance by letting them test the product or sign up for a trial run.
It is also important to make sure that the tool is actually going to meet the mark
 and provide a meaningful change for the project. You may want to pull in key users
from your team to test and familiarize themselves with the tool prior to rolling it
out. This will allow the team to get on board with your plans or discuss their
concerns beforehand. This will also highlight in-house experts for future training,
assistance, and implementation.
 Ensure the tool is fully functional before the team is introduced to it. Whenever
possible, hold off from introducing the tool if it still has any issues. Make sure the
tool is accessible for all users. Keep in mind, your team members may resist a tool
that doesn’t live up to how it is supposed to function. This will impact
implementation and acceptance fairly significantly, so put your best tool forward!
 Set up training for the tool as needed before you ask the team to actually use it.
Everyone has different levels of comfort with different tools. It is your job as the
project manager to ensure that each team members’ needs are addressed. Setting
up training also helps create positive first impressions, which will lead to higher
productivity and quicker, more successful implementation and acceptance.
Remember, some pushback is normal, but successful project managers should take the
steps to prepare and mitigate any friction for their team when possible.

Pro tip: If time allows, plan for a period of transition if you are replacing an existing tool. It
is common to allow both tools to operate during this period. You will need to “sunset,” or
retire, the existing tool eventually, but allowing for a period of transition between using
the old tool and the new tool can help stakeholders and team members feel more at ease
and give them time to gain familiarity with the new tool. Be prepared for productivity to
be impacted as the team transitions from one tool to another.

Using Google Sheets for project management

Essential Sheets features for project management

Collaborate with your team

Google Sheets makes it easy to collaborate and share information. This is useful for remote
workgroups or working with teams that have different schedules.

When you share your Sheet, you can select from the following permissions:

 editing, which allows others to make direct edits and changes to the file;
 commenting, which allows others to add comments and make suggestions; or
 view only, which allows others to view the file but not edit, comment, or suggest. This is a good
choice if you don’t want any changes to be made to the file.
Once you’ve shared your Sheet with your team and given them either editing or commenting
permissions, you can all collaborate directly in the Sheet by leaving comments. You can also assign a
task or action item through comments.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Share and collaborate on files
Format your spreadsheet

Create lists
To create any list in Sheets, simply label each list—for example, Name, Date, Notes, or other criteria—in
the header row. (The header row is the top row in the spreadsheet.) Then, add a different list item in
each cell underneath the list title. Most lists are arranged vertically, but you might prefer a horizontal
list depending on the types of items. Note: You’ll learn how to build out a full project plan and prioritize
tasks later in this course.

Display and hide content

Freeze rows or columns

Freezing the header row (or column for horizontal lists) and formatting headers is a great way to make
the list titles stand out. Freezing a header row keeps the row in place when you scroll down the list, so
you can always see what the list titles are. Format the headers just like you would text in a document
by changing the font, style, size, or color.

Group and hide related content

Grouping rows and columns allows you to expand and collapse larger categories of data or information
with a single click. This makes your spreadsheet easier to read and manage by hiding the grouped data
when it’s not needed, or quickly ungroup and show when it is needed.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more:

 Freeze or merge rows and columns; Group, ungroup, or hide rows or columns
 Google Sheets cheat sheet

Add checkboxes
Checkboxes provide a quick and highly-visual way to track progress on a task or indicate whether
certain criteria have been met.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Add checkboxes to
spreadsheets

Organize data

Create dropdown lists

If you’re working with others on a shared Sheet, you might end up with inconsistent responses or
descriptions of data. For example, one teammate may list their task as “done” while another notes it as
“complete.” Adding a dropdown list (also referred to as data validation) ensures the data entered into
your spreadsheet is exactly what you specify. It also makes it much faster for others to add data since
they’re selecting from a predetermined list of options.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Restrict data entry with lists
Add color coding
Sometimes it’s helpful to change the color of cells and text so you can quickly see how your project is
progressing. You can add color coding to your spreadsheet by applying conditional formatting.
Conditional formatting formats cells in a certain way if they contain specific information. For example,
track progress status as “Not started” in red, “In progress” in orange, and “Complete” in green.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: See data changes with
conditional formatting

Sort and filter data

Large sets of data can be difficult to manage. Sheets helps you sort and filter data to limit what is
visible and find specific types of data within your spreadsheet.

Sorting data allows you to arrange data in exactly the order you want it to appear in, like alphabetical,
by date, or progress level. Filtering limits what data gets displayed and shows you only the data you
are interested in, such as tasks that have not yet been started, or budget items within a certain value
range.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Filter data in a spreadsheet

Add links
It can be helpful to link to other project documentation or even external websites in your spreadsheet.
This provides your team easy, centralized access to all relevant data they might need. For example, you
could add a link to your project charter document from your project plan spreadsheet.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more:

 Use links
 Link to data in a spreadsheet

Visualize data

Create a pivot table

A pivot table is a basic data analysis tool. Pivot tables summarize your data and can help show the
relationships between data points, making it easier to understand all the information contained in your
spreadsheet. You’ll learn more about how to create and use a pivot table later in this course. Or, check
out the Help Center article below.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Create and edit pivot tables

Make a chart or graph

Presenting data in charts and graphs is a great way to quickly and effectively summarize important
information about your project to stakeholders and make reports and presentations more engaging.
Sheets enables you to automatically create different kinds of charts and graphs using the data in your
spreadsheet.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Insert and edit charts

Perform calculations

Use functions
Functions can be used to manipulate data and perform calculations. Google Sheets has a wide array of
functions that are already built in, which means they will automatically perform the calculations you
specify. Use functions to quickly calculate sums or averages, automatically determine start or end
dates, generate financial reports, and much more.

Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more:

 Add formulas and functions

 Google Sheets cheat sheet

Useful spreadsheet templates

Using spreadsheet templates for project management

Creating the same types of spreadsheets over and over can be time-consuming. You can save time by
using templates such as those available from the Google Sheets template gallery. Choose from a
variety of pre-made spreadsheets for budgets, schedules, and trackers, or create your own!

Some of the more common templates are described and linked below. To use the templates for these
course items, click the links below and select “Use Template”:

 Project Timeline: A project timeline template is useful if you want to track an entire project
from conception to close. This example includes a visual timeline that lays out the life cycle of
a project and the major activities that need to happen during each phase. You’ll learn more
about creating and tracking a project timeline later in the course and get to experience
working with your own project timeline templates.
 Project Tracking: A project tracking template is useful for tracking your project’s budget,
deliverables, and other data. This example includes columns for tracking costs and time, as
well as a column with dropdown lists for tracking tasks’ priority levels. Other features include
formulas for calculating hours, costs, and percentage of deliverables completed, which allow
you to track your spending and progress on a project.
 Gantt Chart: A Gantt chart combines many of the aspects of other types of project
management spreadsheets into one. It organizes tasks by day and is useful for showing the
relationships between the many moving parts of a project. It’s also helpful for managing a
project with multiple collaborators. Gantt charts often include conditional formatting that
makes cells change color based on how far along the project is so you can immediately
determine how much progress you have made on a particular task.
 Event Marketing Timeline: A timeline template is useful for creating a schedule, tracking
events, and visualizing the tasks and milestones involved in a project. You might use this
 template to manage a project that involves a lot of marketing or public-facing tasks. You can
track social media posts, market research, and coordinate content across multiple platforms.
Check out these resources from the Google Help Center to learn more: Create document templates

Demonstrating your knowledge of project management tools

During an interview for a project manager position, the interviewer may ask you to discuss
the project management tools you are familiar with or have used in the past. There are
many types of project management tools that you will come across during your career.
These tools will continue to grow and change as technology improves. Being able to talk
about these tools, and how you use them, will be crucial to landing the role.

In addition to the interviewer asking general questions about tools, they may ask more
specific questions, like “How do you know if a project is off track?” It’s important to tie this
answer back to the types of scheduling tools you have learned about in this course. If you
haven’t had experience working with certain scheduling tools, like Smartsheet or digital
spreadsheets—try to leverage real-life experience.

For example, have you ever planned for a move? If so, you can discuss how you planned
your timeline and scheduled vendors so that you could meet your move date. Did you use
a spreadsheet to keep track of your budget, schedule, and belongings? This experience
demonstrates you understand how to use tools. It also demonstrates that you know the
importance of creating, monitoring, and managing the project schedule to deliver results
at project completion.

Another related question the interviewer may ask could be, “How do you execute tasks
within your timeline?” This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your ability to be
productive by sharing your experience with tools, such as digital documents or
spreadsheets. These tools help you create project artifacts, track tasks, and store project
details in one place! You can also use them as a collaboration tool because they are easily
shareable with teammates and stakeholders and allow for real-time updates.

Finally, there are special project management tools, also called work management tools,
that put all the benefits discussed above into one place. Project management tools such
as Asana, Monday.com, Basecamp, and Trello are among some of the top ranked tools for
managing projects. These tools help you plan, track, and complete work across many
project phases. They often have visually appealing layouts and automated features that
save time and create efficiency in a project manager’s day-to-day tasks. Explaining your
knowledge of these tools—and how they benefit the project manager, team, and company
—in an interview is a great way to demonstrate that you are qualified for the role.
Pro tip: Learn more by trying free tutorials or trial versions of popular project
management tools. By navigating project management software, you will be able to
explain the uses and functionality of these types of tools firsthand. Here are some
examples to get started:

 Asana and Asana Guide

 Basecamp
 Trello
 Jira
 ClickUp
 Monday.com
 Microsoft Project or Project Libre (open source)
 Smartsheet (Demo)

Build a project management tool tracker

As you progress through this course, you will learn about different types of tools used by
project managers and the organizations that hire them. Tools can include software
applications like Adobe, Google, and Microsoft and specific work management tools like
Jira and Asana. They can also include methodologies, techniques, formulas and concepts,
and technologies related to project management.

This reading provides step-by-step instructions for creating a tracker for all of these types
of tools. You can use your tracker to list the different tools you learn about, their
descriptions and links, their features and benefits, and your level of experience with each.
This way, you can easily identify the tools required for different roles and can determine
where you might want to focus your professional development efforts.

Developing your tool tracker spreadsheet

Follow these steps to begin creating your project management tool tracker:

Step 1: Create a new spreadsheet

Start by opening a new spreadsheet using your preferred method. If you have a Google
account, click the link to open a Project Management Tool Tracker Template.

Some of the information has already been filled in for you as an example. Feel free to
modify your Tracker in the way that works best for you.

Step 2: Add column headers

Consider the different types of information you’d like to track about each tool, and add
these as column headers in your tracker. (The header is the top cell or cells in a column in
the spreadsheet.)

Here are some example column headers:

  Tool Name
 Description/Benefits
 Link to product website
 Link to course content in Coursera
 Cost to use
 Requirements (training/equipment)
 Your current experience with the tool
 Notes

Step 3: Add tools and relevant information

Review some of the course videos, readings, and activities so far that discuss project
management tools. Select three or four tools and add the names to the tracker. Add any
information you have about each tool to the different columns. To help you get started,
the template has several tools listed that have already been mentioned in this course. Feel
free to edit the list to include the tools that are most relevant to your progress.

You might not be able to fill in all the columns with information just from this course, so
do your own research if necessary.

For example, we discuss the work management tool Asana in the video Common project
management tools, but we only cover some of the features and benefits. You can look up
the Asana website online and add more information about what features are offered,
along with pricing and system requirements.

Step 4: Format your sheet

After you’ve added a few tools and some initial information, format your sheet by bolding
column headers and adding drop-down lists, conditional formatting, or web links. Try out
other formatting options like bolding, highlighting, or colors to make important text stand
out. Google Sheets training and help contains articles with step-by-step directions for how
to use all of these features and more.
Step 5: Continue adding tools
Continue to add more tools and information that’s relevant to your career goals. Search
job listings and add tools, software, or specific knowledge needed for jobs you’re
interested in.

Key takeaway

If you’ve followed the steps laid out in this reading, you'll be able to develop a tracker that
is useful to you as you continue on your project manager journey. Knowing what tools are
available, what their benefits are, which ones are used for certain types of projects, and
which ones you're skilled at will build your confidence. You'll be able to demonstrate to
employers that you have an understanding of the industry, even if you're applying for your
first project management role.
Peer-graded Assignment: Activity:
Create a project charter
Activity Overview

Earlier in this course, you examined a sample charter for the Plant Pals project as a whole. For
this exercise, you will create a new charter for an upcoming stage of the Plant Pals project. Be
aware that most projects have a single charter to set expectations and keep stakeholders
aligned. However, creating your own charter for the next stage of the project will give you a
chance to practice what you’ve learned.

In this activity, you will fill out a partially-completed project charter. Keep in mind that project
charters can differ significantly from project to project and company to company. However, most
charters include some variation of the components described in this activity. No matter what form
they take, charters lay out project goals, highlight benefits, and align stakeholders.

After you submit your work, review and respond to at least two of your classmates’ assignments.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

As the Plant Pals project manager, one of your responsibilities is building an Operations and
Training plan for the new service. The creation and implementation of this plan marks a new
stage of the Plant Pals project with its own set of goals and deliverables. Its main goal is to
create sustainable fulfillment and delivery practices for the service’s day-to-day operations.
Putting these processes in place is essential to making a launch of this size successful.

To meet this goal, your team will create internal processes and training procedures for support
teams, so they can meet the demands of the Plant Pals service. These processes will help
mitigate potential revenue losses due to late shipments and cancellations by ensuring an
efficient, high-quality customer experience. By ensuring that Plant Pals runs smoothly, the plan
also supports the larger project goal of a 5% revenue increase for Office Green.

You estimate that it will take six months to fully implement all protocols, including setting up
operational tools, putting delivery processes in place, and training employees. The Operations
and Training plan should stay within a budget of $75,000.

Some of the milestones your team must reach to complete this project include:
  Create a plant delivery and logistics plan to make the fulfillment process as efficient
as possible. Your target is to deliver 95% of orders on time within one month of
launch. Tasks include purchasing delivery trucks, hiring drivers, and calculating
delivery fees.
 Set up order processing and supply chain management software to make revenue
streams more efficient. Your team must select, install, and maintain the software to
ensure it continues to function properly. If it does, all orders should be packaged and
ready for shipment within two business days of being placed.
 Maintain excellent service standards by developing and launching an employee
training program. You want to train 90% of employees before the official service
launch. To reach this milestone, your team needs to create a communications plan,
prepare training lessons, and schedule and conduct training sessions.

Your first step is to create a charter to align your stakeholders and map out what your team
needs to know to create and implement the plan.

Step-By-Step Assignment Instructions

Step 1: Access the template

Step 2: Write an executive summary

Under Executive Summary, write 1-3 sentences outlining the project’s purpose and desired
outcomes.

For example, if you were writing an executive summary for the Plant Pals project as a whole, it
might say:

“Our plan is to create a service that offers high-volume customers small, low-maintenance plants
that can thrive in an office environment.”

Your summary for the Operations and Training plan charter should follow a similar format.

Step 3: Fill in the project goal

In the Project Goal section of the charter, record the main project goal of the Operations and
Training plan. This goal should be more detailed and specific than your executive summary. Use
the information from the scenario to make the goal SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Relevant, Time-bound).

For example, one of the SMART goals for the overall Plant Pals project is:

“Increase revenue by 5% by the end of the year by rolling out a new service that provides office
plants to top clients.”
Note: Most projects have multiple goals, but you only need one for this activity.

Step 4: Identify the project deliverables

In the Deliverables box, record three expected outcomes of the project. Remember, these
deliverables can be tangible or intangible project results.

For instance, one tangible deliverable of the overall Plant Pals project is, “send 1,000 plants to
100 customers.” An intangible deliverable could be, “increased brand awareness.”

Step 5: Determine the business case for the project

In the Business Case/ Background section, explain the reason for the project and how it
supports the company’s overall success. Making a business case also gives your team the
necessary context for project tasks, so be sure to include any useful background information as
well.

For example, the business case for the overall Plant Pals project might be, “This is a top
requested service from our customers, and it will also improve customer satisfaction and
retention.”

Step 6: Fill in the benefits and cost areas (optional)

The Benefits, Costs, and Budget section already includes three benefits of the project, three
cost areas, and the budget amount. If you would like, you can fill in any additional benefits or cost
areas from the scenario. This section of the charter is optional and will not be graded.

For benefits, describe what Office Green hopes to get out of the project. This can include direct
financial benefits (e.g., sales revenue), as well as indirect benefits (e.g., increased customer
trust). Remember that the benefits should support your business case.

For costs, think about how the completing project could impact the company. Consider time and
resources in addition to any financial impact.

 Note: You don’t need to assign monetary values to these cost areas in this
exercise. You will break down the costs of the Plant Pals Operations and Training
Plan project in detail in the next course, Project Planning: Putting It All Together.)

Step 7: Define the project scope (optional)

The Scope and Exclusion section already contains three areas that are in-scope and two that
are out-of-scope for the project. If you want to further define the scope, you can fill in additional
in-scope and out-of-scope items. This section of the charter is optional and will not be graded.
Note: The charter should also list the members of your project team. This section has been filled
out for you.

Step 8: Determine how to measure success

In the Measuring Success section, list two examples of success criteria that can help you
determine when the project has reached its goal. You can use criteria from the scenario or
determine other ways to measure project success. Remember that success criteria should be
specific and measurable.

For instance, success criteria for Plant Pals as a whole could include “a 5% increase in revenue
by the end of the year” or “a 5% increase in customer satisfaction (from 90% to 95%) three
months after launch.” Both of these criteria include metrics that make it easy to tell when the
project has reached its goals.

Pro Tip: Save the template

Finally, be sure to save a blank copy of the project charter template you used to complete this
activity. You can use it for further practice or in your own personal or professional projects. These
templates will be useful as you put together a portfolio of project management artifacts. You can
use them to work through your thought processes as you demonstrate your experience to
potential employers.