UNIT 6: PROJECT ACTIVITY PLANNING

Project planning in action

Project Planning entails describing the apparent, distinct activities and the work required in order to finish each activity in a particular project. It
frequently calls for making several assumptions about the accessibility of resources like hardware, software and personnel. It is a lot simpler to
plan nearer - term plans is more general in scope and nearer - term plans are more comprehensive. The recurring nature of the project
management process necessitates that plans be continuously supervised during the project implementation and from time to time updated after
each phase in accordance to the most recent information.

Project plans are normally created by jotting down the order of activities needed to implement the project from start to completion. The project is
divided into nine segments based on the planning process leaned around the life - cycle events frequently for software and hardware product
developers:

Nine segment based on the planning process:

1. Concept evaluation
 A project concept evaluation is a type of evaluation in which product/project concept developed so far is reviewed.

2. Requirement Identification
 It is determining the resources needed for the completion of the project like labor, equipment and materials. There must also be a schedule
indicating when each resource will be employ and note any assumptions and constraints made during the resource planning process.

3. Design
 It is creating the blueprint of the project with technical details that will enable the development team to proceed with the build and/or
configuration of the solution. It should be approved to ensure compliance with the standard.

4. Implementation
 This is the manner of completing the project.

5. Test
 This segment will detail all levels of testing to be performed during the build/configure/test phase of the project. Interaction of testing cycles
as well as environments to be utilized for the testing should be indicated.

6. Integration
 It is the coordination of the various elements of the project in order to meet their mutual goal of scope, schedule and budget to meet the
entire project goals.

7. Validation
 It confirms that the work being considered matches the details in WBS, project scope and project management plan.

8. Customer test and evaluation

 It is a critical aspect of project management involving complex system that must satisfy specification requirement of the customer.

9. Preparation and maintenance

 It is the guide in the preparation for the implementation of the project and the sustencial of all resources

Project charter
At the start of a project, the needs to be accomplished must be defined and make a decision how the project is going to continue. Each project
begins with an idea, a vision, or a business opportunity. This is the starting point that must be associated with organization’s business objectives.

The project charter is that initial point. The project charter is a single, consolidated sources of information about the project in terms of initiation
and planning. Essentially, the project charter defines the boundaries of the project. The charter lays the foundation of the project. It includes a
statement of the business’s needs.

The project charter describes the motivation behind the project and presents the business case for selecting the project. It defines the
organizations purpose in doing the project, outline the scope of the project and explain how the project’s desired outcome strengthen the
organization’s goals. It also identifies the deliverables, name the risks involved, describe the resources (both human and materials) and
technologies, and reflect on task dependencies. The charter forms a contract with all stakeholders involved in the project. Once the top
managemnet approves the project charter, the project manager prepares the project plan that shows how to achieve the approved project goals.
Every project charter should consist of at least three primary components which are project overview section, project approach section and project
approval section.

The Project Charter: Primary Components

1. Project Overview Section
2. Project Approach Section
3. Project Approval Section

Project Overview Section

1. Identification (Project Formal Name)
 Give the formal name of the project as well as any other terms that might be used to identify the project and the primary groups that will be
involved with it. With this consistent terminology, it will be easier for all parties involved like the project team, stakeholders, and end users to
discuss and work on the project.

1. Project Background and History

 Give any background information that will help explain how the project came to be.

2. Project Purpose and/or business need

 Explain why the project is needed. If applicable, include details of why existing tools or products are insufficient. If there are supporting
documents available for any of these reasons, list them here and include them as appendices to the charter.

3. Project scope and limitations

 Define the project scope, being watchful to note boundaries and limitations. The project scope should be unmistakably detailed so that all
parties involved are very aware of exactly what the project includes as well as what it doesn’t.

4. Project Goals and Objectives

 Using appropriate business terminology; state all objectives for the project. Be sure to include the project’s intended purpose in language that
is both concise and self-explanatory.

5. Project Sponsorship and major stakeholders

 Provide a list of names identifying the major parties involved in the project, such as prospect sponsors, stakeholders, and eventual project
owners. Be sure to identify the role of each individual listed so that there is no confusion concerning responsibilities later down the line.

6. Pertinent documents and references

 List any related documents or other resources that could be helpful in understanding various aspects of the project, such as the scope and
business need.

7. Overview of project terminology

 Provide a basic, but complete, glossary that defines special terms related to the project.

Project Approach Section

1. PROJECT DELIVERABLES
 List the major deliverables of the project and include when these goals should be achieved. Most importantly, remember to include the key
milestones of the project

2. RESPONSIBILITIES & ROLES

 Include a summary of all parties that will be involved in the project and what their roles will be. Also, list the needed skills and expertise that
each individual brings to the project as well as each person’s responsibilities.

3. PROJECT RESOURCES
 In addition to the human component; include other resources that will be needed for satisfactory completion of the project. Provide a list of
computer equipment, raw materials, working space, and any other resources that might be taxed during the project’s life cycle. If certain
resources will only be needed during specific phases of the project, make note of that as well.

4. RISK MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

 Give a summary of the risks that may be encountered during the project as well as how these risks may be minimized. Risk mitigation and
action steps can be listed.
5. PROJECT PROCESS SUMMARY
 Explain which of the organization’s project management methodologies will be employed for this project. If there is a plan to deviate from
standard means and methodologies, explain that as well.

6. PROJECT LIFE CYCLE OVERVIEW

 Give a basic breakdown of the project life cycle, and list the various stages that the project will go through. Make sure to include the
objectives of each stage and why the stage is necessary.

7. Basic Project Control & Communication Plan

 The project control component explains the tools that will be used to assist the project manager in tracking the project’s progress. It also
serves as a communication device for communicating the project’s progress to the project team, project sponsor, and project stakeholders.

8. PROJECT SCHEDULE
 Provide a fundamental schedule overview that lists, among other things, the key milestones and stages of the project. Various exhibits, such
as Gantt chart (including the associated Work Breakdown Structure) should be included in this section. Here, it can be quite advantageous to
use a project management software tool to produce a schedule that can be monitored and adjusted as the project progresses.

Project Approval Section

1. This section should list all of the names and roles of the major stakeholders along with their signatures, indicating that each of these individuals
is satisfied with the details included in the project charter.

2. In addition, if the project will require resources from other departments or groups, a representative from each of these divisions should be listed
in the approval section as well. The signature of these individuals will signify that they accept their own responsibilities for successful completion of
the project and agree to provide needed support.

Writing the Project Scope

Project Scope is the description of what the project is estimated to attain and state the budget of both time and cost that wants to be stipulated to
generate the project deliverables before the project is terminated. It is the part of project planning that involves determining and documenting a list
of specific project goals, deliverables, tasks and deadlines.

The work and resources that go into the creation of the product or services are essentially the things that frame the scope of the project. The
scope of the project outlines the objectives of the project and the goals that need to be met to achieve a satisfactory result. Every project manager
should understand how to define the project scope and there are some steps that can be followed when doing this.

STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED IN WRITING A PROJECT SCOPE

1. Justification
 A brief statement regarding the business need the project addresses. Project justification is simply identifying the reason for the project’s
existence. It is usually a statement or two identifying why the project is being created. Its important to have the project justification identified
because this helps to give overall direction to the project as well as emphasizing the final goal. The project justification should be clear and
precise manner so that it identifies a quantifiable measure of success for the end of the project.

2. Product scope description

 The characteristics of the products, services, and/ or results the project will produce.

3. Acceptance criteria
 The conditions that must be met before project deliverables are accepted.

4. Deliverables
 The products, services, and/or results your project will produce. Deliverables may include any training necessary for personnel at the
culmination of the project. Or deliverables may be a final product to be provided to the stakeholders. No matter what makes up a project’s
deliverables, specific details regarding them are the golden rule. The more clearly the deliverables are identified and specified, the less
chance there will be for scope creep to occur later on.

5. Project Exclusions
 Statements about what the project will not accomplish or produce.

6. Constraints
 Restrictions that limit what can be achieved, how and when can it can be achieved, and how much achieving it can cost
7. Assumptions
 Statements about how uncertain information will be addressed when conceiving, planning, and performing the project.

Developing the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Given a project it is too threatening if there is no known direction of efforts. In reality there is no such thing as magic formula in project completion.
It is matter of carrrying out one step at a time, per activity. Therefore, one must recognize that a project is simply a collection of a number of steps
that together sump up to the overall deliverable.

The Work Breakdown Structure is a comprehensive , systematic, and major tool in project planning that centers on the actual tasks of the project.
It shows the subdivision of tasks, subtasks and work packages in terms of organizational elements associated with the project. Every downward
signifies increasingly comprehensive definition of project work with the lowest level giving a picture of an individual element of work that can be
identified and responsibility assigned to a particular person. The Work Break Structure ought to consist of:

The purpose of WBS is to make certain that the entire work necessary to meet the project objectives is acknowledged, described and delegated.

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE CONSIST OF:

1. Product/Service Delivery Tasks
 The work necessary to productively describe, build and execute a product or service is completely detailed in the Work Breakdown Structure
to guarantee that all project deliverables can be finished on time and according to conditions.

2. Project Management Tasks

 Tasks that address project management activities like starting the project, generating and tracking the project plan, supervising the project
team and preserving expectations are all shown in the Work Breakdown Structure to allocate sufficient time and resources.

3. Training Tasks
 Training tasks are part of the Work Breakdown Structure so that team members and users obtain the right training at the exact times with no
negative impact on the project schedule.

4. Project Dependencies
 The four types of project dependencies and their deliverables are integrated in the Work Breakdown Structure to make sure that they are
followed.

More levels of detail are generally required for projects which are larger, more risky, dissimilar to past projects and difficult to define or vulnerable
to change. Overall for a generic project, the levels of details for WBS follow this format:
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE LEVELS

Level WBS Team Description

Level 1 (highest) Project The overall project under management
Level 2 Deliverable The major project components
Level 3 Subdeliverable Supporting deliverables
Level 4 Work Package Individual project activities

Sample Project Breakdown