Project Management Basics

What Project Professionals Do

25-10-2021
Project Management Hierarchy
Another Proj. Management
Hierarchy
PROJECT

MANAGER

TEAM
LEADER

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER

1 N
2
 PROJECT

Still Another
MANAGER

PROJECT

LEADER

TEAM TEAM
LEADER LEADER

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER

3
1 2

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER

4 5 6 N

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER
7 8
Relationship of PM to Customer &
Upper Management
STAGE 2: Project Planning and
Budgeting
• Performed first by the Project Manager
• Revised by the Project Team and the JPDS
personnel
• Looks at:
– Duration
– Cost
– Functionality
Out of the Project Planning and
Budgeting Stage Should Derive
• The project plan
– Personnel involved
– Project WBS (Work Break Down Structure)
– Project budget
– Project schedule in a Gantt format
– Project NETWORK chart
Work Breakdown Structure for Computer Order
Processing System Project
What specifically must be planned
for???
• A scope MANAGEMENT plan
• A schedule or Time MANAGEMENT plan
• A Budget or Cost MANAGEMENT plan
• A quality MANAGEMENT plan
• A risk contingency plan
• A communications plan
• A procurement plan
• A human resources plan
• ALL COMPRISE A PART OF THE PLANNNING DOC
Project Execution —the THIRD Stage

• Startup (also called rampup)

• progression
• close-down
 Projects and their Indigenous
Processes
1.        Collect Requirements 5.     Control Schedule
2.        Define Scope 1.    Estimate Costs
3.        Create WBS 2.     Determine Budget
4.        Verify Scope 3.     Control Costs
5.        Control Scope
1.     Plan Quality
1.        Define Activities
2.     Perform Quality
2.        Sequence Activities
Assurance
3.        Estimate Activity
Durations 3. Perform Quality
4.        Develop Schedule Control
 More Project processes [PMBOK]
• 1. Organizational Planning • 4. Risk Response Control
• 2. Staff Acquisition • 1. Procurement Planning
• 3. Communications Planning • 2. Solicitation Planning
• 4. Information Distribution • 3. Solicitation
• 5. Performance Reporting • 4. Source Selection
• 6. Administrative Closure • 5. Contract Administration
• 1. Risk Identification • 6. Contract Closeout
• 2. Risk Quantification
• 3. Risk Response Development
Strategy for Project Execution
• Hold weekly meetings--every Fri. afternoon
• Compare execution with plan--this is called
controlling
• Make adjustments as necessary
• Produce weekly status reports every Mon
morning
Functions, Tasks, Expectations of
the Project Manager (coach,
mentor, leader, negotiator,
assessor, informer, motivator)
• Selects team leader, subordinates
• Works hardest during the definition and
planning phases
• Assesses progress during execution and
reports on that
• Negotiates with line managers for required
human resources
Expectations of the Project
Manager
• Interfaces with customer, upper
management on behalf of team
• Negotiates with upper management and
customer
• Keeps everybody informed
More Expectations of the Project
Manager
• Is a positive leader, motivator, coach
• Knows how to use PM software
• Knows the technologies employed well
• Must re-plan the remainder of the project
after the completion of each deliverable,
each phase
 Skills, Competencies of the PM
• Leadership--articulate the vision and hold everyone accountable to it
• An ability to develop people
• Communication competencies
• Interpersonal competencies
• Able to handle stress
• Problem solving skills
• Time management skills
• Negotiation skills
28-10-21
Functions, Tasks, Expectations of
the Project Leader
• Large projects will have such a person if there
are several teams involved
• In charge of all technical aspects of the
project
• Assists the PM with project planning and
control
– particularly, the bottom levels of the WBS
• Focused on the toughest technical problems
Recall the Large Project
Hierarchy
PROJECT
MANAGER

PROJECT

LEADER

TEAM TEAM
LEADER LEADER

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER

3
1 2

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER DEVELOPER

4 5 6 N

DEVELOPER DEVELOPER
7 8
Functions, Tasks, Expectations of
the Team Leader
• Reports to the Project Leader
• Oversees day-to-day execution
• More technically competent, mature and
experienced than team members
• Should possess good communications
competencies
• Should develop a good rapport with each
team member
Functions, Tasks, Expectations of
the Professional Team Member

• Energetic, communicative, a good listener

• Not a perfectionist
• Possesses the requisite technical expertise
• Doesn’t make any promises to the customer
• Star performance
The Phases of Team
Development--
• According to B. W. Tuckman
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning
Forming
• involves the transition from individual to team
member
• Team members get acquainted
• Begin to understand who has responsibility for
what
• No actual work accomplished in this phase
• Excited, anticipation, suspicion, anxiety and
hesitancy
 Storming
• Like the teenage years, you have to go through it
• Characterized by feelings of hostility, frustration
and anger
• Dissatisfaction with PM is common during this
phase
• PM has to provide direction and diffuse possible
conflicts
• There has to be a sense of devotion to equity and
fairness
Norming
• Relationships have stabilized
• Level of conflict is lower
• There is alignment with project goals
• Acceptance grows
• Team begins to Synergize
Performing
• Team is now over the interpersonal
conflicts
• Team is now executing the tasks of the
project
• There is a sense of unity and peace
• Team is empowered by PM to achieve its
goals
Team Types/culture/governance
• Democratic teams--good for experienced, mature
teams
• Chief developer teams--good for new, immature
teams
• Expert teams--good for a certain specific area of
need, like
– design validation
– system integration and testing
– data communications
Psychological Motivators for
Developers
• Learning new skills, concepts, tools, or
aspects of a language
• IMPLICATION: Assign tasks that have an
element of newness
Task assignment
• Tasks should be challenging but not too
challenging
• There should be some newness
• Related tasks should be assigned to the
same developer
Project Organizational Structure
Chief
Executive

Project Project Project

Manager Manager Manager

Staff Staff Staff

Staff Staff Staff

Staff Staff Staff

Matrix Organizational Structure
Chief
Executive

Project
Management Function Function Function
Manager Manager Manager

PM Staff Staff Staff

PM Staff Staff Staff

PM Staff Staff Staff

 Project Staffing Considerations:
(matrix management, human
factors, team formation,
reporting)
• Matrix management involves borrowing
resources from other functional units
• Matrix management involves resource
sharing and is more efficient
Some of Tom Peters’ concepts
• Those little insignificant projects may not be so
• What became In Search of Excellence-- was based
on a project at his employer that nobody cared
about
• Look for little projects that you can become
passionate about, based on your values
• Punctuate your projects with passion
– Life is not a useless passion as the German and French
existentialist philosophers would suggest
Summary
• Five stages of projects
• Four primary knowledge areas
• Four facilitating knowledge areas
• Four types of project personnel
• Five phases of team development
• Three types of organizational structures