Introduction:
The Project Management Manual
The
Project Management Institute’s 2020 Pulse of the Profession survey
indicates that businesses lose eleven percent of investments due to poor
project performance. Companies that fail to recognize the importance of project
management have 67 percent more unsuccessful projects than those who adopt a project
management strategy (PMI, 2020). In his book the 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People, Steven Covey lists qualities and skills anyone needs
to complete a project successfully. Covey includes being proactive, beginning
with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win/win,
understanding first and then being understood, synergizing, and sharpening the
straw (Schwalbe, 2017). Project managers use these skills to deliver a
successful project within its scope, expectations, and constraints. There are
many times when one acts as a project manager: a student may lead a group
paper, a homeowner may wish to renovate her home, or a family may want to schedule
a winter vacation. It is beneficial to learn and grow one’s project management
skills because it applies to any professional or personal project.
Projects and Project
Management
A project
is a plan to accomplish a personal or professional goal. A business project is
a temporary one that seeks to create a new extension of the business. A project
has a specific start and end date and other time constraints. Projects
require additional resources such as people, hardware and software, skills,
additional budgeting, and may involve more significant risks and more
uncertainty (Schwalbe, 2017). Projects arise as the needs of a business change
and expand. Businesses may require projects in many different areas such as
training, developing new software for business functions, creating new
products, or marketing. It is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure
that the project meets the stakeholders’ expectations and needs within time and
budget constraints. The project manager meets these goals through careful
planning and decision-making throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Five
Process Groups within the Project Management Lifecycle
The
project life cycle includes all the distinct phases of a project, including pre-project
work, starting the project, organizing and prepping, carrying out the work, and
completing the project. A project uses the predictive life cycle when most of
the project’s factors are known in advance. A project uses an adaptive life
cycle when the project terms are not clearly defined (Schwalbe, 2017). Iterative
and incremental life cycles are not entirely defined or frequently updated, but
more so a combination of the agile and predictive life cycles. Sometimes a project may require more
flexibility when some of the deliverables are known, and other factors are
vague.
The five project management process groups are
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
Adaptive life cycles often perform the process groups continually (Schwalbe,
2017). Initiating involves defining and executing a project. During the
initiation stage, the project manager establishes the charter and sets the
stakeholders. During the planning stage, the project manager creates the
project plan, defines the objectives, and performs a risk analysis (Soare, et
al., 2019). In the execution stage, the project manager pools resources and
oversees the project’s performance. In the monitoring and controlling phase,
the project manager monitors progress, continued risks, and deviations of the
project goals and adjusts accordingly. In the closing process, the project is
closed. The sponsor delivers the project to the stakeholders and the project is over. The project manager
assures that all deliverables are complete and reviews the project for lessons
learned.
Initiating/Pre-planning/Project Selection
The Project Management Institute
lists a framework of up to 49 processes that project managers may use depending
on a project’s requirements (Schwalbe, 2017). In the initiation process stage,
a project manager can develop a project charter and identify the stakeholders. During
this stage, the sponsor provides the project manager with the information to
create the project charter. The project charter includes the assigned project
manager’s name, the stakeholders, the project’s purpose, measurable objectives,
a high-level description, assumptions, constraints, milestones, a budget, and
the terms that make the project considered a success (PMI, 2017). Once the project manager completes the
charter, she delivers to document to the sponsors for approval (Milligan &
Ardolino, 2019). If selected, the project enters the planning stage.
Project
Selection Criteria
Some sponsors select projects that
are urgent and demand immediate attention, such as equipment failure or a
current operational process that is creating negative results. Projects vary in
size, allocated resources, time, and costs. Companies or individuals may have
multiple project ideas but lack the resources to begin every project. When
there are many projects to choose from, businesses must decide which projects
to initiate. Companies choose projects according to business needs and
improvement, but each company may have different conditions and criteria.
Large companies often complete a
project prioritization process every year, according to organizational goals
(Schwalbe, 2017). Due to different constraints, resources, and profit potential
or loss, each business can select and prioritize projects differently.
One way an organization can prioritize projects is to perform a net
present value analysis or other financial projections. For example, marketers
and companies will look at the return on investment (ROI) from a previous
marketing campaign to determine how successful a marketing strategy was. A
project manager can calculate the ROI by determining the value of the project’s
benefits, subtracting the cost from the benefits, and dividing the total by the
cost amount (Schwalbe, 2017). The ROI information is also useful to analyze if
the company reduces the marketing budget from the previous year or the company
merely wants to invest most of the budget into in the advertising platforms. A
company following the latter would prioritize the marketing projects with a
higher ROI.
Another financial prioritization
strategy is to perform a payback analysis. A payback analysis looks at the cost
of a project and determines how long it will take for the benefits to surpass
the number of costs or, at least, to equal zero (Schwalbe, 2017). Companies
that develop new technology like medical devices or drug manufacturing may
benefit from this process because there are many risks in producing these goods,
such as regulations, effectiveness testing, and other unknown obstacles (Johal,
Oliver, & Williams, 2008). A payback analysis allows a company to account
for future or unforeseen risks to a degree and make project decisions
accordingly.
In the project
charter above, the problem statement identifies a need for a planned vacation
due to a surplus of unused PTO hours. The charter assigns the project manager
and proposes a vacation planning project as a possible solution to the problem
statement.
Planning
Once the sponsors select a project, the project enters
the planning stage. The project planning stage involves most of PMI’s 49
project processes. In the planning stage, a project manager may create a
strategy for controlling the project scope, scheduling, costs, quality,
resources, communications, risks, and stakeholder engagement (PMI, 2017). Many
project managers use the Rational Unified Process, Agile, or ProjectLibre
software for projects. Some companies follow the Six Sigma methodology,
emphasizing high-quality standards and improvement (Schwalbe, 2017). Each
company and project manager may, from their practices, standards, and
preferences to manage projects adapted accordingly to the selected project
Planning
Stage – Project Scope Documentation and Terms
The project scope states the project’s work and
stakeholders’ expectations at the end of the project. For the project to be
successful, project managers must balance the project scope and other
constraints (Schwalbe, 2017). The project scope included the project
description and deliverables, which will determine whether the project is
complete, and any exclusions (PMI, 2017). If a project manager does not know
the project scope, he should review the information to understand the final
goal the project is set to achieve, and the resources needed to meet these
goals. If the project manager is inexperienced with the tasks listed within the
project scope, then the project manager could ask experts or team members who
are completing each task for input. The team members can provide optimistic,
most likely, and pessimistic estimates. The project manager can insert into the
Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) formula to obtain activity duration
averages (Schwalbe, 2017). To estimate project costs, the project manager will
meet with the teams or experts to create a cost management plan with one or
several cost-estimation tools. Analogous estimates, bottom-up estimates, and
parametric modeling are commonly used tools, of which project managers may use
one or a combination of these.
Project
Scope Template Example
Figure 2. (Week 2 – Project Scope)
The project scope example above lists the project’s purpose, costs, and resources needed. The scope names the stakeholders and project manager. The scope also includes the deliverables, milestones, exclusions, and the factors that will determine if the project is complete.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Gantt
Chart, Milestones, and Critical Path
Once the project manager completes the project scope, she
can create a work breakdown structure (WBS) and Gantt chart. The WBS is an
outline of the tasks from the project scope in greater detail. The WBS divides
each task into more manageable sections (Brenner, 2009). With the WBS and Gantt
chart, the project manager can visually analyze the project’s critical path. The
critical path analysis is a method used to find the shortest and longest period
of time that a project will take to complete by allotting the time needed for
each task. The critical path analysis is a visual flow chart useful to track
the progress of the entire project. The critical path analysis detects project
milestones that allow the project to continue to completion.
Work
Breakdown Structure with Gantt Chart Example
Figure 3. (WBS and Gantt Chart)
In the images above, one
can see the milestone tasks by the predecessors listed on the WBS that allow
the other project task’s continuance. Some milestones are the purchasing of
airline tickets and lodging. The critical path is shown in the Gantt chart as 16
days (October 12th through October 28th).
Executing
After the project manager complete project planning, the
next step is project execution. The execution stage is the most noticeable to
stakeholders because the execution is the plan in action. The execution stage
involves managing project work, quality, the team, communications, and a risk
plan. While planning may minimize certain risks, unexpected risks are common
during the execution stage because of the unplanned obstacles that a team
encounters while meeting the project goals (Schwalbe, 2017). During this stage,
the project manager selects the project team, assigns tasks, and makes decisions
when unexpected changes occur.
Change Control Process
There
are many reasons a project manager may receive change requests. A business’s
needs may change during the project execution. Sometimes a deliverable’s price increases,
and a budget change is necessary, or project items are not in stock or
available from vendors. Sometimes the project requires more work to meet the
stakeholders’ expectations, or the planned project will operate as planned
without additional resources. During the execution of the Colorado Family
Vacation project, several unexpected changes could occur. One of the travelers
could contract COVID-19 and need to cancel, this raising the cost for the
others since the costs are divided equally. The flights may get delayed or
canceled due to weather-related or pandemic events. When these changes arise,
the project manager must decide if the changes are necessary and possible
within the project’s constraints.
Overall, the stakeholders determine if the final project meets their expectations.
Many projects fail because the project manager does not adapt the project scope
to include necessary changes (Schwalbe, 2017). While disregarding scope creep
may keep a project on time and within the budget constraints, the end project
may fail to meet the stakeholders’ needs. So, depending on how critical the
additional functionality is to the final project, it could be essential. The
project manager can reevaluate the scope and consider what or if changes are
crucial to the project’s success.
Throughout the entirety of a project,
a manager regularly balances the project scope, cost, and time constraints
(Schwalbe, 2017). The project manager must assess if these changes are
necessary improvements. The project manager can use earned value management
(EVM) as a quantifiable way to calculate how changes may impact a project (Milligan,
Parikh, & Ardolino, 2019). The EVM is a tool that allows a manager to
establish a baseline for the project and control and monitor the time and
budget as the project progresses. The project manager can also enter the new
time and costs into several formulas to determine if additional resources are
needed. If adding the new functionality increases the budget or exceeds the
project deadline, changes are necessary, the next steps are for the project
manager to make the stakeholders aware and request approval.
Monitoring and Controlling
During the
monitoring and controlling stage, a project manager tracks the progress and
performance of the team to ensure the milestones are met. If any team members
are not meeting their objectives, the project manager must address these issues
and issue a corrective action if necessary (Schwalbe, 2017). The Earned Value
Management (EVM) report tracks the project’s performance scope, cost, and time
progress. A project manager can use the EVM to monitor when or if a deliverable
is completed and forecast when the project will be completed and the resulting
costs. The project manager can also issue status reports to the stakeholders to
communicate the project’s progress. The project manager can request progress
reports from team members or leads to keep the project on track (Schwalbe,
2017). By monitoring the different aspects of the project closely, a project
manager has greater control over the project resources, which can be allocated
and adjusted to ensure the project moves forward.
Closing
Closing is the last stage of a project. The most common
reasons for closing a project are integration, addition, extinction, and
starvation. With the integration, the projects are finalized and integrated
into the business. Addition occurs when the current project leads to the
creation of an entirely new department or unit. Extinction happens when a
project is unnecessary or unsuccessful and therefore stopped. Starvation occurs
when the project budget is cut, so the project cannot continue successfully (Schwalbe,
2017). To close out the project, the project manager verifies that all the
deliverables are complete, and the stakeholders’ expectations are met. The
project manager updates all the documents to the final version. The project
manager issues a final report that includes the scope, quality, schedule, and
cost objectives. The final report also includes the [project scope and
summarizes how the scope, project, and needs were met according to the
completion criteria (Schwalbe, 2017). Some projects may require the customer to
complete an acceptance or project completion form. The project manager will
develop a transition plan if the business is incorporating the resulting
project into the daily operations. The project manager also compiles a lessons
learned report to gauge the success of the project and reflect on the good and
bad aspects of the project. The project manager may formulate a strategy to
make improvements for future projects and consider what aspects are beneficial
to future projects (Schwalbe, 2017). At the end of a project, a project manager
should thank his team for their efforts and the stakeholders for the leadership
opportunity.
Conclusion
Project management was once a tool
reserved for large military projects, but many companies now incorporate these
methods into their business projects. The same methods and principles used in
the five stages of project planning for large professional projects apply to
personal projects like home remodeling or vacation planning. The Colorado
Family Vacation project demonstrates that the same methods and processes apply
to small teams. Even though this is a family vacation the same organization,
planning, communicating, budgeting, and management skills apply. Effective
project management improves a project’s success. One should use these skills
with any project with multiple tasks.
References
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Johal, S., Oliver, P., & Williams, H. (2008).
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