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MASTERING

PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

By Thomas Edison Team

(Elena Dorneanu, Fadi Alhaj Ahmed, Khoa Nguyen

Naveen, Farida Saajan Ismail, Stepan Blaha)

MOTIS/IMC/IME Project

ESIEE Paris, 2013

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Preface

The book you are going to read has been written by a group of students from ESIEE Paris.

Writing this book was their project.

They started on October 7th and finished on October 18th 2013. They had four half days in which

to do all the work. The chapter subjects were imposed. A four page specification gave further

guidelines.

Since 2011 over fifty such book projects have been done by students in Paris (France), Pretoria

(South Africa) and Turku (Finland).

Hopefully you, the reader, will find this one interesting and useful!

Krys Markowski, ESIEE Paris,2013

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Team Name Inspiration

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Edison is a light bulb which almost

every household has nowadays. You could say he lit up our lives.

"The miracle of the millennium was providing light and power to the masses [...]. There is no

question that Edison deserves the lion's share of credit for lighting up the world. However, this

amazing accomplishment was far less related to his particular discovery of an incandescent bulb

than to his creation of the first genuinely safe and economically viable system for generating and

distributing light and power - worldwide."1

Thomas Edison‘s discovery inspires us every day in order to become brilliant and think about the

ways we can improve our life. We should never accept a thing without thinking how we can

improve it. Only after improving it, we can share it. This is what we tried to learn from Thomas

Edison and apply within this book. Hope this book will bring value to the others and not only to

the ones who created it. It should ―light up‖ the juniors or inexperienced professionals techniques

in project management field in order to help them to create a ―safe and economically viable”

project.

1 http://www.thomasedison.com/enlightened.html

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Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................... 2

Team Name Inspiration .......................................................... 4

Table of Contents ................................................................... 6

Introduction - Why Project Management? .............................. 8

The Project Cycle .......................................................... 14

PRINCE2 ...................................................................... 20

PMBOK (Project Management Knowledge Areas) ........ 23

Project Management Charter ......................................... 26

PROJECT DASHBOARD or COCKPIT ....................... 30

PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT ................... 33

The CIFTER (Crawford Ishikawa) Index ....................... 36

Project Management Software ....................................... 39

Conflict Management in Projects ................................... 44

Risk Management in Projects ........................................ 47

Stakeholder Management in Projects ............................. 52

Project Team Structures ................................................. 56

How to Motivate a Project Team ................................... 61

Project Management 2.0 ................................................ 68

What is Agile Project Management? .............................. 71

Professional PM Associations ........................................ 78

Project Management Certification ................................. 81

References ............................................................................ 84

The Thomas Edison Team‘s Methodology ............................ 88

Thomas Edison Team Members – Mini CVs......................... 94

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Table of Illustrations

SECTION/

CHAPTER

Illustration

no.

Illustration Name Page

SECTION 1/CHAPTER 1 Picture 1.1

Project Phases 14

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 1 Picture 2.1.1 PRINCE2 Principles 20

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 1 Picture 2.1.2 PRINCE2 Process Model 21

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 2 Picture 2.2.1 Project Management Knowledge

Areas

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SECTION 2/CHAPTER 3 Picture 2.3.1 Project Charter Areas 26

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 3 Picture 2.3.2 Example of a Project Charter sheet 27

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 4 Picture 2.4.1 Dashboard of Sustainability 30

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 4 Picture 2.4.2 Project Dashboard 32

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 5 Picture 2.5.1 Primavera PPM Application 34

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 5 Picture 2.5.2 Relationship between PPM and PM

interlinked by program management

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SECTION 2/CHAPTER 5 Picture 2.5.3 Overview of hierarchical position of

PPM in an organization

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SECTION 2/CHAPTER 6 Picture 2.6.1 CIFTER Table 38

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 7 Picture 2.7.1 Project Management Tasks 39

SECTION 2/CHAPTER 7 Picture 2.7.3 Project Management Software 40

SECTION 3/CHAPTER 1 Picture 3.1.2 PM Leadership Style and Situations 45

SECTION 3/CHAPTER 2 Picture 3.2.1 Risk Matrix 48

SECTION 4/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 4 Stakeholders Categories 52

SECTION 5/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 5.1.1 Functional Organizations 57

SECTION 5/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 5.1.2 Projectized Organizations 58

SECTION 5/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 5.1.3 Matrix Organizations 58

SECTION 5/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 5.1.4 Overview of different types of

Organizations

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SECTION 6/ CHAPTER 1 Picture 6.1.1 List of Differences between

Traditional Project Management and

Project Management 2.0

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Introduction – Why Project Management?

All of history’s most impactful entrepreneurs (from Thomas Edison to Bill

Gates, Steve Jobs, or Richard Branson) were able to shape our world not only by their

inventions, but by their ability to pull in bright people, to become a sort of collaboration

machine, to invent together. The genius was in creating the context and culture for a

collaborative process that moved their inventions forward, faster.2

This book is not only a ―dictionary‖ of Project Management concepts. It is a full kit for

understanding and applying the practices. This project was ―invented‖ together in a high

multicultural environment where we tried to put value in this collaborative process. We ―moved

forward this invention” by sharing the best practices within this book.

This book is addressed to the junior, inexperienced professionals who want to start out in project

management and improve considerably their work procedures, proficiency, profits etc. Hope you

will find it easy to read and practical. It is composed of 2 parts:

In the first part you can enter in the ―project management world‖ and you will find the

definition of a project and its phases. Then we deep down into some methods that hope you will

find useful. As you proceed in reading the book, you will discover that as a project manager, you

should pay attention not only to the methods applied, but also to your team, stakeholders,

conflicts that may appear and risks. For each, you can find a special section. In addition to this,

nowadays there is a constant need to be always informed. You can find within this book

information regarding the latest practices in project management. Last but not the least, if you are

a good project manager, why shouldn‘t you be recognized? We listed in the end the Project

Management associations and the certifications you may want to apply to.

The second part contains a day-by-day ―methodology‖ of creating the book. Because this book

is a real project, you can gain knowledge from our own experience!

Hope you will enjoy reading it!

2 http://www.fastcompany.com/3004139/thomas-edisons-keys-managing-team-collaboration

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PART I

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CONCEPTS

“Being a Project Manager is like being an artist, you have the different colored

process streams combining into a work of art” (Greg Cimmarrusti)

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This first section contains only one chapter and describes the various phases - and

their sequencing - that a project must go through from beginning to end in order to

realize its objectives.

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SECTION 1

Project cycle overview

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“Because ideas have to be original only with regard to their adaptation to the

problem at hand, I am always extremely interested in how others have used

them....” (Thomas Edison)

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The Project Cycle

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling

resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning

and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken

to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.

The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which

are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services.

In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the

development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

The project manager and project team have one shared goal: to carry out the work of the project

for the purpose of meeting the project‘s objectives. Every project has beginnings, a middle period

during which activities move the project toward completion, and an ending (either successful or

unsuccessful). A standard project typically has the following four major phases (each with its

own agenda of tasks and issues): initiation, planning, implementation, and closure. Taken

together, these phases represent the path a project takes from the beginning to its end and are

generally referred to as the project life cycle.

Picture 1.1: Project Phases

PLANNING PHASE

IMPLEMENTATION

/ EXECUTION PHASE

CLOSING PHASE

INITIATION PHASE

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INITIATION PHASE

During the first of these phases, the initiation phase, the project objective or need is identified;

this can be a business problem or opportunity. An appropriate response to the need is documented

in a business case with recommended solution options. A feasibility study is conducted to

investigate whether each option addresses the project objective and a final recommended solution

is determined. Issues of feasibility (―can we do the project?‖) and justification (―should we do the

project?‖) are addressed. Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated and a

project manager is appointed. The major deliverables and the participating work groups are

identified and the project team begins to take shape. Approval is then sought by the project

manager to move on the detailed planning phase.

PLANNING PHASE

The next phase, the planning phase, is where the project solution is further developed in as much

detail as possible and you plan the steps necessary to meet the project‘s objective. In this step, the

team identifies all of the work to be done. The project‘s tasks and resource requirements are

identified, along with the strategy for producing them. This is also referred to as scope

management. A project plan is created outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies and

timeframes. The project manager coordinates the preparation of a project budget; by providing

cost estimates for the labor, equipment and materials costs. The budget is used to monitor and

control cost expenditures during project implementation.

Once the project team has identified the work, prepared the schedule and estimated the costs, the

three fundamental components of the planning process are complete. This is an excellent time to

identify and try to deal with anything that might pose a threat to the successful completion of the

project. This is called risk management. In risk management, ―high-threat‖ potential problems are

identified along with the action that is to be taken on each high threat potential problem, either to

reduce the probability that the problem will occur or to reduce the impact on the project if it does

occur. This is also a good time to identify all project stakeholders, and to establish a

communication plan describing the information needed and the delivery method to be used to

keep the stakeholders informed.

Finally, you will want to document a quality plan; providing quality targets, assurance, and

control measures along with an acceptance plan; listing the criteria to be met to gain customer

acceptance. At this point, the project would have been planned in detail and is ready to be

executed.

IMPLEMENTATION (EXECUTION) PHASE

During the third phase, the implementation phase, the project plan is put into motion and

performs the work of the project. It is important to maintain control and communicate as needed

during implementation. Progress is continuously monitored and appropriate adjustments are made

and recorded as variances from the original plan. In any project a project manager will spend

most of their time in this step. During project implementation, people are carrying out the tasks

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and progress information is being reported through regular team meetings. The project manager

uses this information to maintain control over the direction of the project by measuring the

performance of the project activities comparing the results with the project plan and takes

corrective action as needed.

The first course of action should always be to bring the project back on course, i.e., to return it to

the original plan. If that cannot happen, the team should record variations from the original plan

and record and publish modifications to the plan. Throughout this step, project sponsors and other

key stakeholders should be kept informed of project status according to the agreed upon

frequency and format. The plan should be updated and published on a regular basis. Status

reports should always emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of cost, schedule and quality

of deliverables. Each project deliverable produced should be reviewed for quality and measured

against the acceptance criteria. Once all of the deliverables have been produced and the customer

has accepted the final solution, the project is ready for closure.

CLOSING PHASE

During the final closure, or completion phase, the emphasis is on releasing the final deliverables

to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier

contracts, releasing project resources and communicating the closure of the project to all

stakeholders. The last remaining step is to conduct lessons learned studies; to examine what went

well and what didn‘t. Through this type of analysis the wisdom of experience is transferred back

to the project organization, which will help future project teams.

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Within this second section you can find just few of the many techniques that you may

use in the first phases of the project.

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 2

Project management techniques

****************************************************************************************

“It’s obvious that we don't know one millionth of one percent about anything.”

(Thomas Edison)

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1. PRINCE2

Picture 2.1.1:PRINCE2 Principles

PRINCE2 is a structured approach to project management released in 1996 as a generic project

management method. It combines the original PROMPT methodology (which evolved into the

PRINCE methodology) with IBM's MITP (managing the implementation of the total project)

methodology. PRINCE2 provides a method for managing projects within a clearly defined

framework.

PRINCE2 focuses on the definition and delivery of products, in particular their quality

requirements. As such, it defines a successful project as being output-oriented (not activity- or

task-oriented) through creating an agreed set of products that define the scope of the project and

provides the basis for planning and control, that is, how then to coordinate people and activities,

how to design and supervise product delivery, and what to do if products and therefore the scope

of the project has to be adjusted if it does not develop as planned.

Each process is specified with its key inputs and outputs and with specific goals and activities to

be carried out to deliver a project's outcomes as defined by its Business Case. This allows for

continuous assessment and adjustment when deviation from the Business Case is required.

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PRINCE2 provides a common language for all participants in the project. The governance

framework of PRINCE2 – its roles and responsibilities – are fully described and require tailoring

to suit the complexity of the project and skills of the organization.

PRINCE2 has seven important principles that contribute to project success:

1. Continued Business Justification

2. Learn from Experience

3. Defined Roles and Responsibilities

4. Manage by Stages

5. Manage by Exception

6. Focus on Products

7. Tailored to Suit the Project Environment

The principles and themes come into play in the seven PRINCE2 processes:

1. Starting up a Project

2. Initiating a Project

3. Directing a Project

4. Controlling a Stage

5. Managing Stage Boundaries

6. Managing Product Delivery

7. Closing a Project

Picture 2.1.2: PRINCE2 Process Model

PRINCE2, along with the PMBOK Guide, are the two most important project management

standards today. Both of them have lots of guidelines, recommendations, and processes for the

planning of the projects. The main goal of project management is reaching project goals with an

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optimal use of resources. This is not possible without appropriate controls, and control is not

possible unless we plan the project ahead.

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2. PMBOK (Project Management Knowledge Areas)

Picture 2.2.1: Project Management Knowledge Areas

The PMBOK (Project Management Knowledge Areas) recognizes 5 basic process groups and 9

knowledge areas typical of almost all projects. They are Project Integration Management, Project

Scope Management, Project Time Management, Project Cost Management, Project Quality

Management, Project Human Resource Management, Project Communications Management,

Project Risk Management, and Project Procurement Management (Project Smart, 2008). Of these

9 areas, it is my belief that Project Time Management, Project Communication Management and

Project Scope Management are the most important.

Time Management includes all processes and procedures relating to the timely completion of a

project (De Jaeger, 2008). There are several processes included with proper time management

skills and management. First, Activity Definition requires the project manager to define the

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activities to be assigned and their estimated timeframe. Many times activities overlap one

another. Activity Sequencing demands the manager to make sure that they can schedule

appropriate details of the project in a manner that would allow the project to continue to move

forward with the most productivity as possible. Activity Resource Estimating allows the project

manager to assess the supply on hand to complete the assignment as scheduled. Schedule

Development and Control are additional functions the project manager must be mindful of when

coordinating proper Project Time Management (Project Management Institute, 2004, pg. 123).

When poor time management comes into play, delays and miscommunications can occur in the

development of a project. Time is of the essence when an alternative method of accomplishment

needs to be executed to continue project production. An inaccurate projection of Activity

Resource Estimating could prove to be a costly error. In this case, the project would be delayed

because the project moved quicker than was anticipated and consumed more resources or the

project used less than was predicted and the excess was wasted (Project Management Institute,

2004, pg. 137). In reference to trade show preparation, time management includes accounting for

travel plans, set-up and breakdown of the trade show display, and coordination of the creation of

all marketing and promotional materials for the event. These items are time sensitive and can

affect budgeting and overall project progress.

Project Communication Management involves Communications Planning or the identification of

project stakeholders needs and desires for the project as a whole. Information Distribution

requires project managers to make information concerning the project available to project

stakeholders on an as-needed basis. Performance Reporting is another aspect of project

Communications Management. The acquisition and distribution of information to project team

members is included in this area. Status reporting, progress reports, and forecasting are an

important part of communications in any project. The final processes in this area include

managing the demands of project stakeholders and keeping them informed during the production

stages (Project Management Institute, 2004, pg. 221).

When there are flaws in communication during project management phases, there are drastic

errors that can occur. If a delay in communication occurs, requested changes can take longer to

occur and prolong the progress of the project (Project Management Institute, 2004, pg. 234).

Planning for a trade show involves input from multiple parties and cooperation of these entities.

During the development stages for collateral and other marketing materials involved in the trade

show, stakeholders should be kept abreast of any and all changes pertaining to design, orientation

and the general flow of the trade show.

Project Scope Management includes Scope Planning. The scope of the project defines how the

project will be created, verified, and controlled. When we look at the Scope Definition, project

managers are responsible for creating a detailed project statement for the preliminary address of

the project at hand. This area also requires the manager to divide major project deliverables into

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smaller sections for team members to tackle. As the objectives of the project change, this area

requires that the project manager control changes made to the scope of the project as a whole

(Project Management Institute, 2004, pg. 103).

Maintaining the Project Scope is important for accurate project progression and growth. The

scope should include only things that are necessary to the project as additional activities could be

a burden to the project and take up unnecessary time. Environmental factors and other things that

are outside the realm of forecasting can affect the scope of a project. In this aspect, the project

may need to be put on hold because of an emergency or some other unpredicted occurrence.

Project managers should prepare for scrutiny and criticism towards their general project

parameters. This preparation will only strengthen the project management scope and add

additional stability to the project plan (Project Management Institute, 2004, pg. 107).

When creating items to use for a trade show, it is imperative that the scope of the project be as

precise as possible. At the same time, it is important that the lines of communication flow freely

and be updated in a timely manner. While all knowledge areas discussed in the Project

Management Body of Knowledge, these three categories strike me as the most pertinent to trade

show development and coordination. Timing of travel, communication of needs, and scope of

project in full extent are of the utmost importance to stockholders as well as team members

involved in this production.

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3. Project Management Charter

In project management, a project charter, project definition, or project statement is a statement of

the scope, objectives, and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles

and responsibilities, outlines the project objectives, identifies the main stakeholders, and defines

the authority of the project manager. It serves as a reference of authority for the future of the

project. The project charter is usually a short document that refers to more detailed documents

such as a new offering request or a request for proposal.

The purpose of the project charter is to document:

Reasons for undertaking the project

Objectives and constraints of the project

Directions concerning the solution

Identities of the main stakeholders

In-scope and out-of-scope items

High level risk management plan

Communication plan

Target project benefits

High level budget and spending authority

Picture 2.3.1: Project charter areas

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Picture 2.3.2: Example of a Project Charter sheet

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Guidelines to complete the Project Charter:

1. Project Context & Background

Describe the business rationale for the project, providing relevant background information

to help the reader of this document place the proposed project in the right context (e.g.

relative to strategic or operational goals of the company).

2. Expected Business Benefits

May include project benefits or specific measures associated with quality of outputs,

project process etc.

3. Project Objectives

What is the overall project goal or objective?

Specifics under deliverables, scope, success criteria should help ensure the objective is

"SMART" and clearly understood by all. (Note: to help simplify a charter, you could also

group goals, deliverables success criteria together into one section).

4. Deliverables

What are the key outputs / end products of the project? (Be as specific as possible: e.g. a

new process, a report/presentation, a system implementation, a recommendation etc.)

5. Scope

What are the boundaries of the project? Provide information that may help scale the

project and specifically address topics raised by stakeholders in terms of what is included

vs. excluded from the project. What is described here may be helpful later on when issues

of "scope creep" may need to be addressed!

6. Proposed Timeline & Key Milestones

Specify the proposed timeline and the important milestones either in text form, or (better)

using a graphical timeline so that readers of the document can quickly understand the

proposed timing.

7. Project Resources

List the key people, groups and organizations / teams that will be involved and

contributing to the project.

8. Risks

Identify all known, potential issues / risks that may affect the project. Consider

developing a risk management plan for significant risks. (Note: there is sometimes an

overlap between assumptions and risks (i.e. a risk could be an assumption that proves to

be incorrect). If it makes better sense for your project; just merge the Assumptions section

into the Risk section).

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9. Assumptions

List any assumptions that have been made in developing the project charter, focusing on

those which may have a significant impact on the project if the assumption proves to be

wrong.

10. High Level Estimate of Budget

Estimate of approximate cost of the project (Man / days & financial cost). Fuller costs are

often worked up during detailed project planning.

11. Reporting

Provide an overview of key reporting processes / meetings – perhaps using the table

below.

A more detailed communications plan can be worked up in the Project Plan if needed.

Benefits of building the project charter

Builds the vision and case for change

Provides a constant and consistent target for project team members

Clearly aligns team members

Indicates why a project has priority over other projects

Describes the gap between the current state and the desired state

Provides a reference point the team can continually refer back to in order to keep direction

and scope

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4. PROJECT DASHBOARD or COCKPIT

Project Dashboard or Cockpit is a simplified and user friendly visual representation of a

company/organization‘s past and present status focusing on selected performance characteristics.

The advantage of this is that it provides the user the ability to make quick calculated decisions

just by analyzing the dashboard.

There can be several types of dashboards based on different departments in an organization

like human resources, recruiting, sales, operations, security, information technology, project

management, customer relationship management etc.

It generally consists of multiple levels of data with the highest level getting priority of visibility

and the lower levels may be accessed in case a member of the corporate wants to but is often

unavailable.

Below you can find an example of Dashboard of Sustainability:

Picture 2.4.1: Dashboard of Sustainability

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There are 3 main types of Dashboards being used widely today:

1. Standalone Software Applications

2. Desktop Widgets/Applications

3. Browser based applications

The advantage of digital project dashboards is the ability it provides the managers to monitor all

departments in the organization associated with the project and their individual contributions

towards the project. This helps in measuring the overall performance of the organization with

specific data from each and every department and providing a digital snapshot of performance.

Other advantages of digital dashboards are:

Visual presentation of performance

Enables user to identify and correct negative trends

Measure efficiencies/inefficiencies

Ability to generate detailed reports showing new trends

Ability to make logical decisions based on collected business intelligence

Sort out strategies and organizational goals

Efficiency in time consumption is greatly increased

Complete visibility of all systems

Faster identification of data outliers and correlations

Below is another example of a project dashboard displaying the status of project and the

contribution and performance of various departments involved in the project and also the

important tasks to be completed and the issues pertaining to the various departments.

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Picture 2.4.2: Project Dashboard

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5. PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Project portfolio management (PPM) is the management of all the techniques and processes used

by project managers and project management offices in order to scrutinize and manage

current/proposed projects based on key characteristics to maximize financial profitability of an

organization and its operational efficiency by devising a strategy using PPM all while considering

real world limitations/factors and customer requests/constraints etc.

The terminal objective of PPM is to closely monitor and prioritize various projects and their

progress and performance to ensure they are successfully completed.

PPM has two main categories:

1. Execution based PPM

2. Planning based PPM

A PPM application/solution must support the following areas:

Portfolio Strategic Management

Portfolio Governance Management

Portfolio Performance Management

Portfolio Communication Management

Portfolio Risk Management

Majority of the software solutions on the market for PPM respect the subjects given above.

You can find below the main capabilities of PPM are:

1. Pipeline management-Aligning and selecting the projects strategically for capital investment

2. Resource management-Includes financial resources, inventory, human resources, technical

skills, production and design and their efficient use when needed

3. Change control- Change requests like new features, functions, additional resources etc. can

be granted provided they are within the operational and financial constraints of the

organization.

4. Risk management- Risk analysis of each project

5. Financial management- Financial guidelines, constraints, requirements of each project

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These capabilities allow a project manager to efficiently utilize resources, manage time, consider

risks and the required budget all while being open to change during the course of completion of

the projects.

You can find below a couple of examples of PPM application:

Picture 2.5.1: Primavera PPM Application

Picture 2.5.2: Relationship between PPM and PM interlinked by program management

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Picture 2.5.3: Overview of hierarchical position of PPM in an organization

There are a number of advantages of using PPM applications:

Monitoring of projects ensures proper prioritization of certain projects that will maximize

benefits of the organization.

PPM ensures projects meet short-term and long term strategic and technological goals

Knowledge gained from completed projects can be used to benefit new ones.

Standardization of processes increases efficiency and communication

Optimized resource utilisation.

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6. The CIFTER (Crawford Ishikawa) Index

What does it mean the CIFTER index? The CIFTER is an abbreviation for Crawford-Ishikawa

Factor Table for Evaluating Roles. Also it's a guide to rating the management complexity of

individual projects. This rating system is used to differentiate between those projects that would

be considered everyday projects, and those that would require a professional PM.

This idea of complexity carries over to the other professions previously mentioned. Most parents

treat their children at home when sick with the flu. This doesn‘t make them doctors. Most adults

manage their own finances, but can‘t be considered accountants; and anyone can file a small

claims lawsuit, but that doesn‘t make them lawyers. It is as these things grow in complexity and

require more specialized training that we move to the idea of professional.

All of these issues of PM are what leads to the belief that not only should project management be

seen as a profession, but in fact, for it to continue to grow and improve, it must be viewed as one.

Using CIFTER

As it was said before, the CIFTER is a table. To use this table, you must first understand the

elements of the CIFTER.

1. Stability of the overall project context. The project context includes the project life-

cycle, the stakeholders, the degree to which the applicable methods and approaches are

known, and the wider socioeconomic environment. When the project context is unstable

— phase deliverables are poorly defined, scope changes are frequent and significant, team

members are coming and going, applicable laws and regulations are being modified —

the project management challenge increases.

Note: some aspects of “technical complexity” such as dealing with unproven concepts

would be considered here.

2. Number of distinct disciplines, methods, or approaches involved in performing the

project. Most projects involve more than one management or technical discipline; some

projects involve a large number of different disciplines. For example, a project to develop

a new drug could include medical researchers, marketing staff, manufacturing experts,

lawyers, and others. Since each discipline tends to approach its part of the project in a

different way, more disciplines means a project that is relatively more difficult to manage.

Note: some aspects of “technical complexity” such as dealing with a product with many

interacting elements would be considered here.

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3. Magnitude of legal, social, or environmental implications from performing the

project. This factor addresses the potential external impact of the project. For example,

the potential for catastrophic failure means that the implications of constructing a nuclear

power plant close to a major urban center will likely be much greater than those of

constructing an identical plant in a remote area. The management complexity of the urban

project will be higher due to the need to deal with a larger number of stakeholders and a

more diverse stakeholder population.

4. Overall expected financial impact (positive or negative) on the project's

stakeholders. This factor accounts for one aspect of the traditional measure of ―size,‖ but

does so in relative terms. For example, a project manager in a consumer electronics start-

up is subject to more scrutiny than a project manager doing a similarly sized project for a

computer manufacturer with operations around the globe.

Note: where the impact on different stakeholders is different, this factor should be rated

according to the impact on the primary stakeholders.

5. Strategic importance of the project to the organization or organizations involved.

This factor addresses yet another aspect of ―size,‖ and again deals with it in relative rather

than absolute terms. While every project should be aligned with the organization‘s

strategic direction, not every project can be of equal importance to the organization or

organizations involved.

Note: as with financial impact, if the strategic importance for different stakeholders is

different, this factor should be rated according to the strategic importance for the primary

stakeholders.

6. Stakeholder cohesion regarding the characteristics of the product of the project.

When all or most stakeholders are in agreement about the characteristics of the product of

the project, they tend to be in agreement about the expected outcomes as well. When they

are not in agreement, or when the benefits of a product with a particular set of

characteristics are unknown or uncertain, the project management challenge is significant.

7. Number and variety of interfaces between project and other organizational entities.

In the same way that a large number of different disciplines on a project can create a

management challenge, a large number of different organizations can as well.

Note: issues of culture and language would be addressed here.

38

Picture 2.6.1: CIFTER Table

The mechanics couldn‘t be simpler. Choose the term that you think most accurately represents

the characteristics of the project under consideration. For example, if you think that the stability

of the project context is ―high,‖ that project rates a two on this first factor. Rate the other six

factors and sum the numbers. A higher score require a more skilled project manager.

The CIFTER won‘t make any decisions for you. CIFTER won‘t help you find a skilled project

manager if you don‘t have any available. But it can provide some guidance to help you make

better decisions when you do have options. In addition, you can use it to assess your current

assignments. While you probably won‘t be able to create perfect alignment, highlighting major

mismatches will at least tell you which projects you should be paying special attention to.

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7. Project Management Software

Project Management Software has the capacity to assist the project manager, stakeholders and

users to help plan, organize and manage resource pools also to develop the estimations. Some

more functions that are useful for the project planning are:

Project management software is also used for collaboration and communication between

stakeholders.

Although project management software is used is a variety of ways, its main purpose is to

facilitate the planning and tracking of project components, stakeholders and resources.

Project management software caters to the following primary functions:

Project planning: To define a

project schedule, a project manager

(PM) may use the software to map

project tasks and visually describe

task interactions.

Task management: Allows for the

creation and assignment of tasks,

deadlines and status reports.

Document sharing and

collaboration: Productivity is

increased via a central document

repository accessed by project Picture 2.7.1: Project Management Tasks

stakeholders.

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Calendar and contact sharing: Project timelines include scheduled meetings,

activity dates and contacts that should automatically update across all PM and

stakeholder calendars.

Bug and error management: Project management software facilitates bug and error

reporting, viewing, notifying and updating for stakeholders.

Time tracking: Software must have the ability to track time for all tasks maintain

records for third-party consultants.

Tasks and activities

One of the most common project management software tool types is scheduling tools. Scheduling

tools are used to sequence project activities and assign dates and resources to them. The detail

and sophistication of a schedule produced by a scheduling tool can vary considerably with the

project management methodology used, the features provided and the scheduling methods

supported. Scheduling tools may include support for:

Multiple dependency relationship types between activities

Resource assignment and leveling

The critical path and critical chain methods

Activity duration estimation and probability-based simulation and Activity cost

accounting

Picture 2.7.3: Project Management Software

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Providing information

Project planning software can be expected to provide information to various people or

stakeholders, and can be used to measure and justify the level of effort required to complete the

project(s). Typical requirements might include:

Overview information on how long tasks will take to complete.

Early warning of any risks to the project and Information on workload, for planning

holidays.

Historical information on how projects have progressed, and in particular, how actual and

planned performances are related.

Optimum utilization of available resource and Cost Maintenance.

Project Management Software Final Point

There are plenty of project management softwares which can be installed on desktop computers,

also some web-based platform is also created and currently being developed to help this

management can be run more convenient and easier to implement. Here are some project

management softwares: Genius Project, Microsoft Project, One Desk, PlanBox… So

regardless of whether people are looking for the best project management softwares, it is the best

solution if one enterprise can choose the one that suits the current needs, type and size of the

project.

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****************************************************************************************

This section contains three chapters and that tackle the 3 aspects of a project that need

to be taken into account especially in the early phase of a project: manage risks,

conflicts while preserving the quality

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 3

Best quality with minimum conflicts

and risks

******************************************************************************

“Results ? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways

something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every

wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward....” (Thomas Edison)

43

44

1. Conflict Management in Projects

Conflicts in Project Management is inevitable, this potential of conflicts exists because it

involves individuals that come from different backgrounds and orientations, they work together

on the projects to complete complex tasks. There are many causes of conflicts in team projects

such as the attitudes, expectations, perceptions, and some other human factors (human resources

and personalities). So that proper skills have to be carried out in order to assist the project

managers and other organization members to handle and solve those conflicts effectively.

How to deal with conflicts in project management

It depends on the management of project manager, the structure of organization. A list below is

carried out to indicate the methods that we can use to handle conflicts.

Conflict Sources How to deal with them

Conflict Over Project Priorities:

Differences in long term and short

term goal and activities sequencing

Develop a planning compatible with long term

strategies.

Conflict over technical opinions

and performances:

Performance related, design, code

review related differences.

Develop a standard guideline, best practices and

review mechanism.

Conflict over human resources:

Staffing opinions and where to

source them from.

We can use some techniques in order to deal with this

such as WBS and responsibility matrix, RACI, PMO

that help in getting resources

Conflicts over cost and budget:

Conflict over cost estimates from

support areas regarding work

breakdown structures and

estimating techniques.

Develop overall budgets supported by detailed budget

and cost estimates of subproject tasks and activities.

Conflict over schedules:

The disagreements about timing,

sequencing, and scheduling of

project related tasks.

Develop an overall schedule that integrates schedules

for subprojects with staffing and other life

constraints.

Personality conflict:

The disagreements on

interpersonal issues

Emphasize team building and create an environment

that emphasizes respect, diversity, and equality.

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Approaches to conflicts

There are 5 approaches that can be taken into account in order to eliminate conflicts.

Picture 3.1.2: PM Leadership style and Situations

Avoidance Approach: Stay out of conflict; remain neutral on issues. Employed by

individuals those do not have enough invested in the issue to see value in the conflict.

Often used when the conflict is not critical or is perceived to be beyond their capacity to

manage.

Smoothing/Accommodation Approach: Entirely yielding to the conflicting point of

view. Seeking to preserve personal relationships even when it does benefit project tasks

and objectives.

Compromise Approach: Assumes that no solution can be achieved that will yield

complete satisfaction for all participants involves. Attempts to balance personal

relationships and project success when one or both may be compromised in the conflict.

Compromising

Temporary solutions

For backup if collaboration fails

When you can‘t win or don‘t have enough time

when others are as strong as you are

46

To maintain your relationship with your opponent

When you‘re not sure you are right

When you get nothing if don‘t

When goals are moderately high

Collaborating

When you both get at least what you want and maybe more.

To gain commitment and create a common power base

When there is enough time and skills are complementary

To maintain future relationships

Confronting/ problem solving

To reduce overall project costs

To gain commitment and create a common power base

When there is mutual trust, respect and confidence

Forcing

When you are sure that you are right.

When an emergency situation exists (Do or die)

When stakes are high and issues are important

When you are stronger

To gain status or demonstrate position power

When the acceptance is unimportant

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2. Risk Management in Projects

Risk is inevitable in a business organization when undertaking projects. However, the project

manager needs to ensure that risks are kept to a minimal. Project risk management is an important

aspect of project management. Project risk can be defined as an unforeseen event or activity that

can impact the project's progress, result or outcome in a positive or negative way. A risk can be

assessed using two factors: impact and probability. If the probability is 1, it is an issue. This

means that risk is already materialized. If the probability is zero, this means that risk will not

happen and should be removed from the risk planning.

Not all the time the project managers have to deal with negative risks, when the negative risks are

identified, project managers need to come up with the planning as well as resolutions to handle

the risks.

Project Risk Management

The project managers can plan the strategy based on 4 steps of Risk management, these 4 steps

can handle the risks effectively in an organization.

Risk Identification

Risk Quantification

Risk Response

Risk Monitoring and Control

Details of 4 Steps of Risk Management:

Risk Identification:

Managers face many difficulties when it comes to identifying and naming the risks that occur

when undertaking projects. These risks could be resolved through structured or unstructured

brainstorming or strategies. It's important to understand that risks pertaining to the project can

only be handled by the project manager and other stakeholders of the project.

The risks that often impact a project are supplier risk, resource risk and budget risk. Supplier risk

would refer to risks that can occur in case the supplier is not meeting the timeline to supply the

resources required. Resource risk occurs when the human resource used in the project is not

48

enough or not skilled enough. Budget risk would refer to risks that can occur if the costs are more

than what was budgeted.

Risk Quantification:

Risks can be evaluated based on quantity. Project

managers need to analyze the likely chances of a

risk occurring with the help of a matrix.

Using the matrix, the project manager can

categorize the risk into four categories as Low,

Medium, High and Critical. The probability of

occurrence and the impact on the project are the

two parameters used for placing the risk in the

matrix categories. As an example, if a risk

occurrence is low (probability = 2) and it has the

highest impact (impact = 4), the risk can be

categorized as 'High'.

Picture 3.2.1: Risk matrix

Risk Response:

Strategies to reduce the risk to minimal, there are four risks strategies which can be used.

Risks can be avoided

Pass on the risk

Take corrective measures to reduce the impact of risks

Acknowledge the risk

Risk Monitoring and Control:

Risks can be monitored on a continuous basis to check if any change is made. New risks can be

identified through the constant monitoring and assessing mechanisms.

Risk Register:

Often project managers will compile a document, which outlines the risks involved and the

strategies in place. This document is vital as it provides a huge deal of information. Risk register

will often consist of diagrams to aid the reader as to the types of risks that are dealt by the

organization and the course of action taken. The risk register should be freely accessible for all

the members of the project team.

49

50

****************************************************************************************

The fourth section contains one chapter that tackles the stakeholders’ involvement

within a project.

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 4

Stakeholders

*******************************************************************************

“Pretty much everything will come to him who hustles while he waits. I believe

that restlessness is discontent, and discontent is merely the first necessity of

progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”

(Thomas Edison)

51

52

Stakeholder Management in Projects

Picture 4: Stakeholders categories

A Stakeholder can be a person, a group, or an organization that may be affected, or have any kind

interest in the project or in project‘s outcome either directly or indirectly.

All stakeholders are not equal, every stakeholder has his own expectations, and requirements, and

he should be handled the way he expects. Knowing them, their needs, expectations, and

requirements increase the chance of a project‘s success. If any important stakeholder is missed

then in later stages the project manager may face many difficulties e.g. causing a delay in project,

cost overrun, and in the most severe case – the project may be terminated.

A stakeholder can be:

A sponsor

Project team

Higher management

End user of the project‘s outcome

Someone affected by the project, or the project‘s outcome

Someone who has any kind of interest in the project, or the project‘s outcome

Stakeholders can be grouped into two categories:

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Internal, and

External

Internal Stakeholders

External Stakeholders

A sponsor

Internal customer or client (if project

arose due to internal need of an

organization)

Project team

A program manager

A portfolio manager

Management

Other group‘s manager internal to the

organization; e.g. functional manager,

operational manager, admin manger,

etc.

External customer or client (if project

arose due to a contract)

End users of project‘s outcome

Supplier

Sub-contractors

Government

Local communities

Media

It is extremely important for the project manager to identify all stakeholders at the beginning of

the project and create a stakeholder management strategy to manage them as early as possible. It

will help him to run his project smoothly. Stakeholders can be positive or negative. A positive

stakeholder sees the project‘s positive side, benefited by its success, and helps the project team to

successfully complete the project. On the other hand, a negative stakeholder sees the negative

outcome of the project, may be negatively affected by the project, and he will be less likely to see

your project being completed successfully.

In some projects the general public will be a stakeholder, and in this case the project manager has

to consult public figures, or their leaders to better understand their needs, and expectations. If the

project manager fails to do so, it may cause big trouble for him in the later stages of projects.

Some examples of these kinds of projects are – mining, environment, road, rail or dam building

related projects. Hence, a project manager must identify all stakeholders at a very early stage of

the project, and document their requirements, interests, involvement, expectations, type of

influence, power, possible impact, and communication requirements in the stakeholder register. It

should be noted that some of these stakeholders will have minimum interest, or influence on the

project; however, the project manager has to take care of them as well because no one knows

when they will become the dominant stakeholders.

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****************************************************************************************

The fifth section contains information on different types of teams in an organization

and different techniques to motivate them.

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 5

Resources

****************************************************************************************

“Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how

close they were to success when they gave up.” (Thomas Edison)

55

56

1. Project Team Structures

Within the corporate realm, organizational structures are both complex and varied. Much of the

structure that makes up the internal mechanics of any organization is often the result of various

preferences of the upper management along with carryover from previous management

individuals.

As companies grow, the complexity of their organizational structures can grow just as organically

and in many cases, a uniform ‗common‘ structure is not always apparent. Additionally, for

certain companies and industries, segmentation between various divisions is often the logical and

desired outcome depending on the overall portfolio strategy and product offerings.

From the standpoint of the project manager, it is often daunting to navigate the organizational

waters and depending on the layout, the job of the project manager as well as the tactics they use

to accomplish their job may have to adjust to accommodate the various ways things are being

done and how they are organized.

With that being said, project managers may not have a say in what type of structure they would

prefer to operate in. Oftentimes, that is dictated for them. But in a general sense, what structure

would, from the project manager‘s perspective be ‗most‘ ideal?

There are often varied structures that exist in the corporate realm. These structures are sometimes

ad hoc and often times overlap and sometimes even contradict each other when examining them

from the top down. Yet at a foundational level, the different types of organizational structures can

often be summarized into three specific types, which are defined as follows:

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A. Functional Organization

This is an extremely common organizational

structure where team members work for a

specific department (engineering, human resources,

information technology, etc) and will in turn be

assigned or ‗loaned‘ to a specific project manager

as needed. In many cases, a project manager may

be ‗embedded‘ into a functional team if needed

and will often not work in areas outside of that team‘s Picture 5.1.1

scope. In this type of structure, the department managers and functional leaders carry the most

sway and the project manager in this circumstance is in a relatively weak role.

Benefits

Usually, team members will have a deeper expertise by function

Many members will be very specialized in their specific skill sets

Good career path for the individual contributors and functional managers

Drawbacks

Very little efficacy to the project manager role

Projects themselves are generally prioritized rather low

Resources can often be removed from a project at a moment‘s notice

Poor career path for the project manager

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B. Projectised Organization

From this standpoint, the organization is actually

structured in and around the projects themselves,

as opposed to the functional breakdowns by deliverables.

In this structure, the project manager is not only the

manager of the project, but will often operate as the

department manager as well, with individuals working

on his/her projects reporting directly to him or her.

In this type of structure, the project manager carries the most sway. Picture 5.1.2

Benefits

Project manager has more authority

Far easier for project communication to occur

Issues with resources are less of a problem

Drawbacks

Less of a career path for individual contributors

Less specialization; team members are more ‗jack of all trades‘

Less specific loyalty to project outcomes

C. Matrix Org

The final structure is essentially a combination of

the aforementioned functional and projectized

structures. Essentially, both functional managers

and project managers exist for projects and

programs. There are varying degrees of a matrix

structure as well. A ‗strong matrix‘ has the project

manager carrying a little more clout while the

‗weak matrix‘ has the project manager with

a little less influence. The happy medium is the

‗balanced matrix‘ where the project manager and

the functional manager are peers and equals. Picture 5.1.3

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Benefits

Is often the ‗best of both worlds‘ option, carrying benefits of both standard structures

Project managers can get deep expertise and function across varying company programs

Good career paths for team members, functional managers and project managers

Drawbacks

More overhead due to some duplication of efforts between functional and project managers

Can lead to some confusion with resources reporting to a functional manager while having

dotted lines to project managers, essentially giving them more than one manager to answer to

(Office Space anyone?!)

Can lead to contention between functional and project managers if disagreements arise

So which is the Best?

The answer to this will vary depending on who you ask. From our point of view as project and

program managers, we will likely bias towards the projectized structure. But is that one honestly

the best?

If one examines things and attempts a best of breed analysis, the matrix organization is often

thought of as the best of both worlds, provided it leans more towards the balanced or strong

matrix structure. In this case, not only does the project manager function in a more authoritative

capacity, team members and functional managers are equally afforded career paths that suit their

desires. As such, while a matrix may not be the ‗uper project manager‘ option, it does appear to

be the best overall option. One has to consider that a project‘s success often depends on certain

intangibles, including the satisfaction of the team members. Individual contributors working in

projectized organizations may become disillusioned with their options and decide to take their

business elsewhere. This can of course have dire consequences for the success of the project.

One other point of notice adding additional credence to the matrix organization is unlike the other

types, the project manager can also examine career opportunities that may span beyond their

existing role. Maybe they discover that being a functional manager is something they would like

to experiment with. Or perhaps ancillary roles such as product management, sales, and so forth.

While transitions can occur in other org structures, the very nature of a matrix usually indicates

that the Human Resources department has defined various career paths well, providing numerous

options for those in the company.

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Picture 5.1.4: Overview of different types of organizations

Which org structure is superior will always be a point of debate amongst peers in the industry.

The point of this article is more to give views based on the project manager‘s perspective, as

opposed to taking sides on the veracity of a particular organizational layout. How one function in

any structure is many times up to the individual and how they perform and adapt in the structure

they reside. But having some knowledge of the different types of structures can give more

guidance to the project manager when they are determining what is best for them in their career

path.

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2. How to Motivate a Project Team

Many project efforts require cooperation from more than one member of the work force. If you

have appointed a team to accomplish a project task, you will likely have the added challenge of

ensuring that the group is committed as a whole to the task. If they appear to lack of motivation,

you must work to overcome this issue because if you do not they will likely not invest adequate

energy or effort into the project.

Motivation can be the determining factor for the level of success a team achieves. In most cases,

a successful team/group will have been motivated from start to finish. There are some basic ―laws

of motivation‖ that need to be understood to maximize and keep a team motivated to achieve.

Laws of Motivation

1. An individual has to be motivated in order to motivate others: A person cannot expect to

motivate others if he/she is not individually motivated. To successfully evaluate what is

needed to motivate others, it is pertinent to consider the type of person that might

motivate you. Is this the type of person that might arrive before anyone else, who is

enthusiastic, positive, always has some sort of good news to pass on, is loyal to the group,

and leads by example? As a member of a group, each person cannot expect to move the

other members of the group to be motivated if he/she not motivated him/herself. If in a

group dynamic, there is not a single individual that has motivation to perform or to

complete the purpose of the group, that group is destined to fail. Richard Denney states in

his book, Motivate to Win, that ―if you want to motivate another person, you have to be

motivated yourself.‖

2. Motivation requires a goal: Without a specific goal in mind, it is impossible for a group or

team to be motivated. Although they might feel motivated, without a specific reason for

working or something they are working towards, their motivation serves little purpose.

Richard Denney points out that although this may seem like common sense, it is common

sense that is not commonly recognized. He also points out that motivation is about

striving towards the future and without a goal, there is no purpose. As an example,

consider a team sport where there is no competition or league that they can be a part of.

What motivation does the team have to practice and work as a team. The goal that most

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team sports have is to be the best compared to their competition. If there is no one to

compete against, there is no reason to compete. The motivation to perform is lost. The

goal to be the best compared to your competition is a vital component of the group or

teams motivation.

3. Motivation, Once Established, Never Lasts: Motivation should be an ongoing process. It

cannot be a once a year booster. Groups must come together on a frequent basis to discuss

their strengths and weaknesses and draw up plans of action and self-improvement for the

future. Conducting a 360-degree appraisal as a group can be one way to ensure that each

member is staying focused and makes necessary adjustments to their behavior. This gives

each group or team member an opportunity to assess the performance and contribution of

the other group or team members. Group members may need to be trained on this process

for it to be worthwhile, effective and motivational, but this investment can lead to more

motivated groups. Just because a group or team is motivated today does not mean that

they will be motivated tomorrow. It is important that groups and teams understand the

power of motivation, understand themselves as individuals, how they feel and why they

react the way they do. Group or team members must understand what makes them happy

or unhappy and what inspires them to do just a little bit more. It is also important to

understand what demotivates individuals and as frequently as possible try to take steps to

prevent it from happening.

4. Motivation Requires Recognition: People will strive harder for recognition than for

almost any other single thing in life. Consider a parents whose child brings home a picture

that they have painted at school. If that parent admires the picture, shows it to other

members of the family and pins it up on the wall, they have now motivated that child and

may begin to see more pictures. A genuine compliment is a form of recognition and it

takes a thoughtful person to give another a compliment. Small-minded people are unable

to recognize the achievements of others.

5. Participation Motivates: It is vital to get people involved and to seek their opinions. When

working in groups or teams it is important that an environment is established that gives

each group member an opportunity to express and share their ideas. People who are

listened to and are given an opportunity to actively participate, are more effective and are

more motivated. Julian Richer, founder of hi-fi retailer, Richer Sounds, says that when he

started his company 100 percent of the ideas came from him. Now, 90 percent of how the

company is run, including its systems and procedures, comes from his people. All

members of his staff are required to give 20 ideas per year for improvement. For each idea

they are rewarded a minimum amount, that increases based on the value of the idea. Every

idea presented is given a response within three days indicating why the idea could not be

implemented or whether further action would be taken. The consequence of this was a

steady stream of innovation, but even more important is that Richer Sounds has an

incredibly high staff retention rate. There is usually a list of people waiting for a vacancy.

6. Seeing Progression Motivates: When individuals progress as a group, moving forward

and achieving, they will always be more motivated. When they are going backwards and

not making progress, people are naturally less motivated. All members of the group must

learn from the past, but realize that they cannot change it. Instead, they must turn it to

their advantage and learn from it. Learning to focus on the slightest progress, whatever it

63

may be, allows a team to stay motivated. This law must be used, worked on, managed and

planned in order to maintain a high level of motivation.

7. Challenge Only Motivates if there is a Potential to Win: If targets for results are set to

high, they may actually have a de-motivating effect. If the consensus of the group or team

is that the targets are out of reach or impossible to achieve, de-motivation will be the

result. Competitions and challenges can certainly be motivating and can inspire people to

greater activity. People will rise to the occasion. Challenge groups or teams to get

something worthwhile done and nine times out of ten they will do it. Sometimes, the work

itself is a motivator, such as responsibility, challenge or a feeling of doing something

worthwhile. One can make a person‘s work more challenging by giving them the biggest

job they can handle and with this responsibility must come some credit of achievement

when the job is done.

8. Everybody Has a Motivational Fuse: Everyone can be motivated. Everyone has a fuse, it

is just a matter of knowing how to ignite it. At some point it may not be cost-effective to

continue trying to motivate a group or team to into greater activity or performance. It is a

person‘s attitude to a job that makes the difference. A person can quite emphatically state

and believe that theirs is the worst job humanity has ever created. Yet another person

taking on that same job with a different attitude will say and believe it is a great job and

will consider himself or herself fortunate to have it.

9. Group Belonging Motivates: People want to have a sense of belonging. The smaller the

group or team, the greater the loyalty, motivation and effort. Extra-curricular activities

can be used to draw people together.

10. Inspired Leaders are Motivational: This is not necessarily a manager. Leaders are those

that inspire others to action. Leaders are willing to take risks, are continually looking for

new challenges and opportunities. People are much more likely to be motivated when

there is inspired leadership. Leaders will defend others in their group and take full

responsibility for criticism.

Unusual Strategies to Inspire Your Team

Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, a team loses its enthusiasm for a project. Maybe the

project has gone on too long. Perhaps the client is difficult or unpleasant. Or maybe your

team is overworked and under stress. No matter the reason, your project is in danger.

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Unhappy teams tend to produce substandard work. But what can a Project Manager do to lift

his team‘s spirits so that they can give their best effort?

Here are four strategies that go beyond the usual ―Inspire and Reward‖ approach.

Strategy #1: Change the world together

Team members tend to get caught up in the minutiae of coding, sketching, bug-hunting, etc.

While their narrow view helps keep them focused, they need a little perspective once in a

while. Make sure to set a vision for your project and how it‘s going to change the world or

least your organization. Then share this vision with everyone on your team. Remind them of

the importance of their task and how it fits into the big picture. Login pages might not be the

sexiest of assignments, but what use is an intranet site if nobody can get inside?

Strategy #2: Forget about rewards and bonuses

The ―carrot-on-the-stick‖ philosophy might have been used to motivate people for centuries,

but it doesn‘t necessarily means that it‘s the best strategy.

Here is some food for your thoughts:

One day an old man saw that kids started playing soccer next to his house. Naturally he was

worried about the safety of his windows and the noise. The old man knew he could not force

them to stop. So, instead he offered them 5 dollars to play near his house. It was no-brainer

for the kids and they agreed. He did the same thing for the next couple of days. Then on the

fourth day, the old man told them he was sorry but he could only pay them 1 dollar. The kids

were not happy but took the money and kept playing. The fifth day, the old man announced

he could only pay 10 cents, but he would really love them to keep playing. The kids called

him a cheapskate and left. He never saw them again. It‘s a well-established fact that intrinsic

motivation works much better than the extrinsic one. This also applies to project management.

So stop just giving out bonuses and make sure your team really cares about what they do.

Strategy #3: Go watch a movie

Sometimes team members just need a break from the grind. Whether it‘s an internal Tekken

tournament or a catered barbecue, getting away from the keyboard is an excellent way to

charge up the batteries. Why not just pick a movie and take everyone on your team to the

nearest theatre. And yes, I‘m talking business hours here.

Strategy #4: Lead by Example – Clean a Toilet

A Project Manager is a leader, first and foremost. This means that you have to act as an

example to your team. While you don‘t have to be (and shouldn‘t be) the best coder, designer,

or SEO expert, you do have to be able to walk the walk, roll up your sleeves, and dive into the

project yourself. Joel Spolsky tells a great story about his army sergeant major showing him

how to clean a toilet, thus giving a lesson in real leadership.

While I‘m not suggesting you follow his example literally, you need to show your project

management team how far you‘re willing to go to get things done. It‘s important to remember

65

that teams are composed of people with their own motivations, desires, and needs. As a

Project Manager, your job is to understand your team and their potential, and do everything in

your power to make sure they reach it, whatever it takes!

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****************************************************************************************

The sixth section contains updated information on the project management next

generation

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 6

Next generation

Project Management

****************************************************************************************

“I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the

service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed

to invent....” (Thomas Edison)

67

68

1. Project Management 2.0

Project Management 2.0 is the ultimate new approach to Project Management. It is one branch

of evolution of project management practices, which was enabled by the emergence of Web

2.0 technologies. Such applications include: blogs, wikis, collaborative software, etc. Because of

Web 2.0 technologies, small distributed & virtual teams can work together much more efficiently

by utilizing the new-generation, usually low or no-cost Web-based project management tools.

These tools challenge the traditional view of the project manager, as Project Management 2.0

represents a dramatic increase in the ability for distributed teams' collaboration. While Web 2.0

tools and Project Management 2.0 systems may enable the project team to collaborate more

richly online, these tools often have no audit-able project management functionality, and the

Project Management 2.0 term may be a misnomer.

In the past few years, there has been much talk about ―Web 2.0.‖ According to this concept, the

World Wide Web has evolved and transformed in important ways since its early days. The key

features of Web 2.0 are collaboration, interconnectivity, and user-generated content.

A similar transformation is currently happening in the field of project management. Traditional

highly-structured, top down conceptions of managing projects are giving way in some places to a

new model, one that places less emphasis on the manager‘s role as the project‘s overseer and

more on the project team‘s ability to plan, adapt, and communicate. According to Project

Manager Planet‘s Chris Lynch, the heart of this new ―Project Management 2.0‖ is collaboration.

Despite this new conception of how a project team should work, there is still an important role

for the project manager within the framework of Project Management 2.0. Lynch says that the

best managers will be able to understand ―the fundamentals of collaboration, insight and

accountability.‖ Technical knowledge is relatively less important than these (less tangible, but no

less real) qualities when it comes to guiding and directing this newer, more democratic approach

to planning and implementing projects.

Project Management 2.0 is still a fairly new concept, and what exactly it means for the future of

project management and the businesses which employ it is still up for debate. Traditional

methods of managing projects are not far from obsolete today, nor do they seem likely to become

so anytime in the near future. However, the changes brought about by the emergence of Project

Management 2.0 mean that businesses have another important tool available to them that they

would be wise to consider.

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Comparison of traditional project management and project management 2.0

While traditional project management structures focused on the paradigm of the project manager as

controller, Project management 2.0 stresses the concept of distributed collaboration, and the project

manager as a leader. Project management 2.0 advocates open communication. While traditional project

management often was driven by formal reporting and hierarchical structures, project management 2.0

stresses the need for access to information for the whole team. This has led to one of the many criticisms

of Project Management 2.0 - which it cannot scale to large projects. However, for distributed teams

performing agile development, which are often emergent structures, the use of rich collaborative

software may enable the development of collective intelligence

Common comparisons of traditional project management vs. project management 2.0 are listed in

the table below:

Traditional Project

Management

Project Management 2.0

Centralization of control Decentralization of control

Top-down planning Bottom-up planning

Authoritarian environment Collaborative environment

Implied structure Emergent structures

Limited/Restricted Access

to the plan

Organized/Unlimited Access to the plan

Local Access to

information

Global/Live Access to information

Limited Communications

within team

Unlimited Communications within team

Separate projects Holistic approach

Overly complex tools Easy to use tools

Rigidity of tools Flexibility of tools

Picture 6.1.1: List of Differences between Traditional Project Management and Project

Management 2.0

Traditional methods are centralized and top-down. Project Management 2.0 is decentralized and

bottom-up. Traditional methods are authoritarian: with the project manager having all ultimate

responsibility for the project. Project Management 2.0 is collaborative and team-based, with

responsibilities shared by all. The project manager, therefore, has less of a burden. Traditional

methods feature relatively little communication and access to information. Project Management

70

2.0 puts communication and ease of accessing information at the forefront of its strategy. Projects

undertaken using traditional methods follow an implied structure. In projects using the concepts

of Project Management 2.0, emergent structures become the norm. The tools used in traditional

methods are complex and inflexible. Project Management 2.0 stresses the importance of

simplicity and flexibility. In traditional methods, projects are kept separated from one another.

Project Management 2.0 urges businesses to keep in mind the ways that all projects are

interrelated.

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2. What is Agile Project Management?

Picture 6.2.1

When it comes to agile project management roles, it‘s worth nothing that most agile processes-

Surum in particular- do not include a project manager. Without specific person assigned agile

project manager roles and responsibilities are distributed among others on project, namely the

team, the scurum master and the product owner. Within agile development, Scrum has the most

to say about exactly what is agile project management. So let‘s use Scrum as our model for

answering this question. On a Scrum project, there are three roles: product owner, ScrumMaster

and team.

The product owner is responsible for the business aspects of the project, including ensuring the

right product is being built, and in the right order. A good product owner can balance competing

priorities, is available to the team, and is empowered to make decisions about the product.

The ScrumMaster serves as the team's coach, helping team members work together in the most

effective manner possible. A good ScrumMaster views the role as one of providing a service to

the team, removing impediments to progress, facilitating meetings and discussions, and

performing typical project management duties such as tracking progress and issues.

The team itself assumes agile project management roles when determining how to best achieve

the product goals (as established by the product owner). Team members will collaboratively

decide which person should work on which tasks, which technical practices are necessary to

achieve stated quality goals, and so on.

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So, what is ―agile‖ about this process? Agile project management divides responsibility among

more than one team member. In the case of Scrum, it‘s a project's product owner, ScrumMaster

and the rest of the team.

One of the common misperceptions about agile processes is that there is no need for agile project

management, and that agile projects run themselves. It is easy to see how an agile process‘ use of

self-organizing teams, its rapid pace, and the decreased emphasis on detailed plans lead to this

perception. In a recent egroup, a project manager at a company that was implementing agile had

been moved to another area because, ―…agile doesn‘t require management.‖ However, agile

processes still require project management. In this article we will look at the reasons why and the

types of management.

The Need for Agile Project Management

Picture 6.2.2

Project management is critical to the success of most projects, even projects following agile

processes. Without management, project teams may pursue the wrong project, may not include

the right mix of personalities or skills, may be impeded by organizational dysfunctionality, or

may not deliver as much value as possible. We are beginning to formalize these management

responsibilities. In the process, we hope that they become clearer to those beginning to

implement agile processes, without those people losing the feeling for people, collaboration, and

interactions that underlie all agile processes. The below table summarizes these Agile project

management responsibilities.

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Picture 6.2.3

Agile Project Management and Shared Vision

Picture 6.2.4

For a team to succeed with agile development it is essential that a shared vision be established.

The vision must be shared not just among developers on the development team but also with

others within the company. Most plan-driven processes also advocate the need for a shared

vision; however, if that vision isn‘t communicated or is imprecise or changing, the project can

always fall back on its detailed (but not necessarily accurate) lists of tasks and procedures. This is

not the case on an agile project and agile project participants use the shared vision to guide their

day-to-day work much more actively.

The formation of the project vision is not the responsibility of the agile project manager; usually

the vision comes directly from a customer or customer proxy, such as a product manager. The

project manager, however, is usually involved in distilling the customer‘s grand vision into a

meaningful plan for everyone involved in the project. Rather than a detailed command-and-

control plan based on Gantt charts, however, the agile plan‘s purpose is to lay out an investment

vision against which management can assess and frequently adjust its investments, lay out a

common set of understandings from which emergence, adaptation and collaboration occur, and

establish expectations against which progress will be measured. The project manager works with

the customer to lay out a common set of understandings from which emergence, adaptation and

collaboration can occur. The agile project nurtures project team members to implement the vision

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Agile Project Management and Obstacles

Imagine yourself on a bicycle pedaling along a road some warm summer day. After the ride is

done you may look back on it as having been relatively free of surprises; however, while riding

you probably had to avoid a number of obstacles: the glass in the road, the narrow shoulder, the

car turning left in front of you, and so on. Most of these obstacles are easily avoided by a little

forethought and by looking ahead on the road. You don‘t need to plan the entire trip in advance

(―At 9:43 a.m. remember to avoid the pothole on 95th Street‖) but paying attention and glancing

down the road help you avoid obstacles or even head-on collisions. Participating in an agile

project is much the same way: a little forethought and looking ahead go a long way toward

improving the journey.

Most agile processes prescribe a highly focused effort on creating a small set of features during

an ―iteration‖ or ―sprint‖ after which the team quickly regroups and decides on the set of features

for the next iteration or sprint. While iteration is ongoing the team members are expected to focus

exclusively on the current iteration.

Picture 6.2.5

While this sharp focus leads to greater productivity during the current iteration it can cause a bit

of a billiard-ball effect as the conclusion of one iteration can bounce out the start of the next. A

project manager who spends a small amount of time looking forward at the next iteration is an

excellent buffer against this effect. For example, many organizations have travel restrictions that

require plane tickets to be purchased two weeks in advance. If a team could benefit from having a

remotely located employee on site during the coming iteration the time to plan for that is during

the current iteration.

Another type of obstacle may be a team member.

While agile processes such as Extreme Programming and Scrum rely on self-organizing teams,

an agile project manager cannot simply turn a team loose on a project. The agile manager must

still monitor that corporate policies or project rules are followed. Participation on an agile team

does not turn all developers into model employees.

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Picture 6.2.6

In most cases the team itself will employ some form of sanctioning on an employee who is not

working hard enough or is exhibiting other performance or behavior problems. However, in the

most severe cases the collective team usually cannot be the one to terminate or officially

reprimand an employee. Performance feedback can always be expressed in terms of team views

of the individual‘s contribution to the team (e.g., ―I‘ve discussed it with members on the team and

we do not think you are being careful enough in your unit testing‖). But if a counseling or

coaching session is necessary it is usually best when between just the project manager and the

team member.

Agile Project Management Conclusions

Picture 6.2.7

Robert Greenleaf has introduced the concept of the ―servant-leader.‖1 Perhaps this is the most

appropriate way of thinking of the agile project manager. On an agile project the project manager

does not so much manage the project as he both serves and leads the team. Perhaps this is one

reason why, anecdotally, it seems much more common to see an agile project manager also

function as a contributor to the project team (whether writing or running tests, writing code or

documentation, etc.).

Plan-driven software methodologies use a command-and-control approach to project

management. A project plan is created that lists all known tasks. The project manager‘s job then

becomes one of enforcing the plan. Changes to the plan are typically handled through ―change

control boards‖ that either reject most changes or they institute enough bureaucracy that the rate

of change is slowed to the speed that the plan-driven methodology can accommodate. There can

be no servant-leadership in this model. Project managers manage: they direct, administer and

supervise.

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****************************************************************************************

This section contains information on the Project Management organizations and the

possible certifications they provide.

****************************************************************************************

SECTION 7

Get Certified!

**************************************************************”

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and

looks like work. “(Thomas Edison)

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78

1. Professional PM Associations

In this chapter we will give you an overview of some most important project management

associations. In the world there is of course many other associations or organizations, which are

trying to developed new techniques and methods in project management. But this book should be

attractive for readers, so we will mentioned only the most important. Let's have a look on them!

GAPPS - Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards

This alliance is a nonprofit organization that provides independent reference benchmarks

for project management standards and assessments. Driven entirely by volunteers, the GAPPS is

an alliance of government, private industry, professional associations, and training and academic

institutions working to develop globally applicable performance based competency standards for

project management. The GAPPS produces standards, frameworks, and comparability maps (of

other standards and frameworks) which are intended to facilitate mutual recognition of project

management qualifications and are available for download, free of charge, from their website.

GAPPS membership is open to any organization (public or private) or government agency and

maintains a listing of current members on its website. Further, the GAPPS members can be

categorized into four distinct types - Standards & Qualifications Organizations, Project

Management Professional Associations, Industry and Academic Institutions

According to the GAPPS website, their objectives are to:

1. Facilitate, develop, approve, publish, promote, maintain and review:

1. global project management standards

2. usage guidelines for project management standards, but

2. NOT consult, advise, express opinion or develop products based upon standards and guidelines

3. NOT provide training, assessment, certifications or qualifications to individuals based upon standards and

guidelines

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The GAPPS has also produced a lot of standards, researches, and documents connected to the

topic of project management.

ICEC - International Cost Engineering Council

This council is a nonpolitical and nonprofit organization. ICEC‘s objective is

to promote cooperation between cost engineering, quantity surveying and

project management organizations. This is global and local initiative to ensure the shared well-

being of the organization and that of their individual members.

ICEC identifies itself as a Worldwide Confederation of Cost Engineering, Quantity Surveying

and Project Management Societies.

ICEC is an organization with Roster Consultative Status in the Economic and Social Council of

the United Nations.

Member societies of ICEC are generally national associations or institutes.

IPMA - International Project Management Association

This association is a non-profit, Swiss-registered organization for the promotion of project

management internationally. The IPMA is a federation of more than 50 national and

internationally oriented project management associations with over 120.000 members world-wide

as of 2012.

The association was started in 1965 in Vienna by a European group of managers, and initially

established under the name "International Management Systems Association" (IMSA). It held its

first international congress in Vienna in 1967, which was attended by professionals from 30

different countries. In 1979 the association was renamed to International Project Management

Association.

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IPMA's focus is in the development and promotion of the project management profession. It

provides standards and establishes guidelines for the work of project management professionals

through the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB®). The Certification Program is delivered by

National Member Associations and/or Certification Bodies in various membership countries. As

of 2012 there are more than 150,000 IPMA-certified competency-based certificates worldwide,

which are held by professionals from recognized businesses and organizations around the world.

With its unique federation approach, IPMA is an umbrella organization for independent Member

Associations from over 50 countries world-wide, each of whom represents IPMA in their

respective countries. Through IPMA, project management practitioners from all cultures and all

parts of the world can network, share ideas, and move our practice and our stakeholders forward

through effective collaboration and cooperation.

PMI - Project Management Institute

This institute is one of the most famous organizations

dealing with problems of project management. It is also a not-for-profit professional

organization for the project management profession with the purpose of advancing project

management.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a range of services to the Project

Management profession such as the development of standards, research, education, publication,

networking-opportunities in local chapters, hosting conferences and training seminars, and

maintaining multiple credentials in project management. PMI has recruited volunteers to create

industry standards, such as "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge", which has

been recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Launched in 1984, PMI's first credential was the PMP. Over 500,000 people now hold the PMP

credential. In 2007, it earned the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation from the International

Organization for Standardization (ISO). Credential holders do not have to be members of PMI.

Over time, PMI has introduced many other credentials and a certification. A full, updated list can

be viewed at PMI official web site.

The standards PMI develop and publish fall into three main categories - Foundational Standards,

Practice Standards and Frameworks and PMI Standards Extensions

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2. Project Management Certification

In this chapter we will try to provide you an overview of project management certifications. Overview of

certifications is not easy to make because each PM association have own types of certifications with

different usage and labels. For this purpose we are going to give you an overview of certifications from

one of the most known associations PMI - Project Management Institute. Short description of this

association is given in the chapter about PM associations.

In an increasingly projectized world, professional certification ensures that project managers are ready to

meet the demands of projects across the globe.

PMI offers a comprehensive certification program for project practitioners of all education and skill levels.

Currently consisting of six credentials, the program demonstrates both your commitment to the profession

and your expertise through certifying education, experience and competency. Rigorously developed by

project managers, PMI certifications ensure that you and your projects excel.

As project management is one of the top skill sets demanded by organizations around the world, this is

more important now than ever before. One-fifth of the world‘s GDP, or more than $12 trillion, is spent on

projects. And with many skilled practitioners leaving or scheduled to leave the workforce due to

retirement — a trend the Society of Human Resources (SHRM) identifies as having a major strategic

impact for 64% of organizations worldwide — there is a great demand for knowledgeable project

managers.

When these opportunities arise, certification helps make sure that you‘ll be ready. There are already more

than 460,000 PMI credential holders around the world and in every industry, from healthcare,

telecommunications and finance to IT and construction.

The 2012 PMI Pulse of the Profession study found that organizations with more than 35% PMP certified

project managers had better project performance. And according to a 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers

survey, 80% of high-performing projects use a credentialed project manager. Make sure you‘re one of

them by earning a PMI certification. But which one should you earn? Obtaining a PMI credential is not

something to be taken lightly, whether this is your first one or you‘re moving up to a PMP® or PgMP®,

or you‘re earning a specialty credential like the PMI-ACP®, PMI-SP® or PMI-RMP®.

You need to choose the credential that best fits your knowledge and experience, as well as your future

career plans.

You can apply for any certification that matches your qualifications, and no certification serves as a

prerequisite for another. Also, you don‘t need to be a PMI member to obtain a credential, but there are

member discounts on application and credential maintenance costs.

Here is the list of potential certification from PMI:

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The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® is a good entry-level certification if

you‘re new to project management, or still figuring out your career path.

The Project Management Professional (PMP)® is the most important globally-recognized and

independently validated credential for project managers, perfect if you have demonstrated

experience and competence in leading project teams.

The Program Management Professional (PgMP)® is designed for those who manage multiple,

complex projects to achieve strategic and organizational results.

The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® is designed for practitioners who utilize Agile

approaches to project management in their projects.

The PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® is a specialty credential that demonstrates

competence in assessing project risks, mitigating threats and capitalizing on opportunities.

The PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® is a specialty credential for practitioners who want

to focus on developing and maintaining project schedules.

The OPM3® Professional Certification recognizes your experience with, and practical knowledge

of, organization project management and project management maturity.

PMI Certifications and ISO

The Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential scheme is accredited by the American National

Standards Institute (ANSI) against the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17024. The

17024 standard includes vigorous requirements for examination development and maintenance and for the

quality management systems for continuing quality assurance.

In addition, PMP credential is also registered against the ISO 9001:2000 standard for quality management

systems. This accreditation provides a third-party affirmation of quality in the development, management

and governance of the PMP®. It also gives credential holders and organizations who employ them

additional confidence in the PMP.

The 17024 standard includes vigorous requirements for examination development and maintenance and

for the quality management systems for continuing quality assurance. This distinction benefits PMP

credential holders in several ways:

83

1. It elevates the status of PMP credential holders within organizations and the global project

management community

2. It allows organizations that employ PMP credential holders to reference the PMP‘s accreditation

under ISO 17024 as a qualifier for the competence and capability of their employees

3. It assures those professionals considering the PMP that the credential is recognized by the global

business community

PM Certification programs

As it was said before, all around a world there is a many types of project management certification

programs and associations, which provides these certifications. Except already mentioned association PMI

the others like IPMA provides many variations of certificates.

Also many well-known universities like Stanford, Berkeley organize project management courses that

provide a PM certification.

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References

1. Yahoo Voices, Jaimelynn Hitt, Yahoo Contributor Network

Mar 10, 2009, from http://voices.yahoo.com/what-9-project-management-

knowledge-areas-2666028.html

2. CTU Online. (Ed.). (ca. 2007). Phase 2 Course Material [multimedia

presentation]. Colorado Springs, CO: CTU Online. Retrieved January 22,

2008, from CTU Online, Virtual Campus, MPM401 Project Management

Theory: 0801A-03. Website:

https://campus.ctuonline.edu/MainFrame.aspx?ContentFrame=/Classroom/co

urse.aspx?Class=23719&tid=39

3. De Jaeger, J. (2008) What is PMBOK? Retrieved January 24, 2008, from

http://www.12manage.com/methods_pmi_pmbok.html

4. Gido and Clements. (2006) Successful Project Management. (3rd

ed.)

Thomson Higher Education: Mason, OH.

5. Project Management Institute (PMI). (2004) A Guide to the Project

Management Body of Knowledge. Project Management Institute: Newtown

Square, PA.

6. Project Smart. (2008) The Project Management Body of Knowledge

(PMBOK). Retrieved January 24, 2008, from

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmbok.html

7. http://blogs.attask.com/wp-

content/uploads/2011/09/fcb8344c1e23c3c723944b8a48e791fb.png

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_charter

9. PM study circle, 2013, http://pmstudycircle.com/2012/03/stakeholders-in-

project-management-definition-and-types/

10. Dreams time, 2013, http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-business-

project-management-stakeholders-diagram-image17369894

11. http://programsuccess.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/the-best-structure-to-work-

under-for-the-project-manager/

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12. http://www.lindsay-

sherwin.co.uk/project_framework/htm_5_project_management/11_project_str

uctures.html

13. Andrew Filev (January 15, 2008). "Definition of Project Management 2.0".

Retrieved 2008-01-31.

14. Leisa Reichelt (June 20, 2007). "Social Project Management". Retrieved

2008-01-31.

15. Dr. Kifah Jayyousi (September 6, 2006). "Project Management Wiki!

Everything, Everywhere and Everybody‘s Project". Retrieved 2008-01-31.

16. "Project Management 2.0 - Was it really about Project Management?". Blog.

Retrieved 16 April 2011.

17. Kathleen Haas (May, 2007). "The Blending of Traditional and Agile Project

Management". Retrieved 2008-01-31.

18. Chris Lynch (September 21, 2007). "Project Management 2.0". Retrieved

2008-01-31.

19. Tiberiu Ghioca (August 9, 2013). "PM 1.0 versus PM 2.0. What Is Next –

Project Management 3.0?". Retrieved 2013-08-09.

20. http://www.projectmanagesoft.com/faq/what-is-project-management-2.0

86

PART II

THE THOMAS EDISON TEAM’S

METHODOLOGY

We will either find a way, or make one.” (Hannibal)

87

88

The Thomas Edison Team’s Methodology

After reading carefully the instructions, we set down on the same table and discussed the book

specifications. We wanted to be sure that all of us are on the same page.

In order to better connect, we created a Closed Facebook group named Thomas Edison. We also

exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. We attributed the roles as following:

We chose a coordinator (Elena) who will be in charge of assembling everyone‘s work at the end

of each day. We decided that each of us should work on small tasks on their own computer and

then we should assemble the work on one computer, in order to keep the homogeneity of the

style.

Day 1: Each of us had small tasks (mini CVs), team name, covers, and intro.

Below you can see a snapshot (Picture 1) of Thomas Edison‘s team while assembling small parts

that were sent by e-mail exactly 20 minutes before the deadline.

Picture 1

89

At the end of the day, we had a review session in order to look back and analyze the work we had

done and improve the process for the next session.

Picture 2

All the pictures, reviews, book versions in .doc and .pdf format were uploaded at the end of each

session on the Facebook group.

Day 2: Before starting to work, we took a look on the review paper we completed the previous

day. We split again the work, discussed and decided how to do it. Each of us was attributed 3

chapters. We tried to assign them in a logical way. For example, PMBOK and Price 2 were

assigned to Fadi because both of them are Project Management methods.

In the below picture (Picture 3) you can find Thomas Edison‘s team reviewing again the

specifications, even in the ―implementation‖ phase of the project.

We discovered that we should read

very carefully the specifications

beforehand and discuss together the

requirements. Also, we had to add

personal value to the book for the

next sessions (The introduction and

the blurb should be personalized).

We agreed for the next day for all

of us to bring their laptop in order

to stick together and work closely.

We decided that for the next

session we will have finalized 2

chapters by the end of the session.

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Picture 3

Picture 4

We highlighted the specifications

that we should carefully take into

account and especially the ones we

missed during Day 1. We

completed together the review and

brainstormed new ideas at the end

of day 2(Picture 5).

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Picture 5

Day 3: As we decided at the end of Day2, we stick to the plan and began our day by finding a

way of arranging the chapters. By this time, everyone had an idea of their chapter‘s content, even

if we did not finalize their content. After a brainstorming of about 40 minutes, we finally decided

one way of arranging the content. We created a post for each of the chapter (Picture 6) and we

draw a mind map. The below snapshot (Picture 6) was taken at the beginning of the

brainstorming session and Picture 7 was taken at the end.

We decided at the end of Day 2

that we still have to work on

chapters‘ content and discuss a way

to arrange them in order to make

the book a ―fluid‖ one. Also, we

agreed to use a single way of

adding references.

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Picture 6

Picture 7

We started Day 3 by listing all the

chapters and a short description of

each of them in order to include them

in a generic section.

After a team-work brainstorming, we

built a mind-map. For a better

representation, we used Free Mind

tool, as you can see in Picture 8.

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Picture 8: The book mind map using Free Mind tool

At the end of Day 3 we built a TO DO list for the next day.

Day 4: Day 4 was the one when we paid careful attention to the time. We prioritized the work

and split the tasks for the latest and small adjustments of the book.

To draw a conclusion, we can confirm that this project has gone through all the steps a regular

project should go: Define the project, the users and stakeholders. Then we defined our objectives

taking into account the timelines. We split the objectives into small tasks and allocated the

resources. Afterwards, we began implementation. When problems appeared we had to adjust our

plans by using various means of communication.

We learned that in order for a project to be successful, there needs to be a clear vision on the

objective and results, shared by all the team members. Communication is the bridge between all

the persons involved in the project. We also learned how to be efficient taking into account a

predefined timeline.

We also learned that we have to take into account the following:

We have to have a clear vision regarding the scope and the results of the project.

All those involved in the project must have a clear understanding of the responsibilities

There must be a good open communication between all those involved in the project

Motivation and performance make the difference

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Thomas Edison Team Members – Mini CVs

Name: ALHAJ AHMED Fadi

Age: 35

Nationality: Palestine

Background: Bachelor degree in Telecommunications and

Electrical Engineering

Working Experience: Technical and Administrative fields (7 years)

Languages: Arabic, English

E-mail: fadi.alhajahmed@edu.esiee.fr

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Name: DORNEANU Elena

Age: 25

Nationality: Romanian

Background: Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Master in

Databases& Business Support

Working Experience: Business Intelligence field (3 Years)

Languages: English, French, Spanish, Romanian

E-mail: elena.dorneanu@edu.esiee.fr

Name: BLAHA Stepan

Age: 25

Nationality: Czech

Background: Bachelor degree in Electronics and Telecommunication

Working Experience: Electronics field (summer job)

Languages: Czech, English, French

E-mail: stepan.blaha@edu.esiee.fr

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Name: ISMAIL Faridha Begum

Age: 30

Nationality: Indian

Background: Bachelor in Computer Science & Engineering

Working Experience: Aviation Management & Administration (3 Years)

Languages: Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, English & French

E-mail: faridhabegum.ismail@edu.esiee.fr

Name: NGUYEN Huy Khoa

Age: 24

Nationality: Vietnamese

Background: Bachelor in Computer Science

Working Experience: Software Engineer (2 years)

Languages: English, French, Vietnamese

E-mail: huykhoa.nguyen@edu.esiee.fr

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Name: PALANI KANYA Naveen

Age: 22

Nationality: Indian

Background: Bachelor in Engineering in Electrical and Electronics

Working Experience: Intern at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, INDIA (December 2011-

January 2012)/Intern at Safran, Paris, FRANCE (May-July 2013)

Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, French

E-mail: naveen.palanikanya@edu.esiee.fr

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Thomas Edison

Team Members Elena Dorneanu Štěpán Bláha

Fadi Alhaj Saajan Ismail

Huy Khoa Nguyen Naveen Pk