ESTAT

Crista Filip

8 March 2017

Project Management Where do we start from?

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Why a training on project management?

• Manage change (and related risks) in an effective way• Save time and resources• Ensure that a project has adequate resources at its disposal

throughout the project’s life time• Efficient cooperation of activities• Adequate user participation• Ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into future project

planning and implementation

• Promote project management skills in the organisation

Ensure project success!

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The definition of a PROJECT

“A project is a temporary organisation which is set up to create a uniqueproduct or service (output) within

certain constraints such as time, cost, and quality.“

(PM2 Methodology Guide)

A process differs primarily from a project in that a process is continuous and repetitive.

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The definition of PROJECT MANAGEMENT

“ Project management can be described as the activities of planning, organising,

securing, monitoring and managing the necessary resources and work to deliver

specific project goals and objectivesin an effective and efficient way.“

(PM2 Methodology Guide)

A Project Management Methodology provides a structured way for managing projects!

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What IS this about?• This is a TOOL for YOU to work smarter – not harder!• Better preparation and planning pays off – for YOU• This is about structuring what we already do!• Project documentation (audit trail) protects YOU!• Getting better SUPPORT from the HIERARCHY!• Identified risks are more easily avoided or dealt with

What is this NOT about?• This is NOT about form filling• This is NOT about box ticking• This is NOT an extra administrative layer

But what’s in it for me?

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Project Phases

A project phase is “a collection of project activities; it is a component of

the project lifecycle.“(PM2 Methodology Guide)

Project LifeCycle

Initiating Planning Executing Closing

Monitor & Control

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• The principles of project management differ significantly from the traditional organisation of activities.

• But they do not aim to replace the traditional management system: they complement it by creating a parallel and temporary framework for a specific need.

Projects within the Organisation

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Matrix

D.G.

Unit 2Unit 1 Unit … Unit …Unit …Unit 4Unit 3

Project-based Organisation

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• Critical projects

• Non-critical projects

For both types, a further distinction has to be made into

• Non-IT projects• IT projects

Types of EUROSTAT Projects

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PM Documents and Templates

• Business Case• Planning and Monitoring Document

- Monitoring Report- Change requests (Exception reports)

• Project-End Report

• More templates are available in the PM2 Methodology (e.g. meeting minutes, etc.):- http://intracomm.ec.testa.eu/wikis/pages/viewpage.a

ction?pageId=57511075

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4 PHASES to managing a project

Project LifeCycle

Initiating Planning Executing Closing

Monitor & Control

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Relevantmeets

demonstrated and high

priority needs

Feasiblewell designed

and will deliver

sustainable benefits to

target groups

Effective and well manageddelivering anticipated benefits and being well managedInitiating

PlanningExecuting

The focus differs in the project life cycle

“Why & What?” “How?” “Work!”

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StakeholdersDefinition: • Any individual, group or organisation that can

affect, be affected by (positively or negatively) or perceive itself to be affected by the project. A stakeholder can also exert influence over the project and its deliverables

(PM2 Methodology Guide)

Stakeholder identification and mapping:• Lists• Tables / Matrices (using predefined structure)• Tree diagrams / Organisational charts• Mind maps• Venn diagrams

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High

Average

Low

Influence

AttitudeNegative Neutral Positive

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Stakeholder assessment

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• Per stakeholder:• What is his/her interest in the project/results?

• What is his/her attitude towards the project/results?

• What is his/her influence on project/results?

• What is inherent risk for project success?

• In which way does he/she want to be involved?

• How does he/she want to be informed?• Communication Plan! (Planning Phase)

• What will be your approach, how will you involve him/her at what step in the process?

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Stakeholder Management

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• Mandate and strategic context (3.2)

• Problem statement and stakeholder analysis (3.1, 5.1, A1)

• Existing work in the field (5.2)

• Scope, aims and objectives (4.1, 4.2)

• Risk analysis (5.4, A2)

• What is not to be included (4.5)

• Pro’s and con’s of possible options (5.3)

• Preferred approach (6.1, 6.2, 6.3)

• Deliverables, key milestones, indicators (4.3, 4.4)

• Project Organisation: PM & Team, Reporting, Documentation (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4)

• Purpose and Action required (1 & 2)

Phase 1: Initiating (“Why & What“)

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The Business Case (BC)The BC explains the reasons for the project, provides information on the business context and recommends a solution (from a selection of several possible solutions)

The BC is an important document:

• Legal basis for project activities

• Reference for all requests for financing throughout the life-cycle of the project (and even beyond that in case the project leads to the establishment of a permanent process)

• Outline the transition from project to process (if applicable) and clearly mark the project end

Keep the BC concise and useful !!!

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Risks

Definition: • A risk is uncertain event or set of events (positive

or negative) that, should it occur, will have an effect on the achievement of the project objectives.

(PM2 Methodology Guide)

A risk is generally measured by a combination of • Severity (Impact) of the risk occurring

(seriousness of consequences), and• Probability (Likelihood) of the risk happening

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• Identify all and any possible risks• Assess Severity (S) of risk on occurrence, scale 1-3• Assess Probability (P) that risk will occur, scale 1-3• Calculate Magnitude (M) by multiplying S with P• Design measures: mitigation & contingency

Risk assessment

Risk S P M Mitigation Contingency1 to 3 1 to 3

1 1 13 3 9

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Severity

Probability Low High

Low Tolerate (accept): wait and see

Transfer: contract out, external insurance of

risk

High

Treat (mitigate): limit damage, improve

prevention and control measures to keep risks

as low (small) as possible

Terminate (avoid): modify plan, retract,

stop related activities

Risk management options

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• Who is the project owner?

• Has a project manager been named?

• Is the need for the project understood and agreed by decision makers and all contributors?

• Who are the stakeholders? Different types?

• What are their needs, expectations (and priorities)?

• What are the key risks? Which ones do we accept, which ones can we reduce, how can we handle them?

• Based on needs, constraints and risks, what are the objectives? Are they understood and agreed?

• What can we learn from other (similar) projects?

Key Questions in Phase 1

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• Have the resources needed for the proposed solution been agreed upon?

• Do we have time for the project with this approach?

• Have indicators been identified and agreed?

• Has the project team been identified?

• Have the powers delegated to the project manager been clearly defined?

• Who will support and guide (apart from project owner)?

• Have reporting mechanism been agreed and set-up?

• Have documentation requirements been considered?

• Has the Business Case been formally approved?

Key Questions in Phase 1 (continued)

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• Principal project design and project overview (1)

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• Detailed stage planning (2)

• Network diagrams and critical path identification

• Gantt charts and scheduling (incl. milestones)

• Risk management planning (3)

• Based on the risk analysis from Business Case

• Stakeholder involvement!

• Include risk management actions in detailed planning

• Technical specification and quality assurance planning (4)

• Dissemination and communication planning (5)

Phase 2: Planning (“How“)

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Large, complex projects are organized and comprehended by breaking them into progressively smaller pieces until they are a collection of defined

"work packages" that may include a number of tasks.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is used to provide the framework for organizing and managing

the work.

The WBS is a hierarchical description of all the work that must be done to meet the project objectives. The

WBS decomposes the project into different levels (activities, sub-tasks, work packages, etc.). Each level

represents an increasingly detailed description.

Project Design

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001

100 200 300 400

210 220 230 240 250 310 320 410 420330

241 251 252 253221 222 223 411 412

WBS Model

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• Components

• Functional disciplines

• Organisational units

• Geographic locations

• Equipment

• Phases

• Objectives

• Deliverables

Categories for developing your WBS

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Your WBS design should try to achieve certain goals:

• Be compatible with how the work will be done and how costs and schedules will be managed,

• Give visibility to important or risky work efforts,• Allow mapping of requirements, plans, testing, and

deliverables,• Foster clear ownership by managers and task

leaders,• Provide data for performance measurement and

historical databases, and• Make sense to the team members and other

resources.

Requirements for a good WBS

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• Involve those doing the work in the development of your WBS

• Review and include information developed for similar projects in your WBS

• Keep your WBS up-to-date• Make assumptions regarding

uncertain tasks

WBS: tips and hints

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• WBS identifies the sub-elements of a project activity, not the order in which the activities and tasks are executed

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Preparing and understanding a WBS for your project is a big step towards managing and mastering its inherent complexity.

The WBS is commonly used at the beginning of a project for defining project scope, organizing schedules and estimating costs. It lives on, throughout the project, in the project schedule and often is the main path for reporting. On larger projects, the WBS may be used throughout the project to identify and track work packages, to organize data for reporting, for tracking deliverables, etc.

WBS: Summary

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Estimating workload and durationEstimating workload and duration involves per task:• Estimating the amount of

work required • Estimating the availability

of resources • Determining the theoretical

duration for the task

Estimation Methods: • Experience• Average• PERT formula: Do + 4 Dc + Dp

6• “Crystal ball“

Do: optimistic durationDp: pessimisticDc: most likely)

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Planning progress measurement

• Progress Indicators, such as• Respect of deadlines• Budget spent• Quantity realised• Quality and user satisfaction

• Earned Value Management • Define the work (e.g. using the WBS as basis)• Assign a planned value (PV) to each activity• Define “metrics“ (e.g. 0/100 or 50/50)• Measure progress in the executing phase by assigning

earned value (EV)• Compare EV with PV in your monitoring

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Organizing human resources

• Identify the skills & knowledge needed • Specify the people who you want to work on each task• Determine when they should invest time• Create your Gantt chart• Agree contributions/availability with the resources• Negotiate workload versus duration, apply resource

levelling techniques:• Change the period of execution• Increase the number of resources• Replace by another resource• Prioritise

• Use the Gantt chart for commitment!

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Quality (Assurance) Plan

• Identify the project deliverables• Analyse quality requirements for these

deliverables and establish technical specifications/quality standards

• Determine who checks when on compliance• Determine responsibility for final acceptance of

each deliverable• Achieve consensus or get approval of the quality

plan before starting with implementation

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Communication (Dissemination) Plan• Take your stakeholder analysis as input and

identify communication requirements• Determine information to be communicated• Identify time frame and frequency• Nominate responsibilities• Determine communication methods / tools• Plan for related resources• Consider the use of further useful tools:

- Glossary of common terminology- Flow charts of the information flow- Templates for meetings and reports- Guidelines for the use of communication tools

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Change management

• Plan for change (Flexibility!)• Determine change authority• Request for change:

- State the problem- Propose a solution- Outline the consequences: objectives, planning,

budget- Request approval of the solution.

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Key questions in phase 2

• Has the work been broken down into batches and the critical path refined?

• Has responsibility and budget been allocated?

• Has the stage plan been agreed upon?

• Does the plan really represent the time it takes to do the work instead of the time available before a deadline?

• Have technical specifications and quality criteria been defined for the deliverables?

• Has it been agreed how stakeholders will be kept informed and/or consulted?

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• Has it been agreed how to manage risks (contingency plans, fall back scenarios etc.)?

• Has it been agreed how the project will be monitored?

• Has the plan been reviewed by other persons with experience from similar projects?

• Is there allowance in the plan for uncertainty?

• Does everybody involved in the project know the plan and what their roles and responsibilities are?

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Key questions in phase 2 (continued)

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Principles of successful management

• Results orientation: at the end, only results count!

• Clearly see how the parts contribute to the whole

• Concentrate on important things

• Use your (and your team’s) strengths

• Build up trust

• Think positive: see the chances (instead of the problems)

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“The more people act in a planned and systematic way, the more they

can be affected by accidents!”

(Friedrich Dürrenmatt, in “21 points regarding the physicists”)

Much success with your projects!

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