Project Management
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The document outlines essential project management strategies and tools presented by Brian Pichman aimed at reducing project management stress and enhancing project launches. Key topics include project definitions, methodologies, resource allocation, and the importance of maintaining timelines to prevent scope creep. Certifications such as PMP, CAPM, and CPMP are recommended for those looking to enhance their project management credentials.
Project Management
- 1. Project Management Brian Pichman Evolve Project
- 3. Project Management • Start the new decade off, with help creating a toolbox of skills and resources to help you organize and bring projects to life. Whenever you are putting a project together, it is essential to keep timelines in check, follow up, and watch out for scope creep. In this webinar, Brian Pichman will discuss different project management techniques and certifications to help you not only have a successful project but more importantly, a well defined and detailed project launch. By having a solid foundation and a few easy-to-use tools, you can significantly reduce that project management stress and be more excited for the next project you tackle!
- 4. What Projects Are You Working On?
- 5. Agenda • Terms • Processes • Tools for Success • Certifications A lot of the tips covered are great ways to “gut check” a project
- 6. What’s makes up good Project Manager • Well Organized • Goal-Orientated • Passionate About Processes • Strong Leaders • Effective Communicators • Trust their team and delegate decisions
- 7. What If You Are A ”One Man Band” • Keeping yourself on task is important regardless of if it’s a personal project for yourself or you are working on the project solo • Keeping yourself (or others) accountable is crucial to successful project management • Creating a schedule and sticking to it
- 8. Definitions • Project • Sequence of tasks that lead toward a singular goal; requires time, people and resources. • Deliverables • Results or the outcomes of parts of the projects (plans, documents, etc.) • Deadlines • Each task and phase of the project has a due date. Deadlines keep a project on task and focused • Scope • Involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, deadlines, and ultimately costs. In other words, it is what needs to be achieved and the work that must be done to deliver a project • Scope Creep is when during a project new “ideas” or deliverables are suggested
- 12. Resource Determination • Scheduling Phase • Managers decide on • How much time each activities takes • How many people / material required • The order in which these activities need to take place • Assign Resources to the specific activities • Add “Buffer” Time • Document actual hours spent on the project while running – this can help you benchmark for accuracy for future projects • Also useful when you believe one resource can do a task in X amount of time, but all the tasks are 2X amounts of time, you can quickly work to adjust the project timeline/resources
- 14. Estimating Time Accurately • Understand Requirements • Business Requirement Analysis – Process in which you interview steak holders document their priorities and estimate based on what they find important • Work Break Down Structures – Hierarchy of how parts of the project are split down into work buckets and how they funnel to the solve of the project • GAP Analysis – Comparing actual performance with potential performance and the needs to get to the final future state. • Drill Down – Writing Down the problem on one side of the page and then its components of the issue to the right of that. Other variations is the funnel where you break the project down in stages to the smallest parts.
- 15. Gap Analysis Drill Down Work Break Down Structures
- 16. Making Estimates • Once you’ve broken down the project a bit more, estimate the time for each of the tasks and not the project as a whole • List all of the assumptions, exclusions and constraints that are relevant – and note the sources (people/process/things) that you will rely on • This is important when estimates are questioned and risk areas for project delays • People are often over optimistic when giving you timelines, and may underestimate the time needed • Assume that your resources will only be productive for 80 percent of the time. • Build in time for unexpected events such as sickness, supply problems, equipment failure, accidents and emergencies, problem solving, and meetings.
- 18. Project Methodologies • Agile • Allows you to break projects down into separate manageable tasks, which can be tackled in short iterations or sprints (hour or two segments) • Agile is much more fluid and collaborative with quick production cycles and lots of feedback and iteration • Waterfall • a hierarchy of sequential tasks that ends with a big product launch – works well when all tasks are predetermined and there isn’t a lot of need of discussion throughout the project • Six Sigma • Is business methodology that aims to improve processes, reduce waste and errors, and increase customer satisfaction throughout an organization. Driven by data and statistical analysis, Six Sigma provides a way to minimize mistakes and maximize value in any business process • You can get certified in this process – highly recommended. Really good toolset to master if working with a team that is more about data and ROI
- 21. Not All Projects Obtain The Goal
- 22. Project Focuses • For Projects Impacting Patrons or Employees • Put an emphasis on the the entire experience • This can include training, on-boarding, announcement of the project, and so forth • No one likes a surprise – overcommunication to end users or impacted parties is crucial. • Allows you to get in front of issues or the rumor mill. • Central Location For Information • Don’t have some files on OneDrive/Google Drive, others on a shared drive, and others buried in an email thread.
- 23. Online Collaboration - Slack
- 24. Slack Features • Channels and Direct Messages • Allow for Organization of Conversation Threads • Keep Individual & Restricted Group Messages Private
- 27. Collaborate With Outside People • Guests can: • View message history and access files shared in the channel(s) they can access • See and direct message or group message team members who are in the same channel(s)* • See other team members and their profile information
- 28. Using Slack to Keep Track • Emojis!
- 29. Using Teams/Slack • Allows for single location of information • Can create channels/workstreams to keep things organized. • Run Polls if need be, coordinate meeting times, and push updates out faster.
- 30. A Good Project Plan • Answers Project Goals and Outcomes • SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Based) • Identify Risks and Potential Problem Areas
- 31. Setting Expectations (And Sharing Them) • Clarity of Risk and Expectations avoids disappointment • Example: If the vendor doesn’t mean the deadline by DATE we will be delayed by X many days.
- 32. Collaboration Documents – Google Drive
- 33. Collaboration Documents - OneDrive
- 34. Meeting Tips n Tricks • “Parking Lots” – don’t get stuck in the weeds, schedule a sticky topic between individuals outside of the meeting • Meetings are not for communicating updates (do that in an email) • Meetings are Discuss and Decide • Everyone who leaves a meeting should have action items • If they don’t – then this shouldn’t have been a meeting • Designate a note taker and stick to an agenda • Put these in the same location as all the other project deliverables Says no one ever
- 35. Doodle – Pool Availability
- 36. AI Assistants
- 37. Calendly – Schedule Meetings Based On Your Availability
- 38. Boomerang
- 39. Tools for Project Management
- 40. Gantt Charts • A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule • But all the tasks, their sequence, and dependencies • Build in due dates to help stay focused on project competition
- 41. Online Tools
- 42. Trello
- 43. Kanban is a concept related to lean and just-in-time (JIT) production, where it is used as a scheduling system that tells you what to produce, when to produce it, and how much to produce.
- 44. Asana
- 46. Staying On Task During Projects • Status Email (or if you REALLY need to, a meeting during tighter timelines) • Shift resources where they are needed such as a critical task needing to be completed • Understanding KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
- 48. Hope is NOT a Strategy Hope Means • I hope we can get the website done by the weekend. • I hope our 3D Printer works for the 3D Printing Program A Plan Means • If we have to launch by the weekend, feature A, B, and Z may not be included. • If our printer doesn’t work, we can borrow one from someone. Every project needs a plan. - Every Plan-A needs a Plan-B, with the resources ready if needed. Hoping you will not need a Plan-B is not the same as having a Plan-B
- 50. End Of Project • Collect and Archive all documents • Measure: • Was the time line accurate (over estimate / under estimate) • You’ll want this information for future similar projects • Did the project accomplish what it was set to solve • Survey success • Where people happy, and if not, why? • Was there surprises – and how could we avoid them next time? • Why didn’t we discover this during the planning phase. • Thank everyone
- 51. Other Tips For Roadblocks • Someone is unresponsive • Ask if there is another resource on their team you can work with • If you have a tight deadline, you may need to assess whether or not the resource is a critical part and what can be done to diminish impact • Plan for everything – sometimes its best to spend more time in the planning a project to ensure risks are identified.
- 52. Certifications • PMP: Project Management Professional ($500) - The PMP is the most important industry-recognized certification for project managers. • If you have a secondary degree with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects • If you have a four-year degree, then 4,500 hours leading and directing projects. • 35 hours of project management education • CAPM: Certified Associate in Project Management ($300) - It demonstrates your understanding of the fundamental knowledge, terminology, and processes of effective project management • A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent) and 1,500 hours of project experience • Or 23 hours of project management education by the time you sit for the exam. • CPMP: Certified Project Management Practitioner ($200) - course for anyone who wants to get hands-on experience in project management
- 53. Questions? • Email: BPichman@evolveproject.org • Twitter: @Bpichman • www.evolveproject.org
Editor's Notes
- #11: Regardless of the method you use to manage a project, understanding the triple constraint is key. All projects are carried out with certain constraints. These are cost, time and scope. That is, projects must come in within budget, be delivered on time and meet the agreed upon scope. If you think of the triple constraint as a triangle, then if you’re managing the cost, time and scope, the triangle is quality. So, if you’re managing the cost, time and scope of the project, then you’re going to meet the customer’s quality requirements. But the triple constraint is more than that; it’s like the ballast on a ship, and keeps the project balanced no matter how rough the waters get. For example, if you need more money, then you’re going to have to adjust the time or scope of the project. Accordingly, if you’re short on time, then the budget or scope will have to change. If you keep the triple constraint in mind while managing your project, along with the project phases and management tools, then you have the means to make the necessary adjustments that can keep the project on track. It’s the formula for success.
- #18: Initiation: Here is where you set out the project scope, the goals, the organization of the project, its business case, its constraints, who the stakeholders are, what the risks are, the project controls, the reporting framework, etc. Planning: This is where you build the roadmap to take you from Point A to Point B, which means creating a schedule of the tasks, deadlines and resources needed to complete everything on time. Execution: The project begins and the project plan is put into action. Monitoring & Controlling: To make sure the project is proceeding as planned, you need to set up mechanisms for monitoring progress. If the project isn’t proceeding as planned, work to control and resolve issues before they become problems. Closing: Projects are temporary endeavors, so they eventually come to an end and need to be formally closed. But it’s not as simple as producing deliverables, there’s paperwork to sign off on, resources to reallocate and other loose ends to tie up.