Project management for engineers and architects
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The document presents project management essentials for engineers and architects, highlighting the challenges faced in transitioning to management roles. Key topics include the definition of projects, the importance of project management practices, and the need for specific skills in managing projects effectively. It emphasizes stakeholder management, the significance of clear goals, and estimating dependencies among tasks, along with guidance on using best practices and resources.
Project management for engineers and architects
- 1. Project Management Essentials for Engineers and Architects By Carla Fair-Wright, PMP, ASQ CSQE, MCTS Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved. Adolf Wolfi- “General View of the Island of Neveranger
- 2. Introduction Carla Fair-Wright, PMP, CSQE, MCP Founder of Project Managers of Houston, a Texas non-profit organization. Owner of Optimal Consulting, a small project management firm based in Houston. Award-winning writer, chapter author of two books and a former featured writer for Microsoft endorsed CODE Magazine. 2009-2010 President of Society of Women Engineers (Houston) City Commissioner - 2010 Houston Building and Standards Commission Panel. Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 3. Michael Aucoin, author of From Engineer to Manager: Mastering the Transition, found that most engineers are unhappy with the "promotion" to manager, saying, "Much of this frustration is the result of lack of preparation and training." Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved. 3
- 4. Three major issues make engineering management a difficult profession: Engineering managers need soft skills to be effective. Expectations of an engineering manager are unrealistic. The engineering manager role lacks profit/loss responsibility. Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved. 4
- 5. Why Should I Care? Why it matters for you personally? your family? your career? Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 6. ROADMAP What is a Project? What is Project Management? Role of a Project Manager Unique Skills are Needed Project Management Institute
- 7. What is a Project? Project - a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service, and has the characteristic of progressive elaboration.
- 8. The 3 basic levers on a project •Time Scope / Specification •Cost •Quality Can only control at most 2 People at any one time….. They are all linked…via people Cost Time TRADE-OFFS
- 9. ROADMAP What is a Project? What is Project Management? Role of a Project Manager Unique Skills are Needed Project Management Institute
- 10. Founders of Modern Project Management Frederick Winslow Taylor "If you read Frederick Winslow Taylor from the beginning of the century, there are three fundamental things he taught: 1. Find the best practice wherever it exists. Today we call it benchmarking. Henry Gantt 2. Decompose the task into its constituent elements. We call it business process re-design. 3. Get rid of things that don't add value. Work out, we call it now. Henri Fayol
- 11. What is Project Management Project Management is a discipline “The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” – PMI. Project Management is a discipline – a field of work requiring specific knowledge and that has a set of rules governing work conduct.
- 12. Some Benefits of Project Management •Quantify value commensurate with cost •Optimize the use of organizational resources •Reduced Schedules •Put strategic plans into practice •Reduced Risk •Consistent Tracking and Reporting
- 13. 5 PM Process Groups Execute work Identify the Project defined in the WBS Manager Monitoring and Controlling Initiating Planning Execution Close Process to complete Processes performed the work defined in Process to Processes performed to establish the total the project- finalize all to define a new scope of the effort, management plan activities project or phase define objectives. Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 14. Define the Project How is success defined? Make sure that the stake holders have a common definition of success! •Stakeholder management •Not all stakeholders are equal •Focus on the most powerful •Try to see project from stakeholder’s viewpoint •Communicate with stake holders early and often
- 15. Step 1: Have Clear Goals •Problem Definition •Describe problem / opportunity •Goal Definition •Describe project Goal •Objective definition •Quantify the benefits from the project •Outline the costs •Outline the duration
- 16. Step 2: Break down the project Break the project down Break into tasks Break tasks into sub-tasks Define deliverables for the sub task Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Work Packages, Tasks, Sub-tasks,… Levels depends on scale of project
- 17. Step: 3 Understand Dependencies Estimate The actions required to deliver goal The time and resources for each sub-task
- 18. Estimation Exercise Take a blank sheet of paper Divide it into five columns as follows: There should be ten rows to write on.
- 19. For each item, write (a) best guess and (b) upper and lower estimates that you are 90% confident of. 1. Distance in miles from Moscow to Santiago (in Chile) 2. Gold medals won by Finland in summer Olympics 1896- 1992 3. Area of Greenland in square miles 4. Year the ballpoint pen was invented 5. Year the HJ Heinz company was founded 6. Population of Belize in 1990 7. Denmark’s GNP in $US in 1989 8. Year that Louis Braille was born 9. Average depth of Pacific ocean to nearest 1,000 feet 10.Length in miles of the river Danube
- 20. Answers Distance from Moscow to Santiago is 10,118 miles Finland won 97 gold medals in summer Olympics 1896-1992 The area of Greenland is 839,781 square miles The ballpoint pen was invented in 1938 The HJ Heinz company was founded in 1876 The population of Belize in 1990 was 187,000 Denmark’s GNP in $US in 1989 was $105,238 million Louis Braille was born in 1809 The Pacific ocean is 14,000 feet deep on average The river Danube is 1,770 miles long
- 21. Why are Estimates So Often Wrong? Internal causes Psychology: over-confidence, optimism, ego Misjudgement: inexperience, uniqueness of project Failure to learn from previous projects External pressures Management pressure, sales imperative Other causes Political games, inadequate specifications, unclear objectives Rarely, bad luck
- 22. Step: 3 Understand Dependencies Work out the dependencies between tasks Resource Dependency Sequence or Time Dependency Personnel Dependency Look for opportunities to optimize: Independent tasks that can run in parallel Share resources between tasks
- 23. ROADMAP What is a Project? What is Project Management? Role of a Project Manager Unique Skills are Needed Project Management Institute
- 24. Project Manager’s Role Project Manager’s Role • Understands the processes • Needs input from the experts • Project Managers are not management
- 25. The Tools of Project Management Lay the ground work List the success criteria, all drivers, constraints and freedoms Don’t commit to things you can’t deliver Planning Write it down! & use best practice Estimate the project Be realistic then plan for contingencies Track your progress Be open and honest - don’t shoot messengers!
- 26. Basic Tools People! Teamwork, communication skills, motivation, conflict resolution skills •Will consume most of your time as a PM •Critical for your career development Resources Money, equipment, etc Time Deadlines, milestones, etc Project Scope Goals and standards
- 27. WORK TASKS WINDOW Where do you spend your time? IMPORTANT NOT URGENT URGENT NOT IMPORTANT Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 28. ROADMAP What is a Project? What is Project Management? Role of a Project Manager Unique Skills are Needed Project Management Institute
- 29. COHEN-BRADFORD MODEL Deal with Identify relevant relationships currencies, yours and theirs Influence through give and Diagnose the take world of the other person Assume all are potential allies Clarify your goals and priorities Source: Influence without Optimal Consulting LLCR. Cohen and David L. Bradford, 2005 Presentation_ID © 2012 Authority, Allan All rights reserved.
- 30. The road to Success 19th century map Right System True Knowledge Right Business Practices
- 31. ROADMAP What is a Project? What is Project Management? Role of a Project Manager Unique Skills are Needed Project Management Institute
- 32. Project Management Institute Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed in the USA in 1963 PMI publishes A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), which describes project management practices that are common to "most projects, most of the time." PMI also offers multiple certifications.
- 33. Project Management Institute Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK - Project Management Body of Knowledge • Generally accepted knowledge and practices for project management • Should not be applied uniformly on all projects! • A guide, not a recipe book •Provides uniform terminology and definitions
- 34. Carla Fair-Wright carlawright@yahoo.com Contact: (800) 723-6120 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carlafair FaceBook: facebook.com/carla.fairwright Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 35. Questions & Answers Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved.
- 36. http://www.opc-houston.com Presentation_ID © 2012 Optimal Consulting LLC All rights reserved. 36