TERM PAPER

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management Practices

Project management is defined by the set of principles, methodologies, procedures and practices
used to ensure that "projects" are completed on time, on budget and as required. To qualify as a
project, the designated initiative must have specific goals, a clear beginning and end, assigned
resources, and an organized sequence of activities, tasks and events.
Project Management Practices Start With the Basics
When addressing project management practices, the best place to start is with a few definitions of
project management terms.
Task - an individual item of work that has a beginning and an end.
Duration - the amount of time it takes to do a task.
Resources - the people or things [machinery, equipment, conference room] that actually perform
the work of each task within allotted time and cost.
Phases or Categories - groups of related tasks; a series of events for one phase that must be
completed before the next phase [group of related tasks] can begin. Each phase is a complete cycle,
at a minimum-Project planning phase
Project execution phase
Project closure phase
.although there can be many more phases. Each phase has a review process at its end and it
produces a deliverable or product. .
Milestone - an important event; can be marked as the beginning or end [sometimes both] of an
event or series of events; usually a major stage of completion, often associated with a deliverable.
Project Management Practices - Define Project Well
project will have to meet four criteria-

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Project - work that is not normally done [what we normally do is operations, not a project]. A

Temporary - it has a beginning and an end; so its project team will only exist for the purpose of
that project
Unique - the outcome is one of a kind. However, projects might well be similar, so planning will
consider what others have accomplished that is similar, and the way those other projects might
have elements that are the same or different. And a SWOT Analysis will consider whether these
similarities and differences are Strengths or Weaknesses.
A Creation - because you are creating something that did not previously exist, you are probably
going to go through phases of development, and there will be many people and even other
organizations who have a stake in the outcome. Communicating the project's status and progress
through the phases will be important.
A Product - is the goal of the project
We measure the project's value by how it met the goal of producing the product or service.
Now, with the basics out of the way, let's look at some project management best practices.
Project Management Practices - Apply to Any Type of Project Activity
The obvious types of projects come to mind - huge civil engineering projects like bridges and
power dams; construction of residential and commercial properties; implementing or upgrading
computer systems.
But project management practices and techniques can and should be applied to any activity that
meets project definition:
The annual marketing plan;
All of the corporate budgets;
Developing or upgrading human resources manuals and policies Designing and installing a new CRM
Overhauling your bid-response system
Preparing for the annual audit
Virtually every consulting engagement whether you are hiring the consultant or are the consultant
Project Management Practices - Don't Cut Short on the Planning Phase
Fast-Tracking, Rapid Application Deployment, Rapid Deployment and many other euphemisms
started appearing on the project management scene a few years ago. One can't really argue with
their objective - speed up projects and therefore reduce cost.
Those cases where the goal was accomplished have our respect and admiration. But they are few
considered!

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and far between. Why? Because one or more of the project management practices were not

Fast tracking is usually accomplished by gutting the planning process. Sure, if you shorten the time
here, you are underway faster. But let's look at some components of a good planning phase and see
if they can safely be dispensed with...
Scope
Stakeholders: Individuals and organizations who need the project or are affected by it
Standards: What quality level is required: perfect, workable, just get it running?
Whose standards: internal policy, external like government or regulators? Written or implied?
Organization Structure
Authority: project manager often gets as much authority as s/he takes
Autonomy: team members need approvals from their respective organizations?
Stakeholders: are there others who think they should be stakeholders but haven't been included?
Goals: does the whole organization agree with the goals?
Risks
Has a SWOT Analysis been done?
What steps have been identified to overcome the risks?
Goals
Should be written, clear and detailed
Need to be signed off by all stakeholders before execution commences to avoid later confusion
Sure as long as it is not accomplished by glossing over them. For example, a SWOT Analysis is
often done casually by a small section of the project team and the result is that only some of the
threats are identified. The key is to keep each step to a perspective that is appropriate for the
overall project. The extent of risks to consider can be different for a trial launch type of project
than for one that demands virtual perfection. Making sure that everyone on the team is aware of
project management best practices ensures the best results.

Planning: Without a plan, your project will be impossible to control. People who must execute a
plan should be involved in its preparation. Use a Project Notebook to fully document a project -

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Project Management Practices - Hints and Tips

proper and accurate documentation is an important aspect of project management best practices.
Project plan should be signed off by all stakeholders in a meeting. Use a Change Order form,
signed by affected stakeholders, to record significant changes to the project.
Mission statement should be developed for larger projects before goals and objectives are
established.
Satisfying the customer of a project must be a primary concern.
Objectives should be written out and placed in project notebook.
Objectives should contain actual calendar deadlines rather than being specified as "within x
months"
Estimating Time and Cost
Padding is legitimate to reduce risk, but should be done above the board. An estimate is not a fact.
Reduce time available for a person to work on a project to allow for meetings, breaks and other
interruptions
Use chart-of-accounts to track labor costs. Record time daily to ensure accuracy.
Gantt chart is most useful to see who is responsible for which tasks.
Scheduling
Scheduling considers both duration of tasks and sequences in which work must be done.
Break work down only to level needed to develop an estimate sufficiently accurate for intended
use.
Don't plan in more detail than you can manage.
Bar chart = Gantt chart
Bar charts do not usually show interrelationships of work, thus do not permit easy analysis of
impact on a project if one activity slips
Software can show how vacations and holidays will extend working times in order to assess their
impact
Organization
We must consider your own Organization Structure when planning and staffing your project.
Matrix is almost synonymous with project management because of its advantage in dealing with
many disciplines.

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Hierarchical structure has serious disadvantages for running multi-discipline projects.

Success in matrix requires very good interpersonal skills on the part of all managers
Project Manager
Look for a leader, not just a manager. People skills are important.
Negotiating skills and flexibility will be important attributes. No project ever goes exactly
according to plan and the PM has to negotiate the adjustments. Problems "go with the territory"
and must be resolved. Avoiding conflict and technical problems only lets them fester and build.
Communication skills are critical. PM will often have to bridge a gap between technical and nontechnical stakeholders. And credibility is always at stake.
PM really has to be "everybody's friend...and nobody's friend" in order to lead the project to the
desired conclusion.
Project Management Practices - Decide Early Where You Will Manage Time, Costs and
Budgets
One of the most significant project management best practices revolves around the fact that most
projects involve non-financial and financial factors.

Non-financial Information
Non-financial includes things like defining tasks, and their sequence and duration; scheduling;
resource planning for people and equipment; organizational planning; risk identification; quality
planning; staffing; reporting; problem-solving; controlling changes.
Financial Information
But projects also have financial factors: they generally have a finite cost limitation so estimates and
budgets and cost control are needed. To the extent that the Project Manager has to interact with
other sections of the organization and even outside agencies for resources, they become
stakeholders in the project, but the manger is relatively independent in managing and reporting on
their use - they come under his control for the duration of the project. However, with financial
factors, it is a certainty that the project manager will have to interact somehow with the financial or
accounting function. Eventually all financial information finds its way into the general ledger and
deal with this inevitability right up front. It amazes us how often a project plan does not recognize

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the financial statements of the organization. So project management best practices recognize and

that the finance / accounting function is inevitably a stakeholder of every project that has cost /
budget constraints - and what project doesn't have those constraints?!
Financial Information Model
Our organization might not fit this model exactly, but here is a general model to help you visualize
the different ways financial information can be collected and flow through your system - and to be
considered as important project management best practices.
Time sheets for people might be entered into a specialized time and billing or project accounting
module; or into a payroll subsidiary ledger. Costs of equipment and expenses might be entered into
the time and billing module or accounts payable subsidiary ledger. Both time and expenses might
go in through a job-costing module. In some older and inflexible systems, entry might be right into
the general ledger module.
Also, your organization should have a system of internal control to ensure that information flows
smoothly and accurately between the components of the model. Notice that this has become
complex already - and we have only considered what might happen given the existing systems that
could be in place in your organization. There are so many possibilities...
And your project manager has to work with whatever system your financial function has in place
One of the first project management best practices is that the Project Manager needs to consider
the financial function as a stakeholder and get briefed as to how the existing system works.
This briefing must include the reports that can be made available to the Project Manager and the
timing for the processing cycles that the financial function uses to process information.
In general, newer systems process transactions more frequently and closer to real-time, while older
systems have less frequent cycles such as weekly, biweekly or even monthly. While a Project
Manager probably doesn't need up-to-the-second information, he also probably can't control his
project with just monthly information either. In general, newer systems have better reporting
available, while older systems have less flexible or extensive information. Also, newer systems can
often obtain or produce specialized information quite easily through report writers whereas older
systems don't have that flexibility. Armed with this knowledge, the project manager can now deal
with one of the most important and basic of the project management best practices - deciding
where to manage time, costs and budgets.
Other things being equal, if the existing financial system can provide the information, it is going to
be much simpler to rely on that than to maintain another whole system. Conversely, if the existing
system is not capable, then he/she has to look to alternatives. Either way, making this decision
Remember that whether you choose or are forced to go outside the financial system for part or all
of your project management information, you still have to have enough controls and reconciliation

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early leave more time to prepare for whatever approach is selected.

to ensure the integrity of the data you are using. Costs in your project system must be the same as
costs in the general ledger.

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The End