PLANNING THE PROJECT

If the problems arise during the life of a project, our first

hunch would be that the project was not properly planned.
The planning will be used by PM as a map of the route from
the project start and finish
Contain the sufficient information

Key Elements of a Project Plan

Overview
Evaluation
Methods

Risk
Management

Objectives

Key Elements

Contractual
Aspects

Personnel
Resources
requirement

General
Approach

Schedules

Key Elements of a Project Plan

Overview

brief description of project

deliverables

milestones

expected profitability and competitive effects

intended for senior management

Objectives

detailed description of projects deliverables

project mission statement

Key Elements of Project Plan

General approach

technical and managerial approaches

relationship to other projects

deviations from standard practices

Contractual aspects

agreements with clients and third parties

reporting requirements

technical specifications

project review dates

compliance with legal/environmental constraints

Key Elements of Project Plan

Schedules

outline of all schedules and milestones

Resource requirements

estimated project expenses

overhead and fixed charges

Personnel

special skill requirements

necessary training

special legal arrangements (such as non-disclosure agreements)

Elements of a Project Master Plan

Risk management

listing of potential disasters

late subcontractor deliveries, bad weather, unreasonable

deadlines, equipment failure, changes in project scope, etc.

Evaluation methods

evaluation procedures and standards

procedures for monitoring, collecting, and storing data on

project performance

The Project Charter

A Project Charter consists of most, if not all, of the nine

items described in the project plan plus the sign-off on

the plan by all major stakeholders
The signers include a representative of the project

sponsor, the client user, the project manager, the program

manager (if the project is part of an overall program) and

other concerned stakeholders

Project Managers Initial Tasks

Review the project objectives project scope plus
expected desirable outcomes
Understand the expectations that the organization, the
client, and other stakeholders have for the project.

Identify who among senior managers has a major

interest in the project.
Determine if anything about the project is a typical.

The Launch Meeting - Invitation List

At least one representative from senior management

Managers from functional areas that will contribute to
the project
[Perhaps] highly specialized technical experts

Project Launch Meeting

Senior management introduces project manager

Project manager chairs meeting

develop general understanding of the functional inputs the

project will need

may brainstorm the problem

may review a tentative budget and develop preliminary plan

Important Results

scope understood and temporarily fixed

functional managers understand their responsibilities and

have committed to developing the initial plan

Developing the Project

Hierarchical planning process

begin with projects objectives

list major activities needed to achieve objectives (level 1

activities)

delegate level 1 activities to individuals or functional areas to

develop list of level 2 activities

degree of detail should be same within a given level

The outcome of this hierarchical planning is

the development of a Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS) for the project

The Project Action Plan

Construction of project WBS
Project activities identified and arranged in successively

finer detail (i.e., by levels)

Type and quantity of each required resource identified for

each activity
Predecessors and task durations estimated for each activity
All project milestones identified
Individual or group assigned to perform the work identified

for all activities

A Partial WBS (Gozinto Chart) for an Annual Tribute

Dinner Project

The Project Master Schedule

3-15

The Project Master Schedule is created by

combining milestones, task durations, and

predecessors

This master schedule allows the project

manager to compare actual and planned task
durations and resource usage

RACI Matrix

A table with the project tasks derived from

the WBS
It helps organize the project team by clarifying
the responsibilities of the project team
members

Example of a RACI Matrix

MIND MAPPING
Mind mapping is a visual approach that closely

mirrors the way the human brain records and stores

information
In addition to its visual nature, this methodology

has the advantage of tapping in to the creative

potential of multiple team members
Mind mapping is an entertaining approach that

helps generate enthusiasm and involvement

Developing A Mind Map

3-19

Approaches to Integration Management

3-23

One approach to integration management is known

as Parallel Tasking (PT) (a.k.a. simultaneous

engineering) which involves carrying out steps
concurrently rather than sequentially

helps minimize conflict across functional groups

reduces project duration

Another approach is to identify and map the

interdependencies between members of the project

team

An Interface Mapping of a Silicon Chip Design

Project
3-24

A Coordination Structure Model for Project Management

3-25

System Responsibility

Coordination Structure

Proposed
Feedback

Work Breakdown Structure

Conventional Feedback
Event and Activity Based
scheduling models

Changes or
Difficulties

Design Structure Matrix

3-26

Traditional project management tools (such as

Gantt charts and precedence diagrams) tend to

focus on those tasks that have to be completed in

order for other to start
Often a more important question is: what

information is needed from other tasks to complete

specific task?

DSM for Project with Six Activities and Concurrent

Activities
3-27

a b c d e

a
b X
X
c
X
X
d X
X
X
e
X
f X X
X
X -- information flow

a b c d e f
a
b X
O
c
X
O
d X
X
X
e
X
f X X
X
tasks to be completed concurrently
X -- information flow
O -- potential rework situation