For process box 4.3 (Direct and Manage Project Work), changed “work performance reports” to work performance data. 483 Figure 12-5. Added a process box: 11.2 Identify Risks with the output agreements. Part 2 The Standard for Project Management Page Correction 559 Table 1-2. Under the heading Project Management Plan, added 19. This is a technique of generating a large number of creative ideas in a short duration. Though there are several variations of brainstorming, the basic version is called a free-form or an unstructured brainstorming. This technique is preferred when participation of the entire team is desired. Procedure: Materials needed.
In this final part we define the projects, prioritize them and choose the one to start the process and write the POS for the chosen project.
Define the ECPM Project or Projects
Whether you use the ECPM Brainstorming Process or some type of Feasibility Study approach you should have generated a few alternatives, and it is time to explore them in more depth in your search for the best alternative. There are several variables that you might use to profile each alternative project. Here are some suggestions:
Risk
Duration
Cost
Team size and skills
Expected business value
Analyze the Alternative Projects
The analysis of alternative projects examines their business value. The objective is to prioritize them and select the best. There are several approaches to analyzing the financial aspects of a project. While the sponsor should perform this analysis, it is often done by a project manager. The approaches I have chosen are easily understood and give enough insight into the financials of the project at this early stage in its life span.
Some organizations require a preliminary financial analysis of the project before granting approval to perform the detailed planning. Although such analyses are very rough because not enough information is known about the project at this time, they will offer a tripwire for project-planning approval. In some instances, they also offer criteria for prioritizing all of the POS documents that senior management will be reviewing.
At one time, IBM required a financial analysis from the project manager as an attachment to the POS. At the time, they were my client and allocated 4 hours for the project manager to complete the financial analysis. Project managers are typically not professional financial analysts, and 4 hours is not much time. So, the resulting analysis will be cursory at best, but it does lend some information relevant to financial feasibility.
Following are types of financial analyses you may be asked to provide. Keep in mind that the project manager may not be a financial analyst, and requiring an in-depth financial analysis may be beyond their ability.
Cost and Benefit Analysis
Breakeven Analysis
Return on Investment
Cost-Benefit Ratio
For further details refer to (Wysocki, 2014a and Wysocki, 2014b).
Prioritize the Alternative Projects
The first tactical STEP in every portfolio management model involves prioritizing the projects that have been shown to be aligned with the portfolio strategy. Proposed projects are usually grouped into funding categories or aligned under Objectives, or under the Strategies that align under Objectives.
Each group defines a potential portfolio. When finished, each group will have a list of prioritized projects. Dozens of approaches could be used to establish that prioritization. Some are nonnumeric; others are numeric. Some approaches are very simple; others can be quite complex and involve multivariate analysis, goal programming, and other complex computer-based algorithms. My approach is to identify methods that can easily be implemented without any pre-requisite knowledge or experience, and which do not require a computer system for support, although sometimes a simple spreadsheet application can reduce the labor intensity of the process. This section describes the models commonly used for establishing priorities:
Forced ranking
Q-Sort
Must-Do, Should-Do, Postpone
Criteria weighting
Paired comparisons
Risk/benefit matrix
For details on each of these models see (Wysocki, 2014a and Wysocki, 2014b).
Select the Project To Be Proposed
STEP 1 ends with the selection of a project to take into STEP 2. Several prioritization lists may have been created for the potential projects identified in the affinity packages. The decision will be based on both quantitative and qualitative data. In the final analysis, these data are guidelines for a decision that is first a good business decision. It would be unusual if all prioritized lists have the same project as highest priority, but it has happened. It is in keeping with the ECPM Brainstorming Model if more than one project were proposed. Let the best project survive the approval StageGate.
The Business Case is the foundation and referent for all project decisions in ECPM Framework projects. It maintains alignment of the project to the expected business value validated for the project.
Many authors will use the term “Gather” with respect to building the list of requirements. That suggests the requirements are just laying around and waiting to be picked up and added to the requirements bucket. In complex projects, nothing could be farther from the truth. The term “Elicit.” suggests that requirements must be discovered and drawn out for documentation and addition to the list.
Project management thought leaders are of like mind in that requirements are rarely complete during project definition. Beyond the complexity and uncertainty the project is affected by the changing internal environment and external market dynamics. Managing a complex project is of course complex by definition but the challenge is further increased due to incomplete requirements. The situation is not hopeless and there are mitigation strategies that are available in the ECPM Framework during the Project IDEATION Phase.
Project IDEATION Phase STEP 3: Write A Project Overview Statement
A Project Overview Statement (POS) is the first formal document that describes the project idea at a high-level and is used for general distribution. It is written in the language of the business so that anyone who has the occasion to read it, will understand it. No “techie talk” allowed. It is only one page, so there isn’t an opportunity to say much other than a few basic pieces of information.
Definition of the Project Overview Statement
The POS is brief—one page is always sufficient. A POS basically summarizes the RBS. A POS template with an example is shown in Figure 2. The POS contains the following five sections::
A statement of the problem or opportunity (reason for doing the project).
A goal statement (what will generally be done).
A statement of the objectives (general statements of how it might be done).
The quantifiable business outcomes (what business value will be obtained).
General comments on risks, assumptions, and obstacles to success.
Curio 11 4 3 – Brainstorming And Project Management Approach Example
Figure 2 A Typical POS Template with Example Data
After more than 50 years of managing projects, I can honestly say that I have always been able to write a one-page POS regardless of the scope of the project. Being able to write a one-page POS means that you really understand the project and can communicate it intelligently to senior management. Think of it as though it was the two minute elevator speech and you won’t go far astray. I’ve seen project initiation documents as large as 70 pages. I’m not sure who reads these, if anyone. If they do, do they really understand the project at the level of detail needed for granting approval to create the project plan? I doubt it! A document of that length may be of value to the development team but not to the sponsor and certainly not to the executive who will be approving it.
Seek StageGate #1 Approval
StageGate #1 is the senior management approval to proceed to the Project SET-UP Phase. Along with this approval is the release of the resources that will be needed for that phase. There is still a lot about this project that has to be defined before any version planning work can be done and one more approval STEP (StageGate #2) before the actual work of the project is authorized and budgeted by senior management.
There will be occasions when the POS is not approved. This usually means that the sponsor has not made a compelling argument for the business viability of their intended approach to the problem or opportunity. Despite the fact that the business need may be critical, the risk of failure is weighed against the expected business value of the solution. Expected business value may not justify the cost of the project. It does not mean that the project is not important to the executives, just that the approach chosen does not make good business sense. Some other approach is needed. The sponsoring business unit is invited to revise and resubmit the POS. Alternatively, the POS may be rejected without further consideration.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
In this article we described the ECPM Framework Brainstorming Process which spans STEP 1 of the IDEATION Phase. It is a robust process that will have application in several contexts.
In the IDEATION Phase we have brought an idea from a very informal statement of need or opportunity to a initial definition of one or more prioritized projects and finally to a choice of the initial project to be pursued. The IDEATION Phase is ended with a one page statement of that project that is forwarded for management approval. The IDEATION Phase includes the first three STEPs to defining a project and seeking the resources and authorization to proceed to the SET-UP Phase.
REFERENCES Gray, Dave, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo (2010). Game Storming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, O’Reilly Media, Inc. Maul, June (2011). Developing A Business Case: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges, Harvard Business Review Press. Project Management Institute, (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc. Wysocki, Robert K. (2014a). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, 7th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wysocki, Robert K. (2014b). Effective Complex Project Management: An Adaptive Agile Framework for Delivering Business Value, J. Ross Publishing. Framework for Dlivering Business Value, J. Ross Publishing.
Getting your team organized around a project is often easier said than done. Fortunately, following a project management methodology can help you organize your project into a structured, streamlined process. It makes team collaboration more efficient and projects become better organized.
Project management experts agree that most projects benefit when a recognized methodology is followed. While there are dozens of project management methods available, the majority of projects can be managed efficiently by following one of the thirteen methods below.
Understanding project management
Project management plays a crucial role in accomplishing goals and following through with plans and expectations. Often times, businesses have huge hopes for projects and for team members to collaborate on their ideas but things don’t get carried out as planned.
Project management methodology helps managers through every stage of a project. It begins with helping the manager plan, initiate, and implement the project. Methodologies even take the project to closure. They are models that project managers can use to plan and achieve task goals.
Different projects benefit from different methodologies. Not every style of project management will work for every assignment. In order to recognize which method will work best for your project, you need to be familiar with these common project methodologies and their differences.
1 – Agile
Projects that require extreme flexibility and speed are best suited to the agile project management method. Through this method, project managers breakdown milestones into “sprints”, or short delivery cycles.
Commonly used for in-house teams, agile project management was created for projects where there is no need for extensive control over the deliverables. If you’re working with a team that is self-motivated and communicates in real time, this type of project management works well because team members can rapidly adjust things as needed, throughout each task.
Read our article dedicated to Agile Project Management methodology =>
Traditional project management is, in many cases, a classic approach. Because it simply assesses the various tasks required for a project, and provides a process to oversee and monitor the completion of those tasks, traditional project management works well. While the project is in development, the role of the project manager is to provide coaching and feedback to the team members carrying out their tasks. This helps the project reach its desirable outcome.
While it may seem like a simple and straightforward approach, traditional project management works well with many businesses that use small group settings, and team members are not dependent on one another’s tasks to move forward with the project. If communications within the team can remain minimal, traditional project management can run smoothly.
3 – Waterfall
The waterfall method builds upon the framework of the traditional method.
With the waterfall approach, it is assumed that team members are reliant upon the completion of other tasks before their own tasks can be completed. Tasks must therefore be accomplished in sequence and it is vital that team members correspond with one another. Everyone contributes to the overarching goals of the project and as they complete their tasks, they enable other team members to complete theirs, which opens up opportunity to begin larger tasks.
With waterfall project management, team size will often grow as the project develops and larger tasks become a possibility. As these opportunities open up, new team members are assigned to those tasks. Project timelines and dependencies need to be tracked extensively.
4 – Adaptive
Adaptive project management does exactly what the title suggests: it adapts.
With adaptive project management the scope of a given project can vary.
While the time needed to complete the project and the cost of the project are constants, the project scope can be adjusted as it is being executed. Businesses commonly do this to get maximum value out of each project, such as when new ideas or opportunities are unlocked during the development of a project.
5 – Critical Path
Curio 11 4 3 – Brainstorming And Project Management Approaches
Critical path is a step-by-step method that works well for projects that have tasks which are dependent on one another.
Parallelsdesktop 9 0 23036 915397 intelk download free. With the critical path managing style, interdependent activities are easily managed. The work can be broken down using a structure that tracks the timeline needed for completion of these dependencies, their milestones, and their deliverables.
Critical path project management is a style that outlines the critical and non-critical activities needed for the project by calculating which ones have the longest and shortest time to accomplish various tasks. This project management style is commonly used by scientists and manufacturers because there is such a heavy emphasis on task duration.
Measuring and prioritizing tasks results in a faster completion time. Project managers will have a well-defined description of the project’s duration. This gives managers the ability to complete the task in the quickest amount of time by finishing “critical” tasks first, allowing inter-dependent tasks to be started.
6 – PERT
PERT stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique and is often used in combination with the Critical Path method. This project management style is commonly found in developmental processes and manufacturing. It is especially useful for businesses like these who plan to expand in the near future, or would at least like to keep that possibility open.
Project managers are expected to differentiate between events, and to measure the progress of activities and tasks being completed. By closely analyzing and estimating the amount of time it should take for each event to be completed, the manager can then easily create realistic timelines and budgets for those aspects of the project.
7 – Rational Unified Process
Rational Unified Process (RUP) is a project management style commonly used with software development projects.
Its iterative style allows for cyclical projects requiring beta testing or feedback from users of the project, which may have an effect on the product and change production.
RUP project management is similar to the waterfall method, except there is a major emphasis on transitioning the project at the end of every cycle, where users will be testing and evaluating its performance.
RUP allows for the future evolution of a project and accounts for rapid growth and expansion. When used for software development, users may report bugs or have suggestions that could impact the project and change its direction.
8 – Critical chain
Critical chain builds upon the PERT and critical path project management styles.
With this methodology, project managers can create goals and assemble teams based around their budget or other project constraints. Rather than determining the shortest possible project length, as is the case with critical path projects, project managers use their data to find areas where cost savings and benefits can be had. Changing elements and eliminating portions of projects is common.
Critical chain project management is also very popular in highly competitive industries. Many consumer electronics companies use this project management to lower costs and compete within the aggressive technology world.
9 – Extreme
Extreme project managementis designed to reduce the total time of each repetitive cycle within a project, organizing these cycles into daily or weekly processes.
Regardless of whether a cycle has been completed or reached functionality, project managers will often assign a name or number to it. These types of projects need to be updated regularly, sometimes even nightly. Project managers then use these updates as hallmarks and during this time, user requests can be taken into account for inclusion in future cycles.
10 – Scrum
Scrum is a derivative of agile project management.
As an iterative project management style, scrum features various “sessions” sometimes defined as “sprints” which generally last for 30 days. These sprints are used to prioritize various project tasks and ensure they are completed within this time.
Rather than being project manager, a Scrum Master should facilitate the process and assemble small teams that have oversight of specific tasks.
The teams should communicate with the Scrum Master to discuss task progress and results. These meetings with the Scrum Master are ideal times to reprioritize any backlogged tasks or discuss tasks that have yet to be pooled into the project.
Read our article dedicated to the SCRUM methodology =>
11 – Six sigma
Motorola was the original developer of the Six sigma project management style. Their overall goal was to reduce waste, improve their project processes, and increase profits.
Six sigma is a data-driven project management method with three essential components:
The first component is DMAIC: define, measure, analyze, improve, control
The second is DMADV: define, measure, analyze, design, and verify
The third is DFSS (design for six sigma), which can include the other processes mentioned.
This three-step project management method is designed to take a project from the planning stage through to completion.
The crystal method places a major emphasis on team communication and low priority on project processes and tasks. Instead, the project is centered on the skills and interactions between the people who are assigned to the project.
This project management method is often used among businesses with creative talents within their organization. By focusing on the skillsets and traits of team members, projects are more flexible and far more unique.
13 – Joint application development
This methodallows the project to have a joint development process by involving the client from the very early stages.
The team and client are to have meetings or sessions where both can collaborate freely. This allows the client to contribute ideas to the project and also give feedback on how things are progressing.
Waldorf largo 1 7 5. Joint application development relies on the client contributing and holding sessions with team members throughout the entire lifecycle of the project.
Determining which project management method is best
Since all projects vary and have differing requirements, there can be no project management method that is “best” and which applies to all businesses.
A business can vary according to type, size, industry, and many other factors. Rather than looking for a methodology that is best, businesses should learn these methodologies, how they are used, and how they can be applied.
Consider some of these factors for determining which methodology might be right for you:
Organizational goals
Core values
Project constraints
Project stakeholders
Project size
Cost of the project
Ability to take risks
Need for flexibility
Also consider the type of management you want to put in place for your project.
Project management methodology is an essential for today’s businesses. By using an appropriate style for your business, you can transform the way your team communicates, works on tasks, and accomplishes project milestones.
Getting organized with Azendoo
Whether you are consciously following one of the above project management methods, or simply tackling projects your own way, using a cloud-based collaborative task management system, like Azendoo, will surely increase your team’s productivity and efficiency.
Businesses that utilize a project management method described above are far more likely to be successful with Azendoo. You can use Azendoo to encourage communication between your team members, assign and delegate tasks, share files and information, and much more. Plus, Azendoo is flexible enough to be adapted to any project and organization!