00_pm.md

Project Management

Innovathens, December 2021

pm.md

PM

1. Planning (project timeline based on milestones)
2. Organising (how are tasks assigned)
3. Controling (time, people/resources)
4. Measuring

Planning

A project has a start & an end dates, but is quantifiable based on precise time of handoff.

Therefore, we need to understand what the client wants & find what is needed (people, resources, techniques) in order to achieve it.

Time

Defined by: planning, task assignments & measurement.

Timebounds are very important (organising, ETA, cost calculation)

Delays lead to waste, or financial taxation for extra hours.

Project Lifecycle

1. Identify project requirements
2. Identify tasks
3. Divide timeline based on people & tasks
4. Find resources (e.g. for items needed)
5. Proper task assignment
6. Deliver final project
7. (depends on project's nature) Support

Project Team

Project Leader (PM) and smaller PMs with specialization per process (de-centralize)

Schedule Building Blocks

1. Team Mission Statement
2. Work Breakdown Structure
3. Task Planning & Analysis
4. Precedence or Network Diagram (task management)
5. Resource Loading Schedule
6. Resolve resource conflicts & risk
7. Endorsement & Commitment

Project Performance Baseline

+-----------------+     +---------------+
| work breakdown  |  ↔  | Risk Planning |
+-----------------+     +---------------+
| structure (WBS) |
+-----------------+
                    ↖ ↗
        ↕           ↙ ↘          ↕
+-----------------+     +---------------+        
| Task planning   |     | Budget        |
| & scheduling    |  ↔  |               |
+-----------------+     +---------------+

Active PM

Planned vs Actual (activities, accomplishments, costs) e.g. something goes wrong, plan ahead & fix

Project Failures

Major reasons:

1. Unclear Objectives
2. Bad Planning
3. No PM methodology/no experience
4. New technology/not enough knowledge
5. Insufficient stuff

Improve PM

• better predictability so we can meet requirements better
• less cost through reduced rework
• better source management
• better planning
• improve quality through proper quality planning & control
• better control through Change Management/monitoring etc

        ^  formal
        |     /   (large, complex projects)
        |    /
PM      |  /
        | / (small projects)
        +---------------------> formal
informal        Dev Methods

Clear distinction based on project scale so different dev methods needed.

Basic objective for member commitment that the project will be completed in time & correctly.

Quality Planning

Delivering high quality project & client satisfaction => review final project (cost, value, long term cost etc)

Tips

• Project strategy = meeting w/ team
• Can't change project requirements
• Realistic definition of cost, time frame etc
• Work in a team, learn solo
• Plan who does what, when, how, merge people's work, define resources.
• Brainstorming based on cost, timeframe, goals
• QnAs: check with client & team members

Final Notes

• Work smart, not hard.
• Experiment on your own & study case studies.