Just learn it ep1 | Foundations of Project Management

This is my note from the course: Foundations of Project Management.

Terminology

1. project manager: the one who drives a project with expected skills to

• prioritize tasks.
• plan and organize timeline and budget.
• delegate tasks to the right team members.
• effectively communicate to others.

2. stakeholders: some people affected by the project’s completion and success.

Roles and responsibilities

1. understand the customer’s expectations.

• what is problem they are trying to solve?
• what is the vision and final outcome?
• how is the problem impacting your organization?
• what prompted you to ask for help you now?
• what is your hope for the outcome of this project?

2. control changes: adjust stakeholder’s needs.

3. clarify goals: budget, deadline, quality, requirements, other resources.

4. manage the project.

• make sure every team member knows and understands his or her task goal and big picture goal for the finished project.
• create plans, timelines, schedules and other terms of documentation to track project completion.
• monitor and manage the budget, track issues and risks, manage quality, remove unforeseen barriers.

5. collaborate with other teams at the organization to deliver solutions that meet the requirements based on project scope, schedule, and budget.

6. communicate status and concerns: building trust within the team and among stakeholders.

7. build a great team.

• get team members with the right skills.
• foster relationships and communication.
• allow them to make their decisions for the project.
• understand and help teammates to adopt the right workflows and project management styles.

8. break down barriers: ensure that issues and risks are tracked and visible and establish escalation paths.

9. measure progress: how team members have completed tasks, ask if any help is needed.

The more organized you are in your actions, the more organized your team is in.

Beyond R&R

1. enable decision making: state the goals of specific deliverables and elicit impact from team.
2. communicate and escalate: calculate float in the schedule.
3. stay cool under pressure: assess external constraints, plan for risk and challenges.
4. possess strong organizational skills: plan, collaborate, document, and assure quality.

The float is the amount of time you can wait to begin a task before it impacts the project schedule and threatens the project outcome.

Project life cycle

1. initiate the project: define project goals, identify budget, whom will be involved, and value.

• who are the stakeholders?
• what are the client’s or customer’s goals?
• what is the purpose and mission of the project?
• what are the measurable objectives for the team?
• what is the project trying to improve?
• what does this project need to be completed?
• what skills and resources will the project require?
• what will the project cost? what are the benefits?

2. make a plan: create a budget, set the schedule, establish a team, determine role and responsibility, plan for risks and challenges, establish communication.

• create detailed project plan: what are the major milestones? what taks or deliverables makeu up each milestones?
• build the schedule so the resources, budget, materials, and timeline can be properly managed.

3. execute and complete tasks: manage the progress, communicate, make adjustments.

• monitor the project team as they complete project tasks.
• break down any barriers that would show or stop the team from completing tasks.
• help keep the team aware of schedule and deliverable expectations.
• address weakness in the process or examine phases where the team may need additional training to meet the project’s goals.
• adapt to changes in the project as they arise.

4. close the project: evaluate how the project went and reflect.

• ensure that all talks have been completed, confirm acceptance of the project outcome, reflect on lessons learned, retrospective, communicate the results with stakeholders, celebrate completion of the project, formally move on to a new project.
• identify that the team has completed all of the requested outcomes.
• release the team so they can support other projects within the company.
• take time with the team to celebrate the success.
• maintain deliverables and get stakeholder approval.
• document lessons learned during the project.
• reflect on ways to improve in the future.

Project management methodology

1. a set of guiding principles and processes for organizing a project through its life cycle.
2. linear (waterfall): the precious phase or tasks has to be completed before the next can start.
3. iterative (agile): some of the phases and tasks will overlap or happen at the same time that other tasks are being worked on and are completed in iterations, which in scrum are called sprints.

DMAIC

1. define: define the project goal and talk to stakeholders about expectations for the project.
2. measure: how the current process performing? what’s the problem
3. analyze: identify gaps and issues.
4. improve: use the findings for improvements.
5. control: maintain and monitor.

Define what to measure. Measure what to analyze. Analyze what to improve. Improve what to control.

LEAN

1. a methodology originated in the manufacturing world — waste removal within an operation, e.g., defects, excess processing, over production.
2. 5s

• sort: remove all items not needed for current production operations and leave only bare essentials.
• set in order: arrange needed items so that they are easy to sue. Label items so that anyone can find them or put them away.
• shine: keep everything in the correct place. Clean the workspace every day.
• standardize: perform the process in the same way every time.
• sustain: make a habit of maintaining correct procedures and instill this discipline in the team.

Six sigma

1. ensure quality processes are followed every time.
2. always focus on the customer.
3. identify and understand how the work gets done. understand how work really happens.
4. make the processes flow smoothly.
5. reduce waste and concentrate on value.
6. stop defects by removing variation.
7. involve and collaborate with the team.
8. approach improvement activity is a systematic way.

Project management office (PMO)

1. strategic planning and governance: define project criteria.
2. best practices adoption.
3. resource management.
4. creation of project document, archives and tasks.

Organizational culture

1. characteristics of organization.
2. missions, values, identity, people, processes.
3. it can be inferred by the following questions.

• how does communication happen?
• how are decisions made?
• what kind of rituals are in place when someone new comes to the organization?
• how are projects typically run?
• what kind of practices, behaviors and values are reflected by the people in the organization?

Change management

process of delivering a completed project and getting people to adopt it.

• create a sense of ownership and urgency.
• figure out the right combination of skills and personalities.