Project planning Johann Packendorff
Dept of Industrial economics & management, KTH
Project planning Johann Packendorff
Dept of Industrial economics & management, KTH
Project: Definition
An unique, non-repetitive task
With a predetermined date of delivery
Specified from a numer of goals
Consisting of a number of interrelated and/or complex activities
Why are projects initiated?
Market demand
Business need
Customer request
Technological advance
Legal requirement
New, entrepreneurial idea
Scope formulation process
Formulating the background of the project (establishing a common history, including the reasons for the project)
What is to be done and/or achieved in the project (major deliverables)
What is not to be done and/or achieved in the project (preventing misguided action)
Summarised in the goal formulation(s)
Project goal formulation
Statement on what the project will deliver and what external need(s) it will address
What is the unique contribution of the project
Project goal statements
The project goal - What will be delivered in the end of the project - A compromise between cost, time and quality
The effect goal - What long-term effects the project is supposed to have on its environment
Secondary goals - Other deliverables and effects that principals, stakeholders or project team members see as desirable outcomes of the project process
Then: Come up with a catchy yet precise name of the project!
The Work Breakdown Structure
Breaking down the project goal into concrete parts and activities that can be planned and assigned to different persons on the project.
1 The deliverable items, i.e. a breakdown of the system/product/service that the project results in.
2 The functional tasks needed to create and deliver these items.
3 Other functional tasks necessary to manage and control the project.
From WBS to time schedule
The WBS is a list of activities
For each activity, specify - what is to be done - who will do it - what other people that are related to the activity - how long time it will take - how the activity is logically related to other activities
The time schedule
Put the activities in its proper chronological order
Start with the deadline and calculate backwards
Identify some milestones – i.e. major decision points during the project when the principals are to review the whole project and make decisions on its further progress
Recommended tool: Gantt chart
Gantt chart
Gantt chart with milestone
Risk management
Risks = probable events that will to some extent – given that they happen – imply that project implementation must be changed as compared to initial plans
Risks can be handled through - avoiding the event - decreasing the probability of the event - sharing the risk with others - just accepting that the event might happen, living with it
A risk priority list is needed => The Minirisk method!
Minirisk
Identify risk events (events with a probability between 1% and 99%)
Assess degree of probability (P) that the risk event happens (1-5)
Assess degree of effect (E) upon the project when it happens (1-5)
Caclulate a risk index for each event (probability x effect, i.e. between 1-25)
The project manager – the team leader that leads the daily work and assumes responsibility for the project. Keeps the principal involved and the stakeholders informed. The spider in the web!
Team members – committed experts that are assigned different tasks
The principal – the ’owner’ or the ’client’ of the project (the boss of the project manager)
Stakeholders – other people or organisations that have interests in the project
The responsibility matrix
...
020
010 Information/discussion
team members
project manager
principal
other stakeholders Decision responsi-bility
team members,
project manager
principal Action responsi-bility
team members
Activity
Committing the team
Team development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
How can each team member fulfil his/her personal goals through the project? Ask everybody for a written commitment and personal goals statement!
Committing the stakeholders
- Top management - Other actor categories in the own organization - Project owners/clients - Accountants - Target group(s) - Authorities, political assemblies - Interest organizations, external individuals - Emergent stakeholders?
Stakeholder analysis
Gather information about the stakeholders - Interviews - Experiences from previous projects
Analyse the intentions of the stakeholders - What interest do they have? What do the say they want? - What do they want but not telling you? - Active/passive? - What do they not want?
How can we make stakeholders as satisfied as possible with the project process and outcomes?
The project plan
Title page
Project background and context
The project principal
Project goal statements
Work Breakdown Structure
Time schedule/Gantt chart
Responsibility matrix
Risk map
Description of project team members
Stakeholder analysis
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