Project Management Report

I guess I could wrote what I thought about what I have read, but I think for those of you who are reading this post, it might be beneficial to give you a summary or highlighted quote of what I have read. That way, you don't need to read those articles, but you can get some ideas of what they are about. So, enjoy!

Project Communication:
Link

This article talks about how external stakeholders (e.g., sponsor, customer and resource manager) must be continually informed of a progress. Also their inputs need to be consistently recorded as well. It also suggested that we need to actively managing the stakeholders expectations, not just reporting details of the project.

Key Questions

1. Who needs information, why, and when?
2. What type of information will they need and in what detail?
3. What will you goal be when you communicate with customer and management and what medium will best accomplish that?
   

Scope Creep:
Link

Typical Reasons for Scope Creep

1. Insufficient Requirements Analysis Definition resulting in business requirements that are not well defined.
2. Underestimating the complexity of the problem in an unknown industry.
3. Management failure in managing user expectations.
4. Involving the users only in later stages of project life cycle such as programming and testing.

 Suggested Solutions

1. Define the business requirements as “must-haves” and “nice to haves” and prioritize them. Identify the risks for each “must-have” requirement and get the stakeholders approval. Plan these prioritized requirements in the form of phased deliverable during the project life cycle.
2. Set project expectations with the customer stakeholders and get the buy in from the customer.
3. Decide and document the agreed project deliverables in the Statement Of Work (SOW) document and requirement areas that are NOT included.
4. Document requirements and review with the customers before any sign off.
5. Decide and document how the users will use the system in the form of test cases during the requirement analysis phase.
6. Make a flexible project plan allowing users to participate at the design phase and incorporate their suggestions. In case scope creep cannot be avoided, participate in re-scoping. 
7. Do an impact analysis and attach a cost and time for the new requirements (effective in getting the sponsor to re-validate the new requirements).
   
8. Introduce a formal change management process that would allow the users to define the requests as “Your Enhancement Submission” (YES) form. Follow the six steps for any changes or deviations from the initial set of requirements: 1. Record 2. Assess 3. Plan 4. Build 5. Implement 6. Close.

Change Management:
Link

According to this article, Change Management is "processes, tools and techniques to manage the people-side of change to achieve the required business outcome." It incorporates "the organizational tools that can be utilized to help individuals make successful personal transitions resulting in the adoption and realization of change."

Three steps of Change Management are:

• Planning for change
• Managing change
• Reinforcing change

And when we manage changes, focus on:

• Individual Reactions
  
• Communications
• Sponsorship
• Coaching
• Training
• Resistance Management

This articles also talk about the differences between Project Management and Change Management. I'm not that impressed by the comparison, but it is informative.


Schedule Management:
Link

10 steps (Or things to remember?) that will help us analyze the general contractor's project schedule, plan your work, and negotiate for better scheduling:

1. Scope letter: Add the following clause to your terms and conditions: “Price is based on having a reasonably leveled schedule.” This clause will lay the groundwork for you to negotiate on the project schedule as described below.
2. Your tasks: Begin developing a worksheet to analyze the project schedule as provided by the general contractor. Pull all items referring to your work out of the schedule. Use the item numbers from the project schedule so you have a common point of reference when negotiating (click here to see Table 1).
3. Details: Make notes of duration, start, and finish dates as shown on the project schedule.
4. Accuracy: Make sure that at least every piece of your WBS is represented. Having a standardized WBS for your project will make doing this analysis even easier. Often, there are activities that will be left out, or there will be minor things you'll have to do as part of another piece of work — such as during a concrete pour. You want to make sure your list is thorough. Add items in where they will need to be inserted back into the project schedule. The example shown in the table is 33-A, B, C, and D, which breaks down the electrical rough stage of work into more detail.
5. Logic: Check to see that the logic is correct, and you'll be able to proceed with your work efficiently. Frequently, the logic won't be correct, activities won't be completed, or other activities are scheduled to start while you are still in the area. Having a standard WBS that details exactly what you need to have done to perform your work efficiently will make this part of the analysis much easier.
6. Man-hours: Add in the estimated man-hours for each task. The schedule will likely be in more detail and organized differently than your budget is. This is why it's important to understand the details behind the budget, so that the man-hours can be reorganized to roughly match the schedule tasks.
7. Resource loading: Lay out tasks with resources required over time. This can be done with pencil (make sure and use one with an eraser!), with Excel (click here to see Table 2), or — if you have the skills and the time — with scheduling software. Start by determining the average resources you'll need for each activity [hours ÷ duration ÷ 8 hours = average resources]. After that, fill in the time line as shown in Table 2.
8. Total resources: You need to determine the total resources required for all tasks. This will show you what your manpower requirements look like over the course of the job. This can be done on a more expanded spreadsheet similar to the one shown in Table 2.
9. Leveling opportunities: This is where the work really begins. Start looking for ways to level out your manpower. Some areas to look at include:

• Can you load resources across the task differently?
• Is there any way to start the task earlier?
• Can you use float in activity to extend duration?
• Can a successor task start prior to you finishing 100%?
• Can you do pre-fabrication work in periods of low resource requirements?

      10. Only request that the duration of the project be extended as a last resort.

• The letter: Gather all of the notes you made as you were going through the steps above, and create a letter detailing your requests. Some ideas for the wording in your letter are as follows:
• Intro: Our proposal was based on having a “reasonably leveled” schedule. This schedule currently requires excessive fluctuations in our manpower that will result in inefficiencies, thereby delaying completion of the project. Please review the following recommendation.
• New task required: We need two days to run raceway on the metal deck before the concrete pour starts. We should be able to accomplish this task without extending the schedule. We request that you expand the decking/concrete pour tasks to reflect the individual floors so this task can be entered without affecting the completion date of the schedule.
• Logic/detail: The electrical rough (33) is shown, starting with the framing. This will not allow for an efficient installation. We need to have an entire area — at least equal to half of a floor — completely framed before we start our rough. Please expand the schedule to reflect the additional detail. Overall duration for electrical rough is acceptable.