Transcript Week 1 - Algonquin College

Week 3
Introduction to Project
Management
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Planning Projects
“Planning is laying out the
project groundwork to ensure
your goals are met“
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Purpose of Planning Process

It answers:
 How are we going to SOLVE the
problem
 What RESOURCES are required
 How much effort it requires
 What are the DUE DATES
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Project Plans
◦ Are Not a Microsoft Project File
◦ They are documents that:
 Define SCHEDULE
 Define RESOURCES needed
 Project DELIVERABLES/MILESTONES
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Project Deliverables
◦ Are measurable outcomes or specific
items that must be PRODUCED to fulfill
the outcomes of the project.
◦ All deliverables must be described in enough
detail so that they can be differentiated from
related deliverables. For example:
 A twin engine plane vs a single engine plane
 A daily report vs a weekly report
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Project PLANNING Processes

Scope Planning
 Specifies the IN-SCOPE requirements for the project
and facilitates the creation of the WBS

Preparing a Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS)
 Specifies the breakdown of the project into tasks and
sub tasks

Communication Planning
 Communication strategy with all project
stakeholders
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Project Planning Processes Cont.
Project SCHEDULE Development
 Specifies the entire schedule of the activities detailing
the sequence of execution
 RESOURCE Planning
 Specifies WHO will do the work
 Any special equipment or skills required
 “Project Schedule Development” & “Resource Planning”
are items which have to be inputted into “MS Project 2010”
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RISK Planning
 Charts the risks,
 CONTINGENCY plans: having an alternative
course of action planned once a risk surfaces
 MITIGATION strategies: minimizing risks once
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DEVELOPING SMART
GOALS
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Articulating Project Objectives

Specific (get into the details).

Measurable (use qualitative language so you know
when you are finished).

Acceptable (Achievable) (to stakeholders).

Realistic (Relevant) (in terms of achievement).

Time bound (Time frame) (deadlines not
durations)
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SMART GOALS Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmOS
3dj9h0s
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AFTER THE GOALS ARE DRAFTED,
ASK YOURSELF:
Is this goal specific?
 Are the results easily measurable?
 Realistic?
 Does my goal include a completion DATE?
◦ If the answer is NO to any of these
questions, you have more work to do!!

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SMART Goals Example

GOAL = Write A Long Essay
◦ Specific: I will write my 15 page final paper for my
Business class.
◦ Measurable: I will report my progress in terms of
pages completed per week.
◦ Acceptable (Achievable): By completing 2 pages a
day for 8 days, I will be able to finish my paper.
◦ Realistic (Relevant): I cannot write a lot at a time,
so I am spreading it out over time.
◦ Time Bound (Time Frame): I will finish this paper
in 8 days.
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POORLY WRITTEN GOALS

Use words like….
◦ Try, could, should, possibly, hope, attempt,
probably, might, maybe
 These are Not specific enough!
 What will you DO?

Poorly written goals
◦ Soon, in a few months, by the end of the year
 YOU SHOULD PICK A DATE!
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PROJECT
REQUIREMENT
PLANNING
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Project Requirements

Requirements specify what the project
deliverable should look like and what
it should do.

Divided into 6 basic categories:
Functional
Regulatory
Non-Functional
Business
Technical
User
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1) Functional Project Requirements

Describe the
characteristics of what
you want your
deliverable to be.

Example:
◦ System shall provide users with
the ability to “select” whether
or not to produce a hardcopy
transaction receipt before
completing a transaction.
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2) Non-Functional Requirements
Describe criteria that can
be judged
 Describe restrictions to
be placed on the
deliverable
 Example:

◦ All displays shall be in white 14
pt Arial text on black
background.
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3) Technical Requirements

Emerges from functional
requirements

May include:
◦ Hardware details
◦ Telecommunication protocols
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4) REGULATORY Requirements
Can be internal or
external
 Usually non-negotiable

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Example:
◦ All ATMs shall connect to
“standard utility power sources
within their civic jurisdiction”,
and be supplied with
uninterruptible power source
approved by “said company”.
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5) Business Requirements



Always from a
management perspective
States “business rationale”
for the project
Example:
◦ By providing superior service to
our retail customers, ABC Bank’s
ATM network will allow us to
increase associated service fee
revenue by 10% annually on an
ongoing basis, using a baseline
of December 2011.
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6) User Requirements

What users need to do
with the system or
product

Example:
◦ The system shall complete a
standard withdrawal from a
personal account, from login to
cash, in less than two minutes for
a first time user.
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WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE (WBS)
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Define WBS

PMI describes WBS as “a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the
work to be executed by the project team
to accomplish the project objectives and
create required deliverables.”

In our words:
◦ A structured method for defining the
work of the project
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Sample WBS

WBS does not show the sequence

When creating, start with the goal and then break
it down into smaller and smaller
Goal
DELIVERABLES (MILESTONES)
1) Deliverables
Activity
Activity
Activity
Deliverable
Deliverable
◦ define what you are going to do
◦ Are Nouns
2) Activities
Deliverable
Deliverable
Activity
Activity
Activity
◦ define how you are going to accomplish it
◦ Activities are Verbs
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WBS DIAGRAM 3
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WBS DIAGRAM 2
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WBS DIAGRAM 1
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Benefits of WBS

Identifies all work necessary to meet the scope
of the project

Clarifies responsibilities

Forces detailed planning and documentation

Provides structure for measuring success

IDENTIFIES MILESTONES
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Milestones

Identifiable point that represents a
requirement or completion of an
important set of activities

Why use milestones?
◦ Helps identify progress
◦ Helps define “dependencies”
◦ Provides visibility of major deliverable dates
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Milestones vs Tasks

Milestones are what management &/or
clients really want to hear about

Milestones are the large outcome of
many little tasks.
◦ Not necessarily have a DATE

Tasks are activities that need to be
completed in order to make the milestone
happen.
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WBS

Comes from
◦ Past projects
◦ Templates and documents of procedures
◦ System tutorials
◦ Brainstorming
◦ Subject Matter Expert (SME)
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WBS does not show the
sequence
 When creating, start with the
goal and then break it down
into smaller and smaller
DELIVERABLES
(MILESTONES)

1)
Deliverables
(Milestones)
◦ define what you are
going to do
◦ Are Nouns
2) Activities
◦ define how you are
going to
accomplish it
◦ Activities are Verbs
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WEEK 3 HYBRID
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Read Chapter 2
Complete ALL activities required while reading Chapter 2
Complete the Matching questions for Chapter 2
Complete the Multiple Choice questions for Chapter 2
Please note, you must complete Matching and Multiple
Choice questions in an EXCEL document. Please name
the excel file: Chapter2_[yrLastName]
Name “Matching” workSHEET “worksheet M Chap2”
Name the “Multiple Choice” workSHEET :
“worksheet MC Chap 2”
Provide the answers in the order as they are presented in
the book.
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