Project Management Institute
Q,!lick Q,!lizzes for Project Managers Barbee Davis, MA, PHR, PMP
ISBN: 978-1-935589-10-5 Published by:
Project Management Institute, Inc. 14 Campus Boulevard Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 USA. Phone: +610-356-4600 Fax: +610-356-4647 E-mail:
[email protected] Internet: www.pmi.org
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Contents Quick Quizzes - Test Your Knowledge Quick Quiz 1 - Global Teams ............................................ 1 Quick Quiz 2 - Estimating Techniques ..................................... 2 Quick Quiz 3 - Project Reports ........................................... 3 Quick Quiz 4 - Risk Plans ............................................... 4 Quick Quiz 5 - Earned Value ............................................ 5 Quick Quiz 6 - Late Projects ............................................. 6 Quick Quiz 7 - Choosing Teams ........................................... 7 Quick Quiz 8 - Meaningful Communication ................................. 8 Quick Quiz 9 - Running Costs ............................................ 9 Quick Quiz 10 - Purchased Software ...................................... 10 Quick Quiz 11 - Business Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Quick Quiz 12 - Project Stoplights ........................................ 12 Quick Quiz 13 - Good Enough ........................................... 13 Quick Quiz 14 - Project Sponsor ...........................................14 Quick Quiz 15 - Agile Methods .......................................... 15 Quick Quiz 16 - Time Eaten ............................................ 16 Quick Quiz 17 - Misconceptions ......................................... 17 Quick Quiz 18 - Project Charter ......................................... 18 Quick Quiz 19 - Kickoff ................................................ 19 Quick Quiz 20 - Baseline .............................................. 20 Quick Quiz 21 - BAC .................................................. 21 Quick Quiz 22 - Methodology ........................................... 22 Quick Quiz 23 - Management ........................................... 23 Quick Quiz 24 - Cost Reserves ......................................... 24 Quick Quiz 25 - CMMI And WBS ........................................ 25 Quick Quiz 26 - Overallocations ......................................... 26 Quick Quiz 27 - Bad Estimating ......................................... 27 Quick Quiz 28 - Cranky Stakeholder ..................................... 28 Quick Quiz 29 - Who Pays ............................................. 29 Quick Quiz 30 - Hidden Costs .......................................... 30 Quick Quiz 31 - PM Knowledge ......................................... 31 Quick Quiz 32 - Work Buffer ............................................ 32 Quick Quiz 33 - Procurement ........................................... 33 Quick Quiz 34 - Large Project Politics .................................... 34 Quick Quiz 35 - Status Reports ..........................................35 Quick Quiz 36 - Control Charts .......................................... 36 Quick Quiz 37 - Grassroots EVA. ........................................ 37 Quick Quiz 38 - End Of Year............................................ 38 Quick Quiz 39 - Templates ............................................. 39 09ick 09izzes for Project Managers -
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Quick Quiz 40 Quick Quiz 41 Quick Quiz 42 Quick Quiz 43 Quick Quiz 44 Quick Quiz 45 Quick Quiz 46 Quick Quiz 47 Quick Quiz 48 Quick Quiz 49 Quick Quiz 50 Quick Quiz 51 Quick Quiz 52 Quick Quiz 53 Quick Quiz 54 Quick Quiz 55 Quick Quiz 56 Quick Quiz 57 Quick Quiz 58 Quick Quiz 59 Quick Quiz 60 Quick Quiz 61 Quick Quiz 62 Quick Quiz 63 Quick Quiz 64 Quick Quiz 65 Quick Quiz 66 Quick Quiz 67 Quick Quiz 68 Quick Quiz 69 -
Communication Skills .................................... 40 Prioritize Projects ....................................... 41 Failure Symptoms ....................................... 42 Get Experience ......................................... 43 Fixed Time And Materials ................................. 44 Reducing Costs ......................................... 45 Schedule Savvy ........................................ 46 Quality Planning ........................................ 47 Scope Template ........................................ 48 Puzzling Pairs .......................................... 49 Extra Budget ........................................... 50 Collect Statistics ........................................ 51 Too Many Projects ...................................... 52 Coaxing Colleagues ..................................... 53 Mandatory Overages .................................... 54 Training Trials .......................................... 55 Change Costs .......................................... 56 Communication Necessities ............................... 57 Future Jobs ............................................ 58 Agile Tests ............................................. 59 Actual Work ............................................ 60 Social Media ........................................... 61 Quality Tools ........................................... 62 Shaping Teams ......................................... 63 PPMM Individual ........................................ 64 Flowcharting ........................................... 65 Risk Tolerances ......................................... 66 Knowledge Management ................................. 67 Dedicated Teams ....................................... 68 Management Styles ..................................... 69
Quick Quizzes - Answers Quick Quiz Answer 1 - Global Teams ...................................72-73 Quick Quiz Answer 2 - Estimating Techniques ............................ 74-75 Quick Quiz Answer 3 - Project Reports ................................. 76-77 Quick Quiz Answer 4 - Risk Plans .....................................78-79 Quick Quiz Answer 5 - Earned Value ...................................80-81 Quick Quiz Answer 6 - Late Projects ...................................82-83 Quick Quiz Answer 7 - Choosing Teams ................................ 84-85 Quick Quiz Answer 8 - Meaningful Communication ........................ 86-87 Quick Quiz Answer 9 - Running Costs ..................................88-89 Quick Quiz Answer 10 - Purchased Software ............................. 90-91 Quick Quiz Answer 11 - Business Value .................................92-93 Quick Quiz Answer 12 - Project Stoplights ...............................94-95 Quick Quiz Answer 13 - Good Enough .................................. 96-97 IV
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Quick Quiz Answer 14 Quick Quiz Answer 15 Quick Quiz Answer 16 Quick Quiz Answer 17 Quick Quiz Answer 18 Quick Quiz Answer 19 Quick Quiz Answer 20 Quick Quiz Answer 21 Quick Quiz Answer 22 Quick Quiz Answer 23 Quick Quiz Answer 24 Quick Quiz Answer 25 Quick Quiz Answer 26 Quick Quiz Answer 27 Quick Quiz Answer 28 Quick Quiz Answer 29 Quick Quiz Answer 30 Quick Quiz Answer 31 Quick Quiz Answer 32 Quick Quiz Answer 33 Quick Quiz Answer 34 Quick Quiz Answer 35 Quick Quiz Answer 36 Quick Quiz Answer 37 Quick Quiz Answer 38 Quick Quiz Answer 39 Quick Quiz Answer 40 Quick Quiz Answer 41 Quick Quiz Answer 42 Quick Quiz Answer 43 Quick Quiz Answer 44 Quick Quiz Answer 45 Quick Quiz Answer 46 Quick Quiz Answer 47 Quick Quiz Answer 48 Quick Quiz Answer 49 Quick Quiz Answer 50 Quick Quiz Answer 51 Quick Quiz Answer 52 Quick Quiz Answer 53 Quick Quiz Answer 54 Quick Quiz Answer 55 -
Project Sponsor ................................ 98-99 Agile Methods ................................ 100-101 Time Eaten .................................. 102-103 Misconceptions .............................. 104-105 Project Charil3r ............................... 106-107 Kickoff ..................................... 108-109 Baseline .................................... 110-111 BAC ....................................... 112-113 Methodology................................. 114-115 Management ................................ 116-117 Cost Reserves ............................... 118-119 CMMI And WIBS .............................. 120-121 Overallocations .............................. 122-123 Bad Estimating ............................... 124-125 Cranky Stakeholder ........................... 126-127 Who Pays ................................... 128-129 Hidden Costs ................................ 130-131 PM Knowledgle ............................... 132-133 Work Buffer ................................. 134-135 Procurement. ................................ 136-137 Large Project Politics .......................... 138-139 Status Reports ............................... 140-141 Control Charts ............................... 142-143 Grassroots EVA .............................. 144-145 End Of Year ................................. 146-147 Templates ................................... 148-149 Communication Skills .......................... 150-151 Prioritize Projects ............................. 152-153 Failure Symptoms ............................ 154-155 Get Experience .............................. 156-157 Fixed Time And Materials ....................... 158-159 Reducing Costs .............................. 160-161 Schedule Savvy .............................. 162-163 Quality Plannilng .............................. 164-165 Scope Template .............................. 166-167 Puzzling Pairs ............................... 168-169 Extra Budget ................................ 170-171 Collect Statistics .............................. 172-173 Too Many Projects ............................ 174-175 Coaxing Colleagues ........................... 176-177 Mandatory Overages .......................... 178-179 Training Trials ................................ 180-181
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Quick Quiz Answer 56 - Change Costs ............................... 182-183 Quick Quiz Answer 57 - Communication Necessities ..................... 184-185 Quick Quiz Answer 58 - Future Jobs ................................. 186-187 Quick Quiz Answer 59 -Agile Tests .................................. 188-189 Quick Quiz Answer 60 -Actual Work ................................. 190-191 Quick Quiz Answer 61 - Social Media ................................. 192-193 Quick Quiz Answer 62 - Quality Tools ................................. 194-195 Quick Quiz Answer 63 - Shaping Teams .............................. 196-197 Quick Quiz Answer 64 - PPMM Individual ............................. 198-199 Quick Quiz Answer 65 - Flowcharting .................................200-201 Quick Quiz Answer 66 - Risk Tolerances .............................. 202-203 Quick Quiz Answer 67 - Knowledge Management .......................204-205 Quick Quiz Answer 68 - Dedicated Teams .............................206-207 Quick Quiz Answer 69 - Management Styles ...........................208-209 Index ............................................................. 211
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G.1rick G.1rizzes for Project Managers -
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Quizzes by Process Group INITIATING Quick Quiz 11 - Business Value ......................................... 11 Quick Quiz Answer 11 - Business Value ........................... 92-93 Quick Quiz 14 - Project Sponsor ........................................ 14 Quick Quiz Answer 14 - Project Sponsor .......................... 98-99 Quick Quiz 18 - Project Charter ......................................... 18 Quick Quiz Answer 18 - Project Charter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106-107 Quick Quiz 31 - PM Knowledge ......................................... 31 Quick Quiz Answer 31 - PM Knowledge ......................... 132-133 Quick Quiz 41 - Prioritize Projects ....................................... 41 Quick Quiz Answer 41 - Prioritize Projects ....................... 152-153 Quick Quiz 43 - Get Experience ......................................... 43 Quick Quiz Answer 43 - Get Experience ........................ 156-157 Quick Quiz 44 - Fixed Time and Materials ................................. 44 Quick Quiz Answer 44 - Fixed Time and Materials ................ 158-159 Quick Quiz 51 - Collect Statistics ........................................ 51 Quick Quiz Answer 51 - Collect Statistics ........................ 172-173 Quick Quiz 61 - Social Media ........................................... 61 Quick Quiz Answer 61 - Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 192-193 Quick Quiz 66 - Risk Tolerances ......................................... 66 Quick Quiz 66 - Risk Tolerances ............................... 202-203 Quick Quiz 67 - Knowledge Management ................................. 67 Quick Quiz Answer 67 - Knowledge Management ................. 204-205 PLANNING Quick Quiz 2 - Estimating Techniques ..................................... 2 Quick Quiz Answer 2 - Estimating Techniques ...................... 74-75 Quick Quiz 4 - Risk Plans ................................................ 4 Quick Quiz Answer 4 - Risk Plans ............................... 78-79 Quick Quiz 7 - Choosing Teams ........................................... 7 Quick Quiz Answer 7 - Choosing Teams .......................... 84-85 Quick Quiz 13 - Good Enough ........................................... 13 Quick Quiz Answer 13 - Good Enough ............................ 96-97 Quick Quiz 17 - Misconceptions .......................................... 17 Quick Quiz Answer 17 - Misconceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 104-105 Quick Quiz 19 - Kickoff ................................................. 19 Quick Quiz Answer 19 - Kickoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108-109 Quick Quiz 20 - Baseline ............................................... 20 Quick Quiz Answer 20 - Baseline ............................... 110-111
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Quick Quiz 22 - Methodology ........................................... 22 Quick Quiz Answer 22 - Methodology ........................... 114-115 Quick Quiz 26 - Overallocations ......................................... 26 Quick Quiz Answer 26 - Overallocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122-123 Quick Quiz 27 - Bad Estimating ......................................... 27 Quick Quiz Answer 27 - Bad Estimating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124-125 Quick Quiz 30 - Hidden Costs .......................................... 30 Quick Quiz Answer 30 - Hidden Costs .......................... 130-131 Quick Quiz 32 - Work Buffer ............................................ 32 Quick Quiz Answer 32 - Work Buffer ........................... 134-135 Quick Quiz 39 - Templates ............................................. 39 Quick Quiz Answer 39 - Templates ............................. 148-149 Quick Quiz 46 - Schedule Savvy ........................................ 46 Quick Quiz Answer 46 - Schedule Savvy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162-163 Quick Quiz 47 - Quality Planning ........................................ 47 Quick Quiz Answer 47 - Quality Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164-165 Quick Quiz 48 - Scope Template ........................................ 48 Quick Quiz Answer 48 - Scope Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166-167 Quick Quiz 55 - Training Trials .......................................... 55 Quick Quiz Answer 55 - Training Trials .......................... 180-181 Quick Quiz 57 - Communication Necessities ............................... 57 Quick Quiz Answer 57 - Communication Necessities ............... 184-185 Quick Quiz 58 - Future Jobs ............................................ 58 Quick Quiz Answer 58 - Future Jobs ........................... 186-187 Quick Quiz 64 - PPMM Individual ........................................ 64 Quick Quiz Answer 64 - PPMM Individual ....................... 198-199 EXECUTING Quick Quiz 1 - Global Teams ............................................ 1 Quick Quiz Answer 1 - Global Teams ............................. 72-73 Quick Quiz 6 - Late Projects ............................................. 6 Quick Quiz Answer 6 - Late Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-83 Quick Quiz Answer 8 - Meaningful Communication ........................... 8 Quick Quiz Answer 8 - Meaningful Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86-87 Quick Quiz 10 - Purchased Software ..................................... 10 Quick Quiz Answer 10- Purchased Software ....................... 90-91 Quick Quiz 15 - Agile Methods .......................................... 15 Quick Quiz Answer 15 - Agile Methods ......................... 100-101 Quick Quiz 16 - Time Eaten ............................................ 16 Quick Quiz Answer 16 - Time Eaten ............................ 102-103 Quick Quiz 23 - Management ........................................... 23 Quick Quiz Answer 23 - Management ........................... 116-117 Quick Quiz 24 - Cost Reserves ......................................... 24 Quick Quiz Answer 24 - Cost Reserves .......................... 118-119 Quick Quiz 28 - Cranky Stakeholder ..................................... 28 Quick Quiz Answer 28 - Cranky Stakeholder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126-127 Quick Quiz 34 - Large Project Politics .................................... 34 Quick Quiz Answer 34 - Large Project Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138-139 viii
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Qyizzes by Process Group
Quick Quiz 40 - Communication Skills. .................................... 40 Quick Quiz Answer 40 - Communication Skills .................... 150-151 Quick Quiz 45 - Reducing Costs ......................................... 45 Quick Quiz Answer 45 - Reducing Costs ........................ 160-161 Quick Quiz 49 - Puzzling Pairs ..... , .................................... 49 Quick Quiz Answer 49 - Puzzling Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168-169 Quick Quiz 52 - Too Many Projects . , .................................... 52 Quick Quiz Answer 52 - Too Many Projects ...................... 174-175 Quick Quiz 59 - Agile Tests ........ , .................................... 59 Quick Quiz Answer 59 - Agile liests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 188-189 Quick Quiz 62 - Quality Tools ...... , .................................... 62 Quick Quiz Answer 62 - Quality Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 194-195 Quick Quiz 68 - Dedicated Teams ....................................... 68 Quick Quiz Answer 68 - Dedicated Teams ....................... 206-207 Quick Quiz 69 - Management Styles ..................................... 69 Quick Quiz Answer 69 - Management Styles ..................... 208-209
MONITORING and CONTROLLING Quick Quiz 3 - Project Reports ........................................... 3 Quick Quiz Answer 3 - Project IRe ports ........................... 76-77 Quick Quiz 5 - Earned Value ............................................ 5 Quick Quiz Answer 5 - Earned Value ............................. 80-81 Quick Quiz 9 - Running Costs ........................................... 9 Quick Quiz Answer 9 - Runnin~1 Costs ............................ 88-89 Quick Quiz 12 - Project Stoplights ....................................... 12 Quick Quiz Answer 12 - Project Stoplights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94-95 Quick Quiz 21 - BAC .................................................. 21 Quick Quiz Answer 21 - BAC .................................. 112-113 Quick Quiz 25 - CMMI And WBS ........................................ 25 Quick Quiz Answer 25 - CMMI And WBS ........................ 120-121 Quick Quiz 35 - Status Reports ......................................... 35 Quick Quiz Answer 35 - Status Reports ......................... 140-141 Quick Quiz 36 - Control Charts .......................................... 36 Quick Quiz Answer 36 - Control Charts ......................... 142-143 Quick Quiz 37 - Grassroots EVA ........................................ 37 Quick Quiz Answer 37 - Grassroots EVA ........................ 144-145 Quick Quiz 42 - Failure Symptoms ....................................... 42 Quick Quiz Answer 42 - Failure Symptoms ...................... 154-155 Quick Quiz 50 - Extra Budget ........................................... 50 Quick Quiz Answer 50 - Extra Budget .......................... 170-171 Quick Quiz 53 - Coaxing Colleagues ..................................... 53 Quick Quiz Answer 53 - Coaxing Colleagues ..................... 176-177
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Quick Quiz 54 - Mandatory Overages .................................... 54 Quick Quiz Answer 54 - Mandatory Overages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178-179 Quick Quiz 56 - Change Costs .......................................... 56 Quick Quiz Answer 56 - Change Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182-183 Quick Quiz 60 - Actual Work ............................................ 60 Quick Quiz Answer 60 -Actual Work ........................... 190-191 Quick Quiz 63 - Shaping Teams ......................................... 63 Quick Quiz Answer 63 - Shaping Teams ........................ 196-197 Quick Quiz 65 - Flowcharting ........................................... 65 Quick Quiz Answer 65 - Flowcharting ........................... 200-201 CLOSING Quick Quiz 29 - Who Pays ............................................. 29 Quick Quiz Answer 29 - Who Pays ............................. 128-129 Quick Quiz 33 - Procurement ........................................... 33 Quick Quiz Answer 33 - Procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136-137 Quick Quiz 38 - End of Year ............................................ 38 Quick Quiz Answer 38 - End of Year ........................... 146-147
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Preface The project management fantasy is that if one takes classes, gets years of experience, and then perhaps gets a certification in the field, success is easy. The reality is that even those with the best preparation and the most internationally valued credentials are faced with numerous unique challenges on each and every project they undertake. How can one individual prepare to quickly face these unavoidable real-world issues? How can he or she stay current in an ever-evolving and growing profession? "Quick Quizzes for Project Managers" gives you an opportunity to test your project management knowledge through story questions about interesting, mind-opening, everyday situations that project mana!~ers face in the field. You can choose what you think is the correct approach from four to five answer options, and then check to see if your answer matches the one shown. Each correct answer is followed by a short, specific explanation which gives you background details on the topic and a problem solving approach you could try in your own organization. Many of the questions come from working project managers around the world and concern issues they facH in a current project. This fun, quick approach to expanding your practical project management knowledge is also a painless way to keep up-to-dlate with new and changing topics and with best practices in your field. It also offers a fast review of topics you might have covered in the past but may not have used recently. Each tip is educationally sound and consistent with the concepts and terminology found in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide) or other current PMI global standards. Whether you are trying to stay afloat in a busy, stressful project management job, or supplementing your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification test preparation, this is a streamlined way to find answers to your questions. For your convenience, there is a list of quizzes in the order in which they appear in the book. In addition, they are listed by the five Process Groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. This will allow you to browse for questions that interest you, or are pertinent to a burning, ongoing issue you face. If you are preparing "lunch and learn" sessions in your organization, a PMI component offering chapter meetings or classes, a PMI Registered Educational Provider (R.E.P.) looking for a way to involve more students in discussions, an internal training organization, or a college or university looking for an enrichment text to engage the adult learner, this is the book for you. Many of these Quick Quizzes were published in PMI's membership newsletter, the PMI Community Post. There are also new, never-before-seen topics and quizzes in this book. My firm belief is that project managers must share their knowledge and continue to grow in order to ensure their own career success and provide the best business value for the organization they represent. Here is a painless path to your personal career enrichment.
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Acknowledgements The idea for "Quick Quizzes for Project Managers" came from two sources. Jill Cherpack, who was the editor for the PMI Community Post at the time, proposed a feature of this sort in 2007. I was chosen as the original author and I continue to write the Quick Quiz to this day. The newsletter is published twice a month for all PMI members. From the beginning, this concept has struck a chord with readers all over the world. After each issue, I receive e-mails from my readers with stories of how this helped them, or asking more specific questions about new topics they encounter in their own organizations. The Community Post Suggestion Box also receives entries from project managers in the field asking advice on complex situations and project problems they are trying to solve. Current project manager readers, PMI components, PMI RE.P.s, internal corporate training organizations, those preparin!~ to sit for the PMp® certification exam, and both students and professors from colleges and universities around the world began to contact me with one question. Is therE~ one place where I can get copies of past Quick Quizzes? I thank them for their interest and credit them with being the second source of inspiration to put this information into book form. There have been two influential editors in my Quick Quiz life. Jill Cherpack was knowledgeable and patient as we crafted the structure, tone and content for this feature. She was crucial to the success of this feature of the Community Post, and I thank her for her innovative idea, her confidence, in me, and her continued support and friendship. The second editor who has shaped me as a writer is Patrick Hildebrandt. Taking over for Jill, Patrick added his own sensitive mark to the Quick Quiz feature. Although he had also been promoted before this book was published, my friend spent his personal time as a favor to me to edit the new, never-before-published material that you will see included here. This ensured it was consistent in tone and feel to the original material. Good editors are not just spell checkers and the punctuation police. They inspire a writer to be clear, concise, internationally-friendly in her choice of terms and encourage discussion and open collaboration on content. Both Jill and Patrick excel in these attributes, turning my lonely work as a writer into the more rewarding and fun job of working in a delightful team setting. Currently, I am working with Sandy Farnan and Dan Goldfischer as my new Quick Quiz editors. Although they came on board too recently to have originally edited any of the material found in these pages, I look forward to working with them both to develop the personal and professional relationship of warmth and respect I have with Jill and Patrick. Dee Bilo, the lead reviewer of my PMI RE.P. International Review team, has been my solid support, best cheerleader, and 9reatest friend throughout my entire PMI career. She was the person who originally recommended me to Jill to write the Quick Quiz. Dee, I value you beyond measure ... and that latest RE.P. review will be finished soon. I promise.
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Barbara Walsh is the PMI stalwart who has handled the nitty-gritty of the actual publication details of this book. There is so much that goes into transforming a book from words on a page to a final product and Barbara is the experienced master of this process. As you would expect, the project manager of a project management book on project management must typify the best of the best. That is you, Barbara. Were it not for Donn Greenberg, this particular book might not be in your hands. Another publisher was excited about this premise, but Donn had the vision to see that this was a PMI baby from the beginning, and that the widest range of project managers and organizations could be reached and served by having this be a PMI publication. Donn, as manager of publications and publisher for PMI, walks the talk as a good leader. He is a master at resolving conflict, wrangling paperwork, and clearing the path for his authors so they can focus on their creative writing. Thanks, Donn. I look forward to many more collaborative efforts with you. And I wish to thank readers who have submitted ideas which have inspired topics for the Quick Quizzes. They include: Mariana Fonseca, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sarah Kegley, PMP, Sacramento, California, USA; K.S. Biju, PMP, Bangalore, India; Chia Tet Cheng, Singapore; T. Swarnalata, Hyderabad, India; Oliver Gildersleeve, MCTS, PMP, North America; Mohan Bezawada, MBA, PMP, Ireland; Honorio Tadeu Cardozo, Jr., PMP, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Rafah Tello, BEng, PMP, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Precious Chikwata, MBA, PMP, Pretoria East, South Africa; Teo Tuang Kai, Singapore; Luis Enrique Navarrete, Mexico City, Mexico; Chetan Karande, CAPM, White Plains, New York, USA; Jeff U. ,Corneh, MA, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Turner, PMP, Connecticut, USA; Raghavendra Ramachandra, MBA, PMP, Singapore; Ivan Ontibon, PMP, Bogota, Columbia; Norita Noor, Johor Bahru, Malaysia; Shelly-Anne De Silva, PMP, Trinidad and Tobago; Timothy Peck, PMP, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Musa Matemilola, MSc, PMP, Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria; Brian Bale, PMP, Phoenix, Arizonia, USA; and Katherine Alston, PMP, Long Beach, California, USA. Other ideas came from readers who asked not to be identified by name, and from my project manager colleagues. My sincerest thanks to you all.
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Quick Quiz Questions Test Your Knowledge
Each of pages in the following section will give you a typical project management scenario. Read each of the answers carefully and select what you think the correct answer should be. Turn to the Answer page numbers shown at the lower right and compare your ideas with the choice you will find there. After reading the additional information about this topic, take advantage of the Notes For My Projects: space, or the page margins, to capture your thoughts as to how you might use this in your projects or with your organization's teams. You might also wish to jot down ideas to discuss, or topics on which you would like to do further research.
QUICK QUIZ 1-
GLOBAL TEAMS
uick
UIZ
You've just had a new person from another region of the world added to your project team. What do you do? A. Plan an introduction meeting that all team members stop work to attend. B. Send the new team member a detailed copy of your work breakdown structure (WBS). C. Introduce yourself and welcome the new person via e-mail. D. Plan how to keep project work flowing around the clock.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 72-73 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Qyestions
1
QUICK QUlz2- ESTIMATING TECHNIQUES
uick
UIZ
Another project manager is management's favorite due to his or her low schedule times and small cost estimates. No one seems to notice that this project manager's estimates are seldom met, while you go unrecognized for providing more realistic figures up front. What do you do? A. Lower your own figures so you can compete. B. Call your spouse, friend or mother and ask to have this behavior stopped. C. File a complaint with Human Resources. D. Take this person to lunch and explain how he or she is being unethical. E. Talk to management about the accuracy of project estimates.
Test Your Know/edge -Answer on Pages 74-75 2
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Qyestions
QUICK QUIZ 3
- PROJECT REPORTS
uick
UIZ
No matter how carefully I plan, my project reports often show the project to be over budglet and behind schedule. My team works hard, so how can I stop this discouraging trend? A. Bring all projects in on budget and on schedule with no exceptions. B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. C. Pad each activity with extra time and money. D. Ask customers when9 you can cut quality so that your projections are more on target. E. Look for a new job.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 76-77 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Qyestions
3
QUICK QUIZ 4-
RISK PLANS
I know it's a best practice, but must I always prepare a formal risk management plan for every project? So many of the risks I have identified in the past never actually happened. A. The size of the risk management plan should be appropriate for the size, length and importance of the project. B. The time devoted to the risk management plan should be 10 percent of the length of the project. C. The risk management plan should always be done, unless you are too busy. D. When possible, do a risk management plan to avoid all possible risks.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 78-79 4
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Qyestions
QUICK QUIZ 5-
EARNED VALUE
lie 1
I just learned the Earned Value formulas and now parts of these formulas have new names. But frankly, we don't even do Earned Value calculations in my company. What am I missing? A. You're not missing anything. No one uses Earned Value anyway. B. Shhh! Your friends will be embarrassed that you don't use Earned Value. C. Nothing has changed. Parts of the formulas simply have new names that are a bit easier to understand. D. Earned Value is the profit left after the cost of supplies is deducted.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 80-81 Qtick Qtizzes for Project Managers -
Qyestions
5
QUICKQUIZ6-
LATE PROJECTS
•
Ule Ul As the project manager, you keep telling your project team that tasks are behind schedule, but the projects still finish late. What do you do? A. Talk louder. B. Look at your own project management choices. C. Send the team a detailed copy of your work breakdown structure (WBS) in Microsoft Project®. D. Ask another project manager to speak to your team. E. Plan to keep project work flowing around the clock.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 82-83 6
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QUICK QUIZ
7 - CHOOSING TEAMS
uick
UIZ
I have a high priority project coming up and I was told I can choose my own team. This is the first time I've had this privilege, and I don't quite Iknow how to start. Any tips? A. Post a list and let people volunteer. B. Tell your manager you'd prefer the team be chosen for you. C. Go ahead and start a work breakdown structure (WBS) and see who and what you need. D. Use the team you worked with last time.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 84-85 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 8-
MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION
•
Ule Ul I know that project managers may spend up to 90 percent of their time in communication, but that seems like a lot. How do I spend that much time in a meaningful way? A. It depends on your project management experience and that of your team. B. Do extra reports, charts and graphs for your team to help them see exactly where the project stands. C. It depends on the number of members on your team. A smaller team means you do less communication. D. Surf the Internet.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 86-87 8
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QUICK QUIZ 9 -
RUNNING COSTS
I know how much my projects cost at the end when all the accounting is complete, bu1t by then it's too late to change anything. What should I do to figure costs while I'm running the project? A. Nothing. It's a lot of work and no one will know the difference. B. Ask the accounting department to copy you on all company reports they prepare. C. Use the Earned ValuH cost formula and review the results on a periodic basis. D. Use the Earned ValuH cost formula to calculate the profit.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 88-89 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 10-
PURCHASED SOFTWARE
uick
UIZ
We've just invested a lot of money in a state-of-the-art software tool, but we're not seeing the huge jump in the success of our projects, which we anticipated. What's wrong? A. The fault may not be with the software, but with the way you are using it. B. You have been misled. Software is a useless tool to manage projects. C. You need to contact your information technology staff. They have set it up incorrectly. D. You have purchased the wrong software. Choose a major brand and all your projects will succeed.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 90-91 10
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QUICK QUIZ 11- BUSINESS
VALUE
uick UIZ
I know that projects are chosen for the business value and return on investment they can deliver, but my projects don't bring in any revenue. Should I still do them? A. If your projects are not bringing in revenue, they are merely operational sets of tasks and have no business value. Turn them OVE~r to a junior team member. B. Your projects have marginal value, but stop work on them if opportunities for revenue-generating projects appear. C. You should continue to do your projects. They improve the organization's infrastructure and are therefore more valuable than revenue-generating projects. D. Many less exciting projects deal with compliance or operational issues, but they still add substantial business value. So work on them with pride.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 92-93 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 12 -
PROJECT STOPLIGHTS
My organization uses the stoplight method: green, yellow and red indicators, to track the health of our projects. But sometimes it seems misleading. Is this method the best one? A. This method is the best one, so your mathematical formulas must be inaccurate. B. This method can be a good indicator of project health, but it is easy to misinterpret what the colors mean. C. This is not a good method to use, since the range of numbers set to trigger green, yellow or red stoplight indicators can vary widely. D. This method tells you when a project should be stopped and abandoned, so it is mandatory as a part of best practices.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 94-95 12
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QUICK QUIZ 13 -
U
GOOD ENOUGH
•
~lZ
I struggle with the scope of my projects, as I see additional things that need to be included, although the customer or internal department says the scope is good enough as it is. Is it all right to settle for "good enough?" A. "Good enough" is never acceptable if you know how to make a project better. B. The customer is always right, so just do what they ask and know that you could have made this project much better if allowed to dOl so. C. The customer's wishes outline the scope for the project, but you should be clear on which decisions are theirs and which belong to the project manager. D. Customers never knQiw as much as an experienced project manager, so agree to their scope now, but later include the extras that you know they need.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 96-97 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 14 -
PROJECT SPONSOR
uick
UIZ
Upper management assigned a sponsor to my project. He has contacted me to say he has never done this before and to ask what he is supposed to do. What do I tell him? A. Ask him to schedule 30 minutes with you right away so you can discuss his role and brief him on the project. B. Tell him you will bring him the Project Plan to sign and then his responsibilities are over. C. Say that project sponsors are supposed to solve all conflicts between your team and the other departments of the organization. You'll call him frequently. D. Tell him he needs to find extra money for your project, as typically projects run over budget and take longer than scheduled.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 98-99 14
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QUICK QUIZ 15-AGILE
METHODS
uick UIZ
The programmers on my project want to use the new agile methodology. It's not stressed in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide), so am I allowed to use it as a project manager? A. Tools and techniques not covered in the PMBOI(® Guide should not be IUsed by project managers as they are always unsuccessful. B. An agile methodology may not be appropriate for all types of projects, and an organization must have one consistent methodology for every department. Reject this request.
c.
The PMBOJ
D. Once project managers start using innovative methodologies, their projects should not be funded. Protect your project by refusin!~ the programmers' requests. Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 100-101 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 16- TIME
EATEN
"
Ule I My time as a project manager seems to be eaten away with forms, processes, reports and meeting agendas that I don't always find useful. How can I get them changed? A. Refuse to do them for a month to prove they are unnecessary. B. Do only the parts you feel are helpful and ignore the rest. C. Ask your manager if you can have the authority to revise all the documents. D. Start with one item you would like revised and begin a dialogue to change it.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 102-103 16
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QUICK QUIZ 17- MISCONCEPTIONS
uick UIZ
Are there common misconceptions project managers harbor that I might guard against in my own work? A. As long as you follow the process of your organization, you are doing things right. B. Purchase a list of common misconceptions for $38 online. C. The majority is always right. If you agree with others, you're doing things correctly. D. There is no one, corrHct way to do project management, but there are common misconceptions that even great project managers hold.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 104-105 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 18-
PROJECT CHARTER
uick
UIZ
We are so busy at my organization do we really have to do a project charter? I already know what needs to be done on this project. A. A project charter should always be created, no matter how simple the document. B. A project charter is optional depending on the size of the organization. C. A project charter is necessary if your team exceeds 10 people. D. A project charter is only needed if you don't understand the project.
Test Your Know/edge -Answer on Pages 106-107 18
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QUICK QUIZ 19 -
KICKOFF
uick
UIZ
I'm finally in charge of a kickoff meeting. What should I include to make it most useful to my final project success? A. Bring in elaborate snacks so people will want to attend. B. Don't work on the schedule; focus on communication and project goals. C. Skip the kickoff meeting and devote the time to the work of the project. D. Ask team members to bring their activity estimates and vacation calendars.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 108-109 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUlz20- BASELINE
uick
UIZ
I know about baselining time and schedule, but it seems like there is other important project information, too. What all should be baselined? A. The only important constraints are time and schedule. Baseline them. B. Baselining is not necessary if the key information is captured by software. C. Every knowledge area has its own baseline. Capture them all. D. There are four project baselines; two are often computerized, two prepared manually.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 110-111 20
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QUICK QUlz21-
BAC
uick
UIZ
I'm confused by alphabet abbreviations such as BAC, ETC and EAC. Aren't the Budget at Completion and the Estimate at Completion the same thing? A. Budget at Completion equals Estimate at Completion at the project start. B. Estimate at Completion and Estimate to Complete are the same thing. C. Each organization designs its own terms to describe what a project will cost. D. All projects vary, so after you budget costs, estimate your accuracy with ETC.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 112-113 Qstick Qstizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 22 -
METHODOLOGY
uick
UIZ
My organization can't afford the pricey online methodology products for project management. How can we standardize a process at a reasonable cost? A. You get what you pay for. Purchase the highest priced product you can afford. B. Choose a product without a fancy website. It can sell products for less. C. Spend your money on an internal team to develop your own processes. D. All the methodologies are equally valuable as long as they are automated.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 114-115 22
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QUICK QUIZ 23 -
MANAGEMENT
uick UIZ
My title says project manager, but I feel I'm focused mostly on spreadsheets and checklists. How do I add the leadership portion to my job? A. Don't work on the scope statement; focus on communication and project goals. B. Change your attitudes and actions to expand the project's business value. C. Demand to be promoted to program manager or you will quit. D. Speak to an executive about giving you more responsibilities and tasks.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 116-117 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUlz24- COST RESERVES
uick
UIZ
Although I figure my cost baseline carefully, I'm still consistently over budget. What should I do to try to get it right? A. Install automated software so your math is more accurate. B. Don't worry as long as you are -25 percent or +25 percent from your goal. C. Ask the accounting department for weekly reports on finance code activities. D. Include more than the cost for resources in your cost budget.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 118-119 24
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QUICK QUlz25- CMMI AND WBS
uick
UIZ
No matter how carefully I plan, my project reports often show the project to be over budgE~t and behind schedule. My team works hard, so how can I stop this discouraging trend? A. Bring all projects in on budget and on schedule with no exceptions. B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. C. Pad each activity with extra time and money. D. Ask customers where you can cut quality so that your projections are more on target. E. Look for a new job.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 120-121 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUlz26- OVERALLOCATIONS
uick
UIZ
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ<® Guide) shows that resolving resource overallocations is a process, but how do I actually do it? A. Arrange assignments based on business goals, not only project goals. B. Book the most experienced teams members early, before other projects snap them up. C. Always lengthen the schedule a little so that fewer resources can perform more tasks. D. Request additional team members so no one person works overtime.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 122-123 26
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QUICK QUIz27- BAD ESTIMATING
uick UIZ
The estimate on my new project was done by another project manager and is hopelessly unrealistic, but approved. What can I do? A. Rebaseline. Do the project with the new estimates you feel are correct. B. Change the estimate and circulate word that the old project manager is incompetent. C. Document your findings and present the stakeholders with options. D. Do nothing. To have an estimate is what counts. No one expects you to actually work within it.
Test Your Know/edge -Answer on Pages 124-125 QIick QIizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUlz28- CRANKY STAKEHOLDER
There is a stakeholder on my project who openly opposes its goals. How can I win this person over? A. Ask his or her manager to talk to the person about their attitude. B. Invite this individual's family to go to dinner with your family and you pay the check. C. Warn your project team that this person is hostile so they can hide their progress. D. Consider his or her point of view and adjust your project, if possible.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 126-127 28
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QUICK QUIz29- WHO PAYS
ui k UIZ
Recently my project exceeded its estimate and the customer insisted that we absorb the extra costs. Is this fair? A. No, but since you don't want the customer to sue your organization you should pay the costs. B. It depends on the way your contract was written, but probably the customer is correct. C. Usually the performing organization and the customer split overruns 70/30. D. Ask the customer if they will pay the full amount this time for a 10 percent discount next time.
Test Your Know/edge -Answer on Pages 128-129 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 30 -
HIDDEN COSTS
uick
UIZ
I know the obvious things to do to control costs like get team members with lower salaries and watch material prices. But are there hidden costs I might be overlooking? A. The only way to control costs is get cheaper people and buy at a discount. B. Hidden costs result only when team members overestimate their activity time. C. If you have a hardware project, the price of electricity is always a hidden cost. D. There may be avoidable costs hidden in the way the schedule is planned and unfolds.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 130-131 30
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QUICK QUIz31- PM KNOWLEDGE
uick
UIZ
To be a good project mana!ger, how much do you have to know about the industry or business that you are serving? A. It is more important to have a good project management foundation than to know the business. B. Each business is so different, in-depth knowledge in the field is key to a succe~ssful project. C. Organizational politics drive project success, so focus on your ability to sway management. D. Project success is random, so all you can do is work with the skill sets you have.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 132-133 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 32 -
WORK BUFFER
•
Ule UI I'd like to use work estimates rather than duration estimates for project activities. How do I calculate how much extra to add for a risk buffer so that I can finish my projects on schedule? A. Pad each task by 10-15 percent; more if it is a software development task. B. Use the statistical probabilities calculated by automated software to choose your buffer. C. Take the risk buffer from your last project and add your birthday. D. Multiply duration estimates by two to arrive at work estimates.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 134-135 32
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QUICK QUIZ 33 -
PROCUREMENT
uick UIZ
My third party supplier doesn't meet deadlines. This person is the friend of a senior manager and ignores me as the project manager. How should I deal with this? A. Ask the senior attitude.
mana~~er
to talk to the supplier about
B. Construct a better procurement process for next time. C. Warn your project team that this supplier is hostile so they can each prepare to be confrontational. D. Ask to be included the next time the senior manager and the supplier play golf.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 136-137 <2!lick <2!lizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 34-
LARGE PROJECT POLITICS
uick
UIZ
I have just been assigned an extremely large project. How do I handle the politics between all the stakeholders? A. Ask to be voted in as project manager rather than appointed by the project charter. B. Circulate each decision among all parties and get agreement before proceeding. C. Use only team members and third party suppliers you have worked with before. D. Change your approach to be a manager of managers rather than of individual workers.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 138-139 34
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QUICK QUIZ 35-
STATUS REpORTS
uick UIZ
It has become my responsibility to prepare and present status reports to a senior executive. How should I do this? A. Schedule a monthly luncheon with the executive and your team, and pres€!nt the project status in person. B. Copy ("cc:") this executive on all project correspondence to keep him or her up to date. C. Periodically send a customized report including only the information this executive needs to know. D. Purchase smartphones for all stakeholders and text them twice a day with updates.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 140-141 O!tick O!tizzes for Project Managers -
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- _. . -
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QUICK QUIZ 36 -
CONTROL CHARTS
•
lie ~l
I've recently moved to an employer who uses control charts. Do I need them in my project management work? A. Control charts are helpful to assess results for both your product and your project. B. These charts are only for managers that work in manufacturing; unless that's your field, they do not concern you. C. Creating control charts means that you decrease your control as project manager. D. Money spent for control charts is better spent on donuts for the kickoff meeting.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 142-143 36
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QUICK QUIz37- GRASSROOTS EVA
uick UIZ
I would like to use Earned Value Analysis to track progress on internal projects, but we work in a weak matrix environment where salaries are confidential. What should I do? A. Figure salary costs only for workers who are willing to disclose their salary to you. B. Get confidential organizational salary data after a promise to do your rE~ports only at home. C. Estimate salaries for workers on your projects and use the estimates in your earned value analysis. D. Salary amounts that are not 100 percent accurate are worthless, so do not bother.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 144-145 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 38 -
END OF YEAR
uick
UIZ
I know the protocols to end a project. Are there also things I should do as a project manager to wrap up the year? A. Use the end of the year to review the past year's projects and plan for continued improvement. B. Ask your team members to write a glowing note about you and send it to your boss. C. Warn your project team that next year they will be expected to perform faster and better. D. Consider whether or not your organization should switch all teams to matrix teams.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 146-147 38
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QUICK QUlz39-TEMPLATES
uick
UIZ
The project management office (PMO) at my organization wants us as project mangers to use templates. I'm concerned that this additional paperwork will waste valuable project time. What should I do? A. The more templates, the better. Use them on all projects. B. Go through the motions to be compliant, but in addition use your own documE!nts behind the scenes. C. Form a group of project managers to work with the PMO staff to develop useful templates and agree on how and when they will be used. D. Having templates will stall your projects. Fight them now while you can.
Test Your Know.fedge - Answer on Pages 148-149 QIick QIizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUlz40- COMMUNICATION SKILLS
uick
UIZ
I know that people skills are essential for a project manager to communicate and execute a project successfully. How can I manage all types of team members when we are so different in the ways we communicate? A. You can't please everyone, so just communicate in any way you find comfortable. B. Ask your family to note what you do wrong so that you can change it. C. Focus on executive stakeholders and gear your communications only to them. D. Notice how others choose to communicate and adapt your style to consider theirs.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 150-151 40
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QUICKQUIZ41-
PRIORITIZE PROJECTS
uick
UIZ
I've been promoted and I am now responsible for prioritizing projects, which I have never done before. How do I start? A. Look at your resources and choose projects by a systematic, planned process. B. Do the projects that are pet projects for your boss. After all, this person promoted you. C. Have your project team vote on the work they think would be fun and challenging. D. Accept only projects that will give you and your team outstanding visibility.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 152-153 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICKQUIZ42-
FAILURE SYMPTOMS
uick
UIZ
I capture the typical project progress metrics. What other things should I monitor to get an early warning about potential project problems? A. Investigate the company statistics of past project success for the last five years. B. Use Earned Value automated software. Without it all projects tend to fail. C. Look to soft, non-statistical indicators of potential project failure. D. Study the horoscopes of team members to see if they have compatible signs.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 154-155 42
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QUICK QUlz43- GET EXPERIENCE
uick UIZ
I've completed some formal training in project management, but when I apply for project manager positions, the employer says I also need project management experience. How can I gain experience if I can't g,et hired? A. Be creative. Find places to volunteer for projects and keep excellent documentation of your project work. B. Look for additional cllasses that will give you more academic knowledgE~.
c.
Start your own business and hire yourself as head of a project management office.
D. If you are currently Elmployed, insist to your boss that you be promoted immediately due to your recent training.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 156-157 C2!tick C2!tizzes for Project Managers -. C2!testions
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QUICK QUIZ 44 -
FIXED TIME AND MATERIALS
•
Ule UIZ I work as a third-party programmer for AnyNameSI Systems Integrators on a time and materials basis. However, I know that the software I develop is being sold to their customer, BigTime Customer, on a fixed price basis. What should I do in this situation to lower my risk that this three-way contract will not go smoothly? A. Convince BigTime you should do their work directly, bypassing AnyNameSI altogether. B. Run your costs as high as you can to teach AnyNameSI not to try to profit from your work. C. Refuse this contract, as the risks are too high for you to incur. D. Tell AnyNameSI you need to have firm requirements documents, a clear acceptance policy and a written change policy.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 158-159 44
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QUICK QUIZ 45 -
REDUCING COSTS
Once again, I need to reduce the budget. Is there a systematic way to begin? A. Cut any travel, transportation, training and recognition expenses by 50 perc1ent. B. Immediately ask for more money, otherwise the project can't be done. C. Look at your budget systematically to locate errors and pinpoint places to cut. D. Put the extra amount needed on your personal debit card.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 160-161 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIz46- SCHEDULE SAVVY
uick
UIZ
No matter how careful I am, the estimated time frames for my projects are always too long. What am I doing wrong? A. Cut each team member's estimate by 10 percent, as they have probably padded the time. B. Never give an estimate as to how long it will take to complete a project. C. Always plan at least one hour of overtime per employee per day. D. Follow a checklist of suggestions to quickly see ways to reduce the schedule time.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 162-163 46
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QUICK QUIZ 47 -
QyALITY PLANNING
uick
UIZ
I'm confused. There are controls I should develop based on the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOf(® Guide) Quality Control process, but other project controls are needed in othler Knowledge Areas. How do I write a quality plan that covers them all? A. Write your quality plan first, then plan the project activities to fit into thiis roadmap. B. Only the controls shown in the Project Quality Management KnowlHdge Area must be developed. C. You don't need to cover all quality control processes in your quality plan, so create your own quality project document checklist. D. Every action on a project is considered a quality control process, so you are covered.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 164-165 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 48-
SCOPE TEMPLATE
uick.
UIZ
Is there a template that is good for taking notes to develop the scope of work? A. No template is necessary; just write down what your customer wants. B. The scope of every project is the same: cost, time, and quality. That's your template! C. A perfect template isn't as critical to scope development as exceptional communication with stakeholders. D. A useful scope of work template is available only to Project Management Professional (PMP)® certified project managers.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 166-167 48
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QUICK QUlz49- PUZZLING PAIRS
uick
UIZ
My team is confused. We see terms that appear to be interchangeable, but other teams treat them as though they have specific, unique meanings. How can we find out what the terms mean? A. Have your project team vote on what definitions they would like to use for Gommon terms. B. The best way to differentiate between similar project terms is to ask the project sponsor. C. There is no one sounce which defines every project management term, but the Glossary from A Guide to the Project Managen7ent Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide) is a great resource for accurate definitions of many of them. D. Project management terms have different meanings in different countries, so consult your local PMI component. Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 168-169 Qtick Qtizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 50 -
EXTRA BUDGET
uick
UIZ
Every project manager knows you need a little extra budget for project emergencies, but how do I show and manage it in a professional way? A. There should be no extra budget in a project. Always ask for extra funds via a change request. B. Keep any extra, unspent project dollars from earlier projects in your desk drawer for emergencies. C. The only project money that needs to be tracked and documented is that which is in the original project budget baseline. D. You can choose how you track and use extra project funds based on your organization and the type of project.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 170-171 50
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QUICKQUIZ51- COLLECT STATISTICS
uick
UIZ
Management has asked me to research and present a list of project statistics gathered from both inside and outside the company. What do I collect and how do I present it? A. Before you collect or distribute any statistics, ask management how they will be used. B. Project statistics should not be shared with management, as they wouldn't understand them anyway. C. The only way to accurately capture and show project statistics is with automated software. D. Collect the daily statistics from all your projects. Plan three hours a day to assemble data and prepare charts.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 172-173 QIick QIizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 52 -
Too MANY PROJECTS
My manager constantly overloads me with projects. How can I get her to see that I've reached my capacity? A. Refuse to work on more than 11 projects at once, then select your favorites. B. Hire a third-party contractor to help you, and present your manager with the bill. C. Do fewer project management processes on each project to save yourself time. D. Track your project management work just like other project team activities.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 174-175 52
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QUICK QUIZ S3 -
COAXING COLLEAGUES
uick
UIZ
The project managers in my organization tend to work in an isolated fashion. How can I get them to regularly break out of their cubicles and share information? A. Request that your project sponsor insist on weekly meetings to share techniques. B. Start in an informal way and let the communication become more formal over time.
c. Ask the corporation to bring in a communication consultant to create a website. D. Bring food to work and exchange it for creative project management tips.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 176-177 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 54 -
MANDATORY OVERAGES
uick
UIZ
My organization absorbs costs and doesn't want me to use change requests when customers add additional scope to my fixed-price projects. I look like an inept project manager, never meeting time and budget projections. How can I accurately track my accomplishments? A. Refuse to do the extra work for the customer without a signed change request. B. Separate out time and cost for the mandatory overages and show management. C. Explain directly to the customer why you and your team can't include the changes. D. Find a job at another organization that does not use fixed-price contracts.
Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 178-179 54
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QUICK QUIZ 55 -
TRAINING TRIALS
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The training budgets in my organization have been seriously cut. Are there any clever ways I can get training for me and my team? A. Decide why you want training to help yourself find a creative way to get it. B. Insist on the same traiining opportunities you've had for the past five years or you will quit. C. Accept that you cannot get any training until the organization profits reach 27 percent. D. Ask your manager to redirect his or her discretionary departmental funds for training purposes.
Test Your Knowledge -Answer on Pages 180-181 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 56 -
CHANGE COSTS
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We often have change requests from the customer after a project is already in motion. How do we effectively charge for that extra work? A. Sum the hourly rate of each employee who completes a new activity, and charge that amount in a time and materials contract. B. Calculate the cost of the changes and add the profit margin, original project changes, risk and your project management time. C. Divide the estimated hours of the original project into the contract amount and charge that amount per hour. D. Write the contract so that each potential added feature comes at a fixed-price cost.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 182-183 56
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QUICK QUIZ 57 -
COM[MUNICATION NECESSITIES
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Our group struggles with designing and implementing a communications plan that is effective and reaches the right audiences. What goes into a design that is easy to use and effective? A. Take out the list you used on your last project and update the names and e-mails. B. Explore a deeper knowledge of the communications field before starting your design. C. Ask for an administratiive assistant so you can create custom contacts for each stakeholder. D. Have a website where! everyone in the project has equal access to all information.
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QUICK QUIZ 58-
FuTUREJOBS
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I read that tomorrow's jobs haven't been created yet. How can I prepare myself to compete as a project manager in the future if I don't even know what the jobs will be? A. Focus on personal skills and development, rather than only training for today's job roles. B. Watch science fiction movies and television shows to see future occupations revealed. C. Once you have a project management title, your job is secure no matter what. D. Obtain multiple credentials and certifications in every field, so you are guaranteed a job regardless of how the job market changes.
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QUICK QUIZ 59 -
AGILE TESTS
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The team I manage works excessive hours at the end of each software project, regardless of our planning. When we integrate all of the parts, WE! are invariably stopped by hidden errors that should have been found earlier in the process. How do I convince my team to test for small problems as they go? A. Add at least 25 percent extra time to the schedule and "Hunt errors" as your last task. B. Keep a list of all errors and who is at fault. Submit them to the department manager. C. Send the application to your customers as is and work to fix it before they complain. D. Combine agile methods with the use of free, opensource tools that can quickly find common coding flaws.
Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 188-189 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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QUICK QUIZ 6o-AcTUAL
WORK
When I am tracking my projects, my teammates say to use percentages rather than actual work, but I feel that approach may not be capturing all of the significant data about the tasks. What should I record in my tracking chart? A. Record only 1000/0 complete tasks, as that best shows project progress. B. Actual Work and Remaining Duration are the best indicators for planning the future of the project and capturing data for analysis. C. Set a new baseline each reporting period and capture project variances quarterly. D. Resource performance rates compared to past project completion rates are the main indicators to note, as these drive both progress reports and performance reports.
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QUICK QUIZ 61-
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My organization is small and doesn't have much money for communications tools. With the new interest and focus on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, would that be a way for my organization to stretch its budget? A. It depends on the age of your employees. Only people under the age of 30 use these sites. B. A smart move is to avoid social networking, as it is only for personal entertainment. C. Social networking can be used to great advantage by most organizations, but caution is necessary. D. You should create your own social site. What is on the site is immaterial.
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QUICK QUIZ 62-
QyALITYTOOLS
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I'm frustrated. I use all of the documents and processes from A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ(® Guide) and my projects come in close to their metrics. But they never run smoothly and I'm always dealing with problems. What should I do? A. Projects should run easily once the proper documents are created. You need additional project management training. B. Use more quality control tools on your project problems, not just on your products. C. Customers are getting more involved in projects, so accept that there will be even more disruptions in the future. D. Ask for more money to pay for project team rewards. Rewards make a team run smoothly.
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QUICK QUIZ 63 -
SHAPING TEAMS
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Many project management books talk about good team motivation and communication practices, but the team members I lead seem to respond in different ways to my attempts. How can I find an approach that will please all of them? A. No one technique will work for everyone, so look for ways to reach the team as individuals. B. The commonly sugge~sted practices work for all other teams, so it must just be you. C. Teams will be more or less motivated depending on the age and experience of the project manager. D. If you treat each team member exactly the same, they will bond as a productive group.
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QUICK QUIZ 64 - PMP INDIVIDUAL
I hear a lot about organizational project maturity and about personal certification exams. But how do I know if I'm progressing toward individual project management maturity? A. Each day you grow older, you are insuring another day's maturity as a project manager. B. If your projects come closer and closer to budget and schedule, you are maturing. C. The road to project management maturity is similar to the one for your organization, but it is in your personal control, rather than being an official path. Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 198-199 64
Quick Quizzes for Project Managers - Questions
QUICK QUIZ 65 - FLOWCHARTING
I saw flowcharts mentioned in the Project Quality Management Knowledge Are, but I'm not a project manager in manufacturing. What value, if any, do they have for me? A. Manufacturers need flowcharts to plan assembly line movement. All other project managers should ignore them. B. Flowcharts are very valuable in tracking all types of projects and project processes. C. Project managers who use automated software have no need to consider using flowcharts. D. Flowcharts are expensive to construct and maintain, so they should only be employed on project s that are $50,000 and above. Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 200-201 65
Quick Quizzes for Project Managers - Questions
QUICK QUIZ 66 - RISK TOLERANCES
I have a primary stakeholder who is extremely risk adverse and is negatively affecting my project. Is there a way to give him or her confidence in our team? A. Your stakeholder may have confidential information that explains his or her risk aversion, so turn all the project decisions over to this person. B. Ask to be moved to a different project where stakeholders don't participate. C. Find ways to help your stakeholders feel more objective about project risk decisions. D. Educate you stakeholder on the three types of risk tolerance and show where he or she fits. Test Your Knowledge - Answer on Pages 202-203 66
Quick Quizzes for Project Managers - Questions
QUICK QUIZ 67 -
KlNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
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My organization has asked me to head a project to set up a knowledge management system. I'm not sure I know what they want, as the knowledge each department needs seems to be different. How do I move forward? A. Ask each department to describe in their own words what information they need to run their portion of the business. B. Google other competitors in your industry and see what knowledge you can find on their web pages.
c. Ask your project sponsor to provide you with a list of the requirements and expected outcomes that are important to him or her. D. Hold a kickoff meetin~J and ask your team to combine their knowledge to arrive at a set of items to manage.
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QUICK QUIZ 68 -
DEDICATED TEAMS
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My workplace wants to become more agile, but we have too many non-project tasks each day to work in dedicated teams. Is it really that crucial to have the team focus on just one project at a time? A. There are no rules to agile. As long as you feel more flexible and don't create documents, you are going to be successful. B. Dedicated teams that work on a single project 100 percent of the time are mandatory for an agile methodology. C. There are sizeable benefits to dedicated teams, but while in transition find a creative way to balance the project work with the operational work. D. As long as your team members are dedicated to the vision of your project, they can work on as many projects at one time as they want. Test Your Know/edge - Answer on Pages 206-207 68
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QUICK QUIZ 69 -
MANAGEMENT STYLES
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As a PMO-housed project manager, I am sent to various departments, and the kinds of teams I manage vary from project to project. Is there a leadership style that will work with all of them? A. More democratic leadership has been found to work successfully with all teams and all types of projects. B. Allow teams to be self-directed and solve their own problems to get the best project results. C. Ask the department manager or the functional manager to whom most of your team members report, the style he or she prefers you use for the project team. D. To be truly effective, you will need to change your leadership style basE~d on the experience of the team and the complexity of the project.
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Quick Quiz An~swers
GLOBAL TEAMS
Quick Quiz 1 You've just had a new person from another region of the world added to your project team. What do you do? A. Plan an introduction meeting that all team members stop work to attend. B. Send the new team member a detailed copy of your work breakdown structure (WBS). C. Introduce yourself and welcome the new person via e-mail. D. Plan how to keep project work flowing around the clock. Answer: A. Plan an introduction meeting that all team members stop work to attend. Project managers are always looking for ways to make teams more productive. Chances for success increase when you take the time to properly integrate a new, international member of the team. A carefully orchestrated first contact can be key to avoiding future delays, resentments and misunderstandings. 1. Plan ahead. Let the team know that a new member will join the team. Stress the skill set he or she will bring. Explain the reason for the addition and the benefit to the current team to have this extra team member work on the project. 2. Find a meeting methodology. Find a service that will allow you to post documents to a screen, have a VolP connection (Voice over Internet Protocol), and allow participants to type questions and comments into a chat screen. 3. Remove language barriers. If the new team member's native language differs from that of current team members, the potential for misunderstanding increases. Alert the team to avoid colloquialisms, sports metaphors and references to popular culture in their comments to make it easier for all participants to follow the meeting. 4. Check time zones and schedules. During the meeting, ask the time in the new member's location. For example, if a 2:00 p.m. message reaches a teammate's desk at 3:00 a.m. when he or she is home asleep, an immediate response should not be expected.
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Is the workweek Monday to Friday? Some places have a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, or 81 four-day/10-hour routine. 5. Bridge the people gap. We work hard for people we know and like. Bring the new participant into the group by taking time to post pictures. Have all members talk briefly about their experience, background and what role they hold in the project. A few moments about families or hobbies would be appropri,ate to build a personal bond between people who may live in distant places but perhaps have children of the same ages or a shared hobby. 6. Check technology. Even if this individual works within the team's same company, make sure everyone has compatible versions of all software used to transfer information. These few simple steps can make all the difference in the future success of the project. Remember, the next time someone is added to an international or global team, it could be you! Notes For My Projects:
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ESTIMATING TECHNIQUES
Quick Quiz 2 Another project manager is management's faVorite due to his or her low schedule times and small cost estimates. No one seems to notice that this project manager's estimates are seldom met, while you go unrecognized for providing more realistic figures up front. What do you do? A. Lower your own figures so you can compete. B. Call your spouse, friend or mother and ask to have this behavior stopped. C. File a complaint with Human Resources. D. Take this person to lunch and explain how he or she is being unethical. E. Talk to management about the accuracy of project estimates. Answer: E. Talk to management about the accuracy of project estimates. Approach the issue from the perspective that the organization uses a project management methodology because of its value in accomplishing projects efficiently and profitably. Ask, "Have we ever decided as a department what techniques we will use to estimate schedule and costs?" You would like the exchange to end with your appointment to head a team to pick the best way for all project managers to uniformly prepare their estimates. Some ideas: 1. PERT or Three-Point Estimates. Have all project managers figure activity duration using the formula Optimistic + 4X(Expected) + Pessimistic 6 2. Analogous Estimates. Use the work breakdown structure (WBS) archives of similar past projects to plan how long activities take with these particular team members in this corporate environment. A continuously updated database can provide parametric figuresstandardized estimates by task-for your specific industry and company. 3. Contingency Reserves. Label the extra time and cost amounts and add them to the WBS, to be accessed by the project manager as needed. This action eliminates the temptation to have team members pad each task.
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4. Critical Chain. Try this newer technique which starts with As-LateAs-Possible scheduling and uses estimates that have a 50 percent chance of being met, assuming all materials and information needed for the task are on hand and there are no surprises. Project buffers can be inserted at key points, tOi expand or contract to cover variations in actual task completion and protect you from overruns. 5. Cost Timing. Schedule costs, which are mostly personnel expense, are usually credited to the budget as they occur. However, when do you assign costs for vendors, subcontractors and other non-internal amounts? Have each project manager do this in a consistent way. 6. Sensitive Costs. Usually, actual salary costs are not disclosed. This makes it hard for the project manager to know how to assign various employees to a project based on their cost. Have all project managers adopt a consistent hourly cost per role for programmers, designers, trainers, administrative personnel or any other individuals needed to complete the plan. Since the set cost estimate!s are not based on real salaries, this method doesn't give you the true cost but it allows consistent tracking within all projects in the organization. It means the project manager can plot strategies to bring the project in within projections. Once all projects are being tracked by the same company mandated techniques, it will be harder for anyone project manager to present unrealistic estimates. Notes For My Projects:
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PROJECT REpORTS Quick Quiz 3 No matter how carefully I plan, my project reports often show the project to be over budget and behind schedule. My team works hard, so how can I stop this discouraging trend?
A. Bring all projects in on budget and on schedule with no exceptions. B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. C. Pad each activity with extra time and money. D. Ask customers where you can cut quality so that your projections are more on target. E. Look for a new job. Answer: B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. Report figures that are off projection concern managers, project sponsors, and are unsettling for project teams. All the stakeholders need to realize that projects may appear to be over budget and behind schedule at some point, but may not end that way. It's up to the project manager to involve others in choosing the way the team arrives at project figures. You may also need to help them interpret the reports to provide a more accurate picture of project progress. Try some of the following tactics: 1. Use realistic daily estimates. Spread activity estimates over the calendar, allowing for holidays, vacations, company meetings, phone calls and other interruptions. Estimate that a resource can devote between 4.8 to 6 hours (60-75%) to project work in a normal 8-hour day. Otherwise, your reports have the potential of being off 10 hours per resource during the first week of the project. 2. Set panic limits ahead of time. Most projects can vary slightly on cost and time on a weekly basis and still get back on track. It is not necessary to panic at every variance. For example, if you are over budget $1.57 on a $25,000 project, that is not as big of a deal as if you are off $1.57 on a $2.00 project. Decide from the start what percentage of schedule or cost variance will trigger you to intervene. 3. Track progress at reasonable intervals. Reports generated too frequently, or too infrequently, can become problems. A daily update may be necessary for a project that is two weeks in duration, but it would be overkill for a project that is nine months in duration. Appropriate time tracking will produce more meaningful results.
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4. Consider posting details. How do you accrue fixed costs, for example? If you apply the costs of equipment, materials, etc., at the beginning of the project-when they are typically acquired-the project budget may look overloaded. If you add them at the end, your reports may appear artificially undBr budget. Both methods are used, but consider your choice and its implications when interpreting your project reports. 5. Use automated deadlines built into software. Automated tools can set deadlines which will alE!rt you if you are missing them. This may be a better way to schedule than setting constraints, which will make tasks appear they can't be done earlier when preceding tasks finish early. Reports are vital when monitoring and controlling a project. An awareness of why reports may be temporarily off target, knowledge of when to reassure others, and a sense of when to spring into action to influence future results, separates the good project mana~lers from the great.
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RISK PLANS Quick Quiz 4 I know it's a best practice, but must I always prepare a formal risk management plan for every project? So many of the risks I have identified in the past never actually happened.
A. The size of the risk management plan should be appropriate for the size, length and importance of the project. B. The time devoted to the risk management plan should be 10 percent of the length of the project. C. The risk management plan should always be done, unless you are too busy. D. When possible, do a risk management plan to avoid all possible risks. Answer: A. The size of the risk management plan should be appropriate for the size, length and importance of the project. Many project managers think that saving the time needed to develop a risk management plan is a great way to shorten the project schedule. But think about the following issues. Short-duration projects. While taking four hours for risk management plan development on a two-day project might be overkill, don't be lulled into thinking a short project is risk free. In fact, having only two days for a project can be pressure filled, particularly if it is part of a larger whole that will be in trouble if you are late. Think ahead, if perhaps more informally: where could you find alternate workers, materials or equipment if the ones you have counted on become unavailable? Opportunity for fast and seamless response. When problems occur on highly visible projects, the effects can snowball. For example, every issue could soon become a stakeholder focal point that costs time and limits your ability to pursue alternatives. A well-developed risk management plan helps you respond quickly and smoothly, for example, to call in alternate team members who have been prebriefed on the project, to switch to backup technology systems, to bring in another vendor quickly, or move to "Option B". Your cool, well planned response to a problem will help earn the confidence of stakeholders and executives. 78
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Transferability of the project. If you are promoted or move to another assignment, is your risk manageml3nt technique transferable to your replacement?
If your risk management technique is not written down-if you rely on your past experience and expertise to handle unexpected threats to your projectyou should identify and document what you know the risks to be, and how you would handle them. This measure helps free you to accept other assignments without harm to your current project or team. Risk templates. Risk templates list common risks that occur on corporate and industrial projects and possible ways to avoid or mitigate them. Many project managers find that the use of risk templates makes the job of planning for risk a quick "cut and paste" process.
It is easier to choose the appropriate templates for your project and add any new or unique risks than to start risk management planning from the beginning each time. Risk ranking. Create a chart to show the possibility that anyone risk will occur, and identify the potential impact of this risk on the project.
Devote the most planning and thought to the risks that are most likely to occur and would have the largest impact. Spend little or no effort developing a response to risks that are slim possibilities and would not make much difference if they occurred. While risk plans are scalable, don't miss the opportunity to upgrade your team's success rate and your own. Make sure your plan is in place. Notes For My Projects:
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EARNED VALUE
Quick Quiz 5 I just learned the Earned Value formulas and now parts of these formulas have new names. But frankly, we don't even do Earned Value calculations in my company. What am I missing? A. You're not missing anything. No one uses Earned Value anyway. B. Shhh! Your friends will be embarrassed that you don't use Earned Value. C. Nothing has changed. Parts of the formulas simply have new names that are a bit easier to understand. D. Earned Value is the profit left after the cost of supplies is deducted.
Answer: C. Nothing has changed. Parts of the formulas simply have new names that are a bit easier to understand. Here's an easy explanation of Earned Value and the new terms.
Imagine that you are the project manager on a simple project. When you began to plan, Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) was the dollar amount you estimated it would take to complete the schedule, based on the number of hours planned for each task times the hourly rate of the person assigned. Planned Value (PV), the new term for BCWS, is identical in meaning and calculated the same way.
Now imagine that the first week of the project has passed, and you now know the amount of work that has been done so far. Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) is the cost of the work that has been accomplished toward the project. Remember that the time planned for each task was only an estimate; once the work is underway, the amount of work team members really finish may vary from the original plan. Workers can miss time for vacations or illness, or just work faster or slower than you planned. 50, the amount of work accomplished toward the schedule may be different than you originally estimated. By calculating the worth in dollars of the tasks, or portions of tasks, completed (hourly rates X hours spent), we know how much of the scheduled work has been achieved and its dollar value to the project.
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This dollar value, previously labeled Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP), has been renamed Earned Value (EV). How do you use Planned Value ,and Earned Value information to make good project management judgments? Now that you've converted the amount of work you thought it would take to complete the schedule when you planned the project (BCWS), and the amount of work that currently has been accomplished toward the project goals (BCWP), into dollars you can determine if you are ahead or bE~hind schedule at this point in time. Here's the formula. BCWP - BCWS = SV (Schedule Variance). Or, using the new terms, EV - PV =SV. If the Schedule Variance is + (positive) you completed more work and earned more value than expected when you set up the schedule. You are ahead of schedule. If the Schedule Variance is - (negative), you completed less work than you intended and you are behind schedule. For example, suppose you planned to spend $4,000/week in worker salaries to do the tasks of the project (400 hours X $10 per hour). When the first week ends, you have $4,000 in salary expense, as team members receive full pay regardless of how much work they accomplish. However, they only completed 320 hours of work toward the projHCt. (320 X $10 = $3,200). For the $4,000 the company spent, the project has earned value from work that is equal to $3,200. The $3,200 (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed or Earned Value) minus the $4,000 (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled or Planned Value) =- $800. You are 80 hours behind schedule ($8001$10 per hour). If you are 20% behind this week (80 hours/400 hours be behind 20% every week.
= .20 or 20%), you could
For Week Two you have scheduled another 400 hours of work, plus you have 80 hours to make up (480 hours). At an 80% work rate (100 - 20%), you will achieve only 384 hours of work, (480 hours X .80), so now you are 96 hours behind. Unless you can see that the rate of work will increase, or there were unusual circumstances that won't continue" your estimates were too optimistic. You may need to rethink your scheldule. Project management software by Microsofi®, Primavera® or others will calculate BCWS, BCWP and SV for you automatically. Now you know how to use Earned Value to help spot performance issues early and brinlg your projects in on time.
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LATE PROJECTS Quick Quiz 6 As the project manager, you keep telling your project team that tasks are behind schedule, but the projects still finish late. What do you do? A. Talk louder. B. Look at your own project management choices. C. Send the team a detailed copy of your work breakdown structure (WBS) in Microsoft ProjecF. D. Ask another project manager to speak to your team.
E. Plan to keep project work flowing around the clock. Answer: B. Look at your own project management choices. If you constantly cry, "We're behind schedule," when the situation does not warrant, soon resources will no longer respond. As project managers, we need to choose how, when and how often we tell teams that the project is running late if they are to take us seriously. Check yourself in these categories: 1. How do you judge late? Is a project "late" because progress-to-date shows you have not met the original estimate? Remember it was only a best guess. If you are slightly off-less than 1.0 for your schedule performance index-decide how much you will vary from 1.0 before you comment: .04, .96? Compliment workers when they complete tasks on time and you may find more tasks get done promptly. 2. Is delay a long-term problem? Before you panic about delays, look at float. Total float is the amount of time a task can be delayed without changing the project completion date. Free float is the time you can absorb without impacting the next task in the sequence. If you have available float, which can be calculated automatically if you use project software, don't upset the team by making them think the project is doomed.
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3. Do you explain why? People work harder, faster and smarter when they understand the implications of not finishing as scheduled. Also, let people know how their actions will affect work of other team members. Show them on 81 network diagram how their task may affect many more upcoming ones. Working for the good of the team may be important motivation for individual workers. 4. Was the WBS complete? Did your WBS show all the work to be done to complete the scope of the project? Overlooked WBS items become last minute additions to thE! schedule and are a common reason why projects run late. Make sure all tasks under a WBS deliverable heading, when finished, will produce the deliverable intended. 5. Do you alert early? Alert busy team members early that a crucial activity is quickly approaching. This is more likely to result in on-time project completions than criticism given after a deadline has been missed. 6. Do you capture lessons learned? Even projects that finish on time will weave slightly above and below their baseline during the process. But if your projects are constantly late, document why. Ask your team to help capture the reasons for project time failures and use the list to plan for risks in the next project. Involve team members so they will have a clearer grasp of their own role in project timeline delays and can self-correct future problems. Remember, the easiest habits to change are your own. Finding varied and productive actions you can take to keep projects on schedule will benefit you, your team and your organization.
Notes For My Projects:
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CHOOSING TEAMS Quick Quiz 7 I have a high priority project coming up and I was told I can choose my own team. This is the first time I've had this privilege, and I don't quite know how to start. Any tips? A. Post a list and let people volunteer. B. Tell your manager you'd prefer the team be chosen for you. C. Go ahead and start a work breakdown structure (WBS) and see who and what you need. D. Use the team you worked with last time. Answer: C. Go ahead and start a work breakdown structure (WBS) and see who and what you need. Because it is a high priority project, your manager is smart to allow you to choose the group to complete the project successfully. Here are some ideas that could help make your first team a winning one. Breakdown the Work. Make a list of the skills your resources need to complete the work of the project. If you have not worked with a person who has a skill set you need, check within the organization to see who is best and who is available. Start the Work Authorizations. You may need to start the work authorization process early, so that time for your project is blocked out on the resource's schedule. Don't assume that your first choice will be sitting around waiting for you if you haven't put your bid in early. Grade the Tasks. If your first impulse is to get the brightest and the best to do all of the activities you need completed, consider grading the tasks by order of difficulty. Find a guru to do the difficult or creative ones. See if a less expensive resource could do some of the lower level tasks that might not be challenging for a guru. Use the Time. Since you have lead time, think about any training that might help the team succeed. For example, do resources need technical skills training, risk training or product knowledge enhancement? Plan Ground Rules. Think about team ground rules such as how conflicts will be resolved and whether you will hold daily stand-up meetings or formal weekly gatherings in the board room. Do participants need to prepare reports to bring? 84
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Set up Work Space. Will you be allowed to co-locate the team to adjacent work space? If not, can you set up a space where they can meet informally or have breaks together to discuss and brainstorm outside of routine meetings? Plan Your Management. Clarify whether the person responsible for hiring, firing and performance assessments will be you, the functional managers in the department supplying the team member, or if you will share those duties. Include time in your project plan for the post project meeting about lessons learned, and perhaps prepare the assessment tools ahead of time. Choose your Leadership Style. Since you know who will be on the team, make some conscious choices about how you will manage each person. Some of the experts will respond best to a consultative approach where your role ~s to support them and facilitate their ability to do what they do best.
Newer members of the team and/or those that handle lower graded work may need you to use a direct approach in assigning work, and will respond to you in a coaching role. Adjusting your management style to the needs of the individual may help you have more productive results from team members. Remember, choose a team carefully, assign individual members to appropriate tasks, set up the best possible physical work environment, get team members the necessary training, and mana~le each person in a way that helps them maximize their potential. These are positive ways to set your high priority project on the road to success-and get you assigned to the next one. Notes For My Projects:
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MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION Quick Quiz 8 I know that project managers may spend up to 90 percent of their time in communication, but that seems like a lot. How do I spend that much time in a meaningful way?
A. It depends on your project management experience and that of your team. B. Do extra reports, charts and graphs for your team to help your team see exactly where the project stands. C. It depends on the number of members in your team. A smaller team means you do less communication. D. Surf the Internet. Answer: A. It depends on your project management experience and that of your team. Great communication can make or break a project, so devoting an extensive proportion of your workday in this knowledge area is reasonable. However, the time has to be spent on the right activities. Defining those activities is the challenge, to be sure that they bring value to your project. It is a frequent misconception that most all of the communication time should be spent with the team. Using the time to micromanage or over-supervise project work can be a detriment and demotivate your team. Forming a new team or integrating new members into an existing group may require more of your focus devoted to team development and coordination. Experienced teams, hopefully, become more self-sufficient. If you're a newer project manager, frankly, it will take you longer to generate and interpret reports, guide the team, respond to variances and plan responses. You'll need more time to record progress submitted by the resources, particularly if you're on a new software package. You'll spend extra time planning meetings to make sure they are efficient. As you increase your experience, those tasks take fewer of your communication hours because you become more efficient in doing them. You're ready to move up the maturity scale and redirect those "extra" chunks of time. Here are some suggestions: •
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Spend more time training someone else to enter data or advocating for an automated software system, freeing yourself for a more strategic project manager role.
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•
Take more time to find out the driver on this project. In your company it may ordinarily be quality (protecting human life), time (first to market) or cost (manufacturing for large warehouse chains). But this project may be special and not have the businl9ss focus you assume.
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Develop a system to capture le!ssons learned during the project. When you wait until the end, it's easy to forget why things happened and the reasoning you used to respond to the challenges. Devote yourself to communi1cating what you've discovered in your lessons learned to the organization .... not just this team, but other teams and other departments. Organize a brown bag lunch, spearhead an informal electronic summary into which all teams provide input, or post quick updates and ideas on a community bulletin board. Break the cycle of meeting with customers to document requirements and then not seeing them again until the project is over. Spend time showing the customer partial developments sooner. No more "unveiling" the secret deliverable and hoping the customer will love it. You may unearth more changes, but you will also end up with a product/service that is more useful to the customer.
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Invest more time to work on interpersonal team issues that can sabotage even a group with exceptional skill sets. Resolving conflict is less fun than creating the perfect work breakdown structure (WBS), but longterm team relationships can breed long-term resentments and harm the team productivity.
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Research new project mana!~ement ideas that could streamline this and future projects. Read an online~ article, talk with project managers in other departments or other compani,es to find what is working for them, sit in on a webinar, look at your compeltitor's website to see if they are announcing any new innovations, and havE~ lunch with the sales representatives from your company to see what customer requests or feedback they are hearing.
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Look at the next step for your company to move up a maturity level. Champion some small, inexpensive steps to head the organization in that direction.
If a brilliant WBS equaled a successful project manager, project team and profitable company, we'd all be happy. But the communication surrounding a project is the real key to more far reaching objectives. Hone your skills to increase your own value and exp~md the support and leadership you bring to your project team and your organization. Notes For My Projects:
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RUNNING COSTS Quick Quiz 9 I know how much my projects cost at the end when all the accounting is complete, but by then it's too late to change anything. What should I do to figure costs while I'm running the project?
A. Nothing. It's a lot of work and no one will know the difference. B. Ask the Accounting Department to copy you on all company reports they prepare. C. Use the Earned Value cost formula and review the results on a periodic basis. D. Use Earned Value cost formula to calculate the profit. Answer: C. Use the Earned Value cost formula and review the results on a periodic basis. If you wait until the project ends to check on costs, it leaves you no time to correct the overages or re-apply unused funds in other areas. Here's an easy explanation of how to use Earned Value cost formulas to judge where you stand as you go along. Imagine that your team begins a new project. When you planned, Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) was the cost of the work you anticipated would be accomplished toward the project once the work began. You estimated the BCWP amount at $5,000 per week for worker salaries and other items you needed to purchase.
Earned Value (EV), the new term for BCWP, is identical in meaning and calculated the same way. You already may have used BCWP (EV) to figure Schedule Variances (SV) in earlier projects. By the time you finish the first week, costs have changed. Several team members have received salary increases, incurred overtime, or found tasks took longer than estimated. The project scope has changed slightly and one vendor raised prices.
Now, costs of the project are higher than you originally planned. Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP), now renamed Actual Cost (AC), is the Earned Value term for the cost paid out, or incurred, to obtain the resources which have been used on your project so far; whether people, materials, equipment or facilities. On this project, you find that the AC at the end of Week One is $6,250.
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By comparing what you originally anticipated this work would cost (BCWP or EV) to what it really cost (ACWP or AC), you can see if your project is over budget or under budget at this point in time. Here's the formula: BCWP -ACWP
=CV (Cost Variance)
Or, using the new terms; EV-AC
=CV
Substitute the real dollar amounts ($5,000 - $6,250 that you are $1,250 over budget.
=- $1,250) and you find
If the Cost Variance is - (negative), you have spent more money to this point in time than you planned when you set up the project. If the Cost Variance is + (positive) you have spent less money to this point in time than you planned to get the work of the project accomplished. Think of your bank balance. If you see a negative number, you've overspent. If you have a positive amount, there is additional money for you to use. Project management software by Microsoft:®, Primavera® or others will calculate BCWP, ACWP and CV for you automatically. This Cost Variance also shows you that for the $6,250 the company spent, the project has earned value from work that is equal to only $5,000. Unless you can see that while some costs are greater than you foresaw, othor activities will come in under budget to offset them, you have an early indication that you need to adjust your current plan if you intend to meet the original cost figures by the end of the project. Notes For My Projects:
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PURCHASED SOFTWARE Quick Quiz 10 We've just invested a lot of money in a state-of-the-art software tool, but we're not seeing the huge jump in the success of our projects, which we anticipated. What's wrong?
A. The fault may not be with the software, but with the way you are using it. B. You have been misled. Software is a useless tool to manage projects. C. You need to contact your information technology staff. They have set it up incorrectly. D. You have purchased the wrong software. Choose a major brand and all your projects will succeed. Answer: A. The fault may not be with the software, but with the way you are using it. Many project managers who introduce automated software tools focus primarily on the installation and rollout of the new technology. They consider the initiative complete when each workstation has the new application up and running. As a project goal, this is an accurate end point. As a way to reduce risk and increase productivity in future endeavors, this is only the beginning. There are several more steps that make the difference between a payoff of increased project success and just a project with a prettier, more organized format. To get the most power from an automated software tool, consider the following: 1. You must have training. To achieve the maximum impact on team productivity, training on the new product is essential. This is true even if you work on an information technology team. Project management and related software products are not intuitive like the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation tools most project managers use. 2. The training must be specific. Your team does not need to master ALL of the hundreds of available features. Hold training targeted to just the features you plan use immediately, and those that will provide value to your project. 3. The training must include project management principles. Typically, training on software tools teaches which button to push to get which screen or report. Unless your team sees exactly where in the project management 90
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process it is useful to engage the tOlol, they will either use it improperly or each member will use it in his own way. The power of the tool comes when each person on the project is using it iin a coordinated way. 4. The training must show not only how to enter data, but how to use report screens and printed reports to interpret the results and use them to make crucial project decisions. The data from the software tool should enable the team members to draw more educated conclusions about project progress, anticipate risk events earlier, and test "what if' scenarios quickly and scientifically. 5. The project manager and/or hi!Qher level executives must set report expectations that can only be produced by using the new software. Installation and training will not enrich project outcomes unless there is a way to ensure that the team members are using the product regularly ... and the fastest and easiest way to guarantE~e use is to insist on regular reports that can be prepared in no other way. Appropriate training methodologies that integrate project management processes, and mandatory reports 'generated through the software, will help your team harness the power of automation. You will leverage good project management practices and make your projects more valuable to your organization and customers. Now you're poised to increase the project's chance of success, as you anticipated. Notes For My Projects:
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BUSINESS VALUE Quick Quiz 11 I know that projects are chosen for the business value and return on investment they can deliver, but my projects don't bring in any revenue. Should I still do them? A. If your projects are not bringing in revenue, they are merely operational sets of tasks and have no business value. Turn them over to a junior team member. B. Your projects have marginal value, but stop work on them if opportunities for revenue-generating projects appear.
C. You should continue to do your projects. They improve the organization's infrastructure and are therefore more valuable than revenue-generating projects. D. Many less exciting projects deal with compliance or operational issues, but they still add substantial business value. So work on them with pride. Answer: D. Many less exciting projects deal with compliance or operational issues, but they still add business value. So work on them with pride. It's important that all projects tie directly to a business strategy and produce measurable value. However, it's a misconception that value only comes from the creation of products or services that can be sold to generate revenue. In reality, all types of organizations, not just for-profit ones, engage in three types of projects-strategic, operational and compliance. Projects in each category can provide value. •
Strategic Projects-These build or improve the actual marketable goods or services that will be sold or delivered to stakeholders. They produce the deliverables for which the company is known; whether it is a more flavorful coffee, a new cancer fighting treatment, or protection of our environment through public services.
•
Operational Projects-These create or add to the organizational infrastructure. While you might be less likely to brag about them to your friends, these projects are critical to keep the administration of the enterprise running smoothly. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide)
emphatically stresses the need to differentiate between operations and projects. Here's how to tell the difference. 92
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You head a project to choose the accounting software package used to create reports. It's a temporalY endeavor and creates a unique service. By definition, you have led what can legitimately be called a project. However, each month when thEl accounting team uses the new software to create cash flow statements--that's operations. Project managers leac! operational projects. Other employees then use the results of that project to perform what is called operaltions work. •
Compliance Projects-These are projects that must be done to meet regulatory mandates of the governing body or geopolitical entity that oversees your organization or industry. The goal of some of these projects is to help the organization meeit the standards set out for important certifications such as ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
While not as attention-getting as when you build the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, or discover a great medical advance, these projects are equally necessary for the success of the organization. In a well run workplace, the portfoliio manager or management team will find a way to fund the most critical of all1three types of projects. They are all equally viable and important to your enterprise. So, you can be as proud of your work on the less memorable projects as you are on those worthy of appearing on the front page of the newspaper. Notes For My Projects:
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PROJECT STOPLIGHTS Quick Quiz 12 My organization uses the stoplight method: green, yellow and red indicators, to track the health of our projects. But sometimes it seems misleading. Is this method the best one?
A. This method is the best one, so your mathematical formulas must be inaccurate. B. This method can be a good indicator of project health, but it is easy to misinterpret what the colors mean. C. This is not a good method to use, since the range of numbers set to trigger green, yellow or red stoplight indicators can vary widely. D. This method tells you when a project should be stopped and abandoned, so it is mandatory as a part of best practices. Answer: B. This method can be a good indicator of project health, but it is easy to misinterpret what the colors mean. The stoplight method is also called the traffic light, road light, or status flag method. It can be an excellent alert to the health of your project. To use it, you set ranges by which variances in schedule or budget progress trigger colored cells in a manual report, spreadsheet, or project management software. You can create these personal alerts on your own, without buying any new software and customize the variance ranges you want to use to show danger, a warning, or progress that is acceptable. The colors should focus your attention on the red areas that show the most change from your plan first. But be sure to evaluate each indicator closely so you are not misled. 1. Red indicators show the most deviation from the baseline. Here are some factors that can cause a "danger" signal to appear, but are not necessarily situations that need to be or can be changed. •
Work may be done ahead of schedule, which makes payroll costs exceed the original budget.
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Material shipments, or just-in-time resource usage, that allow work to be done ahead of schedule may inflate costs compared to the budget baseline.
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Scope changes that are too minor to necessitate re-baselining, or which occur near the end of the project life cycle, may mean that the project will run over plan.
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2. Yellow indicators show that statistics vary slightly from the plan. They are clues to project problems in the making and should not be ignored. These causes may turn your early alert system yellow. •
Original estimates are the best guesses team members could make based on their experience. Actual figures often vary slightly above or below the task time recorded in the work breakdown structure (WBS).
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When the range of your indicators was set, only narrow mathematical fluctuations between acceptable and non-acceptable variances were allowed.
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A project trend that will eventually lead to larger fluctuations may first trigger a yellow indicator.
3. Green indicators, usually considered as good signs, may be evaluated last but should not be ignored. Variances that appear within acceptable ranges may be misleading if you falsely believe that green indicators always mean the project is on track. •
Budget figures that are less than estimated will trigger a green indicator.. However, you may find that supplies have not arrived on time or payroll costs are artificially low because key team members were not available.
•
Team members who added a little extra time to their task estimates may finish their tasks earlier than planned. This results in project tasks from one resource being completed ahE~ad of time, but other team members may not be available to move their participation earlier. Storage, spoilage or handling costs for products produced early can mean you appear ahead of schedulo, but serious budget impacts will follow.
•
As a result of poor planning, the materials, facilities, equipment and/or human resources may be scheduled too late in the project. This means project paths may appear grel:m now, but when they converge at a future date the pressure on your critical path may throw the schedule and budget off target.
Stoplight indicators are desirable to help you prioritize the order in which you attack project problems. But remE!mber, each stoplight indicator should be evaluated and interpreted to avoid unnecessary surprises as your project moves forward.
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GOODENOUGH
Quick Quiz 13 I struggle with the scope of my projects, as I see additional things that need to be included, although the customer or internal department says the scope is good enough as it is. Is it all right to settle for "good enough?" A. "Good enough" is never acceptable if you know how to make a project better.
B. The customer is always right, so just do what they ask and know that you could have made this project much better if allowed to do so. C. The customer's wishes outline the scope for the project, but you should be clear on which decisions are theirs and which belong to the project manager. D. Customers never know as much as an experienced project manager, so agree to their scope now, but later include the extras that you know they need. Answer: C. The customer's wishes outline the scope for the project, but you should be clear on which decisions are theirs and which belong to the project manager. A project manager may think his or her internal or external customer can't adequately outline the scope requirements for a project. However, customers bear the responsibility to define project scope. The project manager's role is to bring to light the technical, infrastructure, organizational or project methodology concerns that may lead the customer to change the project scope details. When struggling between what the customer wants and what you as the project manager think they need, use the following criteria to guide you: •
Business needs. The customer knows the business need for this project. There may be marketing studies, other research or organizational strategies guiding the decisions they make about project scope.
•
Stakeholders. When deciding project scope, there are many stakeholders to be considered. Those who will use this product, train others on it, market and sell it, maintain it, and who depend on it for profit or organizational stability should be consulted before the scope is finalized. This larger group of stakeholders should define the scope; however, you may encourage input from an even wider range of potentially interested sources.
•
Governance. As project manager, you have the responsibility to remind the customer of standards, organizational rules, technical or compatibility
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limitations and outside regulations affecting this project. However, unless there is an ethical issue involving public security, health, safety or illegal financial dealings, the customE~r retains the right to choose how much the scope will be adjusted for compliance.
•
Time and Budget. Customers decide how long they can wait for the results of the project-and how much they are willing to pay for them. But you, as project manager, make! the decision about how much of the scope of the project can realistically be achieved within those parameters and convey it to the customer.
•
Quality and Grade. It may help you, as project manager, to accept customer decisions if you differentiate between quality and grade. A quality product or service is what it was intended to be and functions as originally planned. By contrast, grade ranks products by their features, price or other factors. For example, a lower rank or grade of inexpensive car without a radio, leather seats or power windows can be a high-quality car if it was manufactured to specifications and performs its intended function. A car with fancy wheel rims, a larger engine and a more luxurious interior may be a higher grade or rank, but if it performs the same transportation function it may be equal in quality to the inexpensive one.
In short, customers choose grade and project managers provide quality. As well intentioned as we may be when we try to add features that we think may improve the final product, we are stepping beyond our role as project manager. We may also be adding time, cost and future maintenance issues to the creation of this product or service. Sometimes when the customer says it is "good enough," it really is.
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PROJECT SPONSOR
Quick Quiz 14 Upper management assigned a sponsor to my project. He has contacted me to say he has never done this before and to ask what he is supposed to do. What do I tell him? A. Ask him to schedule 30 minutes with you right away so you can discuss his role and brief him on the project. B. Tell him you will bring him the Project Plan to sign and then his responsibilities are over. C. Say that project sponsors are supposed to solve all conflicts between your team and the other departments of the organization. You'll call him frequently. D. Tell him he needs to find extra money for your project, as typically projects run over budget and take longer than scheduled. Answer: A. Ask him to schedule 30 minutes with you right away so you can discuss his role and brief him on the project. A project sponsor who wants to know his role is off to a positive start. Meet with him and discuss these ways he can help your project. 1. Share Business Strategy-A project sponsor can help by sharing the upper level business strategy that led to this project's approval with you. The more you know about how this project fits into your organization's goals, the better poised you are to make sound decisions about it. 2. Help With Motivation-Ask if he can attend and speak at your project Kickoff Meeting. His visible support and explanation of the importance of this endeavor can inspire your team and give you referent power as a project manager. 3. Provide Funding-Typically, the project sponsor provides the funding for the project in cash or through in-kind services. Make sure he knows what amounts will be needed at what intervals to keep your project on track. 4. Support and Defend-Get his promise to update management or other department heads, and also to fight for your project if it appears in jeopardy of losing funding or important resources. 5. Explain Business Cycles-Suggest he describe business cycles that could mean key personnel might pulled from your project for seasonal 98
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tasks, so you can plan your schedule to finish before the cycle hits or allow the time to wait for it to end. 6. Provide Executive Ears--Suggest he have his ear to the executive pipeline and be alert for anything going on in the organization that could be a negative risk to your project. Ask him to also watch for ways in which this project Gould be coupled with other organizational priorities in a positive way. 7. Do Publicity-Since his voice may carry more weight than yours, see if he would be willing to wriite articles for internal newsletters, or edit yours and publish them under his name. Would he speak at company functions to publicize your project? 8. Set Regular Meetings-Set weekly meetings of 10-15 minutes so you can update him on the project progress. That way he always has fresh data to pass on. Sponsors who understand the project and have been involved in problem solvin~~ are more passionate about protecting it. 9. Communicate Across Snos-Assure him that you will do as much as you can on your own, but that you will expect his help speaking with parallel level managers in other departments should the need arise. 10. Divulge His Interest-Aslk how this project sponsorship can help him in his career. If he reallizes he can achieve personal gain through helping you, you will have a more dedicated, active sponsor. An informed, involved project sponsor can help you navigate the organizational maze outside of your project team. You have the perfect opportunity to help him understand his new role and Ilearn to be the kind of sponsor you have always hoped to have.
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AGILE METHODS Quick Quiz 15 The programmers on my project want to use the new agile methodology. It's not stressed in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOf(® Guide), so am I allowed to use it as a project manager? A. Tools and techniques not covered in the PMBOf(® Guide should not be used by project managers as they are always unsuccessful. B. An agile methodology may not be appropriate for all types of projects, and an organization must have one consistent methodology for every department. Reject this request. C. The PMBOf(® Guide does not prescribe a methodology. As new editions are published, the generally recognized good practices will be updated. It is all right to give agile a try. D. Once project managers start using innovative methodologies, their projects should not be funded. Protect your project by refusing the programmers' requests.
Answer: C. The PMBO~ Guide does not prescribe a methodology. As new editions are published, the generally recognized good practices will be updated. It is all right to give agile a try. PMI regularly updates the PMBOf(® Guide, which presents generally recognized good practices for project management. This guide does not describe a specific methodology, but a series of processes, tools and techniques that you can adapt for your work. Agile practices-activities planned within short timeframes with frequent customer participation and great flexibility-are used most often in software and website development, but the concepts can be applied to many other projects. Here are familiar areas of project management and how agile techniques support each: 1. Business Strategy. To help the team understand the business need behind the project, the customer or his or her project manager or business analyst meets frequently with the agile team. 2. Risk Management. To analyze risks we make assumptions about the future. The nearer the future, the more accurate the predictions. Agile teams plan work in one- or two-week release periods, also called sprints. 3. Estimating. In agile programming, after original task estimates are given, actual progress is used to calculate a weekly velocity rate 100
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for each programmer. That velocity rate is multiplied times the task estimates to give a more scientific prediction of how much work can be achieved per individual during the following one- to two-week sprint. 4. Quality. Agile programming tests code immediately as it is written, rather than after the entire code base is complete. This means a more error-free original product, which is easier and less costly to maintain. 5. Communication. Agile teams meet 5 to 10 minutes daily to describe progress and raise issues, so critical feedback spreads quickly to both programmers and customers. 6. Team Motivation. Each agile programmer participates in daily brainstorming to design code architecture and function. Recognition and involvement drives peirsonal motivation higher. 7. Customer Satisfaction. Since the agile project is developed in oneor two-week sprints, the clJstomer can easily change which business function of the software or website will be coded next without costly and unwieldy change management processes. 8. Phase Gates. At the end of each release period, at least one function of the software is working and can be tested and approved by the customer before the agile team moves on to the next portion of the development the customer has prioritized. 9. Lessons Learned. Rather than waiting until the end of the project to capture and benefit from Ilessons learned, team members are sharing these on a daily basis. This adds great value to the agile team by increasing programming speed and product reliability. 10. Business Value. Should the project be stopped or postponed at any point, the agile approach means there is functional software that can be used immediately. The software does not include all the features, but this technique protects thE~ enterprise from investing large amounts in software development and ending up with no useable product. As with any new approach in our rapidly changing field of project management, you may find seeds of ideas in aglile programming that could be of value in your projects. Allow your programmers to try the agile approach, as it fits nicely with the good practices of the PMBOJ<® Guide.
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TIME EATEN
Quick Quiz 16 My time as a project manager seems to be eaten away with forms, processes, reports and meeting agendas that I don't always find useful. How can I get them changed? A. Refuse to do them for a month to prove they are unnecessary. B. Do only the parts you feel are helpful and ignore the rest. C. Ask your manager if you can have the authority to revise all the documents. D. Start with one item you would like revised and begin a dialogue to change it. Answer: D. Start with one item you would like to revise and begin a dialogue to change it. Certain seasons of the year inspire us to address issues that have long annoyed us. However, lack of authority to change those irritants, a busy schedule which leaves little free time, and fear of the team's response may keep us using outdated documents and processes. Here's a quick plan you can use to achieve change: 1. Pick a Target. While numerous areas might benefit from revision, choose one that represents the largest time drain. Or pick a small annoyance that you could change on your own. Either way, having a chosen target will energize you to start. 2. Do the Work. Redo the document or process to show how it should look. Run your change by the team and other stakeholders and revise the document to incorporate their best ideas. Make the change on your own if you can, or present it to management as a change the whole team supports. 3. Show the Value. Present the organizational value in this change. Will it remove unnecessary fields and leave room for needed new ones? Will it make things faster, easier, cheaper, more accurate or help with future project plans? 4. Set the Date. Suggestions without a target date for implementation are like projects without task estimates. They will drag on forever. Include a suggested implementation date, corresponding with the next run of pre-printed documents or the beginning of a new month or quarter for electronic ones. 5. Plan a Revision Date. When this tool or process is redone, pick the next time it will be evaluated. Scheduling periodic reviews will lower your 102
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annoyance level because you know a problem can be corrected during the next review. 6. Record Your Progress. As with any project, recording your results will help you make a better plan next time. Keep track of the start date, how long it took you to make the revision, the time you spent getting team support, the time to get an appointment with the approving manager, the suggested implementation date, your degree of success and the next date of revision.
7. Choose the Next Target. Once you have tackled one issue pick your next goal. Use the same process shown above, adjusting it depending on the success of your first try. Having a simple, organized way to approach needed revisions will help reduce your frustration level. Seeing the minimal time needed to make a change will encourage you to keep the process going. Next year at this time you may have solved many of the problems with your current documents and processes, and also have a plan in place for futurH reviews. Notes For My Projects:
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MISCONCEPTIONS Quick Quiz 17 Are there common misconceptions project managers harbor that I might guard against in my own work?
A. As long as you follow the process of your organization, you are doing things right. B. Purchase a list of common misconceptions for $38 online. C. The majority is always right. If you agree with others, you're doing things correctly. D. There is no one, correct way to do project management, but there are common misconceptions that even great project managers hold. Answer: D. There is no one, correct way to do project management, but there are common misconceptions that even great project managers hold. Here are some common misconceptions: •
PMI supports a precise, formal methodology. Actually, PMI puts forward activities and processes "generally recognized as good practice." If you are asked to follow a prescribed methodology, it probably was developed by your own organization.
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The Work Breakdown Structure and the Gantt Chart found in automated software are the same. The work breakdown structure (WBS) does not include tasks and activities or milestones and it is not time sequenced, so the two charts are different.
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It is "bad" to not do everything identified in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ(® Guide). It is incorrect to think that every PMBOJ<® Guide tool and technique should be used on each project you undertake. Use the minimum you need to get successful results.
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A project manager must accept management's budget. On the contrary, once you have built your preliminary scope statement, you should bring any serious gaps between estimates and the assigned budget to management's attention. Show management the realities of project costs at the start.
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Getting a WBS into automated software is key. It is not getting the information into software that counts, but rather using the data to track and monitor your project for control. If you are new to your software, you may be better off doing the project manually.
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•
Risk planning takes too much time. This is an erroneous assumption. Pinpointing risks as early as possible is a time-saver, not a time-waster. Have a risk checklist of common potential problems to use in assessing risk for each project.
•
Successful projects must have a co-located team where everyone gets along. In fact, virtual teams whose members have few common language skills, disagree on project particulars, and are in different parts of the world can complete excellent projects if they have a masterful project manager to lead them.
As with any profession, it is easy to create an idealized view of the project management practices of others and rate ourselves as poor leaders if our organizational experiences differ from theirs. The joy of possessing a body of nood practices is this: No matter how unique they are, if your projects finish with acceptable cost and time parameters, happy customers, and are of value to the company, then you're doing them right.
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PROJECT CHARTER
Quick Quiz 18 We are so busy at my organization do we really have to do a project charter? I already know what needs to be done on this project.
A. A project charter should always be created, no matter how simple the document. B. A project charter is optional depending on the size of the organization. C. A project charter is necessary if your team exceeds 10 people. D. A project charter is only needed if you don't understand the project.
Answer: A. A project charter should always be created, no matter how simple the document. While as a busy project manager it is tempting to skip as much paperwork as possible, the project charter is a not a document to ignore. Here's what it should do for you:
Fix reasonable expectations early. The project charter is an important communication tool. It encourages management to articulate its goal for this project in writing and creates a record for both sides to refer to should misunderstandings occur in the future. Motivate management decisions. If your management team has a preprepared format to create the project charter, it guides the team to make key decisions and document details of the project scope and budget expectations up front. Define the business need. As project manager you need to know the business reason for investing in this project. Frequently, this information is not conveyed and you cannot make optimum decisions during the life of the project to leverage opportunity risk. With a project charter, management will record the business need for you. Authorize the project. The project charter notifies the financial department that money should be set aside or procured to fund this project. It is the formal notification that the project has moved to active status. Often this triggers publicity to others in the organization, so they are prepared when you approach them for help or to request team members. Note the sponsor. Without a champion, most projects flounder. If a space for listing the project sponsor is in your project charter form, he or she will be identified early. The sooner you can start working with your sponsor, the more valuable that person can be to your project. 106
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Choose you as the project manager. You may know that you are a candidate to head a new endeavor. However, until the appointment is formally made and you have some proof of it to use with other organizational departments and future team members, you won't have any power to get started. A signed project charter assigning you to the project gives you the formal authority to begin to use company resources to complete this project. As project managers we can use our expertise and charismatic abilities to lead the team. But to deal with customers, sign off on project costs, make purchases from outside vendor, and acquire staffing for our team, we need the formal power that can only come from a signed project charter.
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KICKOFF Quick Quiz 19 I'm finally in charge of a kickoff meeting. What should I include to make it most useful to my final project success?
A. Bring in elaborate snacks so people will want to attend. B. Don't work on the schedule; focus on communication and project goals. C. Skip the kickoff meeting and devote the time to the work of the project. D. Ask team members to bring their activity estimates and vacation calendars. Answer: B. Don't work on the schedule; focus on communication and project goals. The kickoff meeting-the first gathering of the project stakeholders-is an often misunderstood, misused gathering. It's not the time to get team estimates and assign tasks, because it should include more than the primary project team. The purpose of a kickoff is to generate excitement for the project, provide a clear, shared perspective on the project goals, and show that there is management support for this endeavor. Here's an ideal agenda: •
Start with a short presentation by a high-level executive associated with the project. Ask this person to describe the project, show how this project fits with the organization's business strategy and specify how it will bring value to the entity.
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Ask the project sponsor to speak on the business need that led him to fund this project and the value he sees it bringing to the organization and its customers. Have him explain whether time (speed to market), cost (budget constraints) or quality (customer satisfaction) is the most important consideration. He should re-emphasize why this project is crucial. Now the sponsor introduces you as the project manager.
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As project manager, you introduce the key project stakeholders who have been invited to attend. They should include the internal or external customer, key players from other departments in the organization, main contacts from your subcontractors, any important regulatory officials and the primary project team. Each participant should explain their connection to the project and the role they will play in its success.
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Allow an opportunity for all attendees to ask questions to clarify any part of the project that may appear cloudy to them. The individuals best prepared to answer any inquiries are currently assembled in this meeting.
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You now speak briefly, perhaps with visual aids, of the high-level project scope, high-level risks, and assumptions and constraints. You present a communications plan for weekly primary team status reports, weekly subcontractor status reports, senior managemenUproject sponsor update plans and change management plans.
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Open the floor to a short discussion on your presentation, then thank everyone for coming, add an enthusiastic endorsement of the project and end the meeting.
There is no way to be more successful in a project than to have a carefully planned kickoff meeting. A kickoff meeting allows the extended project team to understand what they are to do and why they are doing it. It clarifies the business needs that the project will meet, the value of the project to the organization, and it demonstrates the visible, vocal endorsement of management.
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BASELINE Quick Quiz 20 I know about baselining time and schedule, but it seems like there is other important project information, too. What all should be baselined? A. The only important constraints are time and schedule. Baseline them. B. Baselining is not necessary if the key information is captured by software. C. Every knowledge area has its own baseline. Capture them all. D. There are four project baselines; two are often computerized, two prepared manually. Answer: D. There are four project baselines; two are often computerized, two prepared manually. Capturing a clear picture of the starting goals for a project-baselining-is the foundation for monitoring and controlling a project. For time and cost it is easy. Computed value earned from the work performed and actual cost numbers are compared to the original schedule baseline through earned value calculations. This is to judge whether the project is on schedule and on budget. Most project managers document the original time and cost baselines, since it is so convenient to do with automated project management software. However, there are also two important manual baselines to document at the project's start, and to which the work of the project should also be compared throughout the execution of the project. 1. Project scope baseline. Most project managers define scope in the scope statement and have key stakeholders sign off on these parameters. The project scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS) and the WBS dictionary form the scope baseline which is referred to throughout the project to keep us on track. When looking for variances from the plan during scope control processes, the current situation is compared to the scope baseline. Should the change control board increase or decrease the work of the project as a result of these findings, the scope baseline must be updated. Scope verification. The process of getting stakeholder approval on the work we are doing is based on comparing what we have done to the scope baseline. We consult with the customer or stakeholder to see that the deliverables the team created are acceptable. In addition, the formal acceptance of all project deliverables in the contract closure procedure also relies on measurements taken against the scope baseline. 110
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2. Project quality baseline. An often forgotten output of the quality planning process is the quality baseline. Quality goals for the project have been researched and chosen during the quality planning process and they should be documented for use in measuring the performance of the team. The quality control monitoring of the project results, as the work of the project progresses, should result in updateis to the quality baseline if differences are discovered. It is the same as looking for variances in time and cost to make necessary adjustments to the project schedule baseline. To increase your skills as a project manager, you must clearly understand the roles of the scope and quality baselines. Knowing about these two less obvious baselines may help you add other related, but often overlooked, project management processes to your project toolkit.
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BAC Quick Quiz 21 I'm confused by alphabet abbreviations such as BAC, ETC and EAC. Aren't the Budget at Completion and the Estimate at Completion the same thing? A. Budget at Completion equals Estimate at Completion at the project start. B. Estimate at Completion and Estimate to Complete are the same thing. C. Each organization designs its own terms to describe what a project will cost. D. All projects vary, so after you budget costs, estimate your accuracy with ETC.
Answer: A. Budget at Completion equals Estimate at Completion at the project start. These terms are important to help your organization plan its cash flow. Imagine your project has a $1600 budget that you plan to spend at a rate of $400 per quarter. Your Budget at Completion (BAC) is $1600. At this point, nothing has happened to make you think your numbers are incorrect. Your Estimate at Completion (EAC) is also $1600. After the first quarter, you discover you've spent $500, but you've only produced the original schedule deliverables worth $400. This $400 in Earned Value (EV) minus the $500 in Actual Cost (AC) shows you that you have spent $100 more than you expected, which is your Cost Variance (CV).
EV ($400) - AC ($500) = CV (- $100) The reason? Materials increased in price. Your costs will go up for the other three quarters as well, so how do you figure what the entire project will cost? Find the rate at which your costs are increasing by using the amount of work or deliverables (EV) you produced in the first quarter, which was $400. Divide it by the amount you actually spent (AC), which was $500. This shows your Cost Performance Index (CPI).
EV ($400) lAC ($500)
=CPI (.80)
Use the .80 Cost Performance Index to find future costs. At $400 a quarter, costs remaining were originally set at $1200. Divide that amount by your CPI of .80. $1200/.80 = $1500. These last three quarters will cost you $1500 when you include the higher price for materials. This is the Estimate to Complete (ETC). 112
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So what is the new Estimate at Completion (EAC)? It is no longer the same as the budget we originally planned (BAC), because we've already spent more than was in that budget. To figure the Estimate at Completion (EAC), we take the $500 you've spent (AC) and add the amount you calculated it would take to complete the project using the Cost Performance Index (ETC = $1500). The amount you already spent plus the amount you know you still need to spend gives you the new Estimate at Completion, or total project cost. AC ($500) + ETC ($1500) = EAC ($2,000). At an extra $100 a quartE~r, by project end you are $400 over your original budget of $1600. Understanding these formulas will help you alert stakeholders early about cost overruns so they can find additional funding or make decisions to enable you to minimize the impact of these unplanned costs. Notes For My Projects:
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METHODOLOGY Quick Quiz 22 My organization can't afford the pricey online methodology products for project management. How can we standardize a process at a reasonable cost?
A. You get what you pay for. Purchase the highest priced product you can afford. B. Choose a product without a fancy website. It can sell products for less. C. Spend your money on an internal team to develop your own processes. D. All the methodologies are equally valuable as long as they are automated. Answer: C. Spend your money on an internal team to develop your own processes. The best way to do a project differs by organization and industry, so those with a limited budget may find great success with a set of processes they create themselves. Here are some basics, pegged to the five process groups outlined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOf<:E! Guide). •
Initiating. Develop a Project Charter form for management signature to give you authority as a project manager. Create a Preliminary Scope Statement form to capture early estimates for the project. Produce a Project Management Plan form for how project managers will approach all the processes of this project.
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Planning. Design a Scope Statement form to show more definitive estimates for the project and a work breakdown structure (WBS) template that will outline all of the work for the project. Develop a process to define activities, sequence them, estimate durations, estimate and assign resources, and develop a schedule and cost baseline. Decide if you will display this information in a calendar format, on a Gantt chart or in an automated software tool. Prepare a template for distributing the activities assigned to the resource who will do them. Create a process to assess risk and decide on the triggers that will cause the project manager to react. Develop a Risk List document to capture this information for the team.
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Also, conceive a form to help plan quality requirements. They might be more qualitative in a service organization and more quantitativeindicating, for example, control limits and tolerances-if your deliverables are more tangible. Construct a Change Control process for the organization, perhaps with a board that includes key stakeholders, and decide what level of changes will go through this process. Also, conclude what amount of Cost Variance or Schedule Variance is significant enough for your organization that the project manager should take action. •
Executing. Author a Communications Plan form to map out what information will be sent to each stakeholder category during the project. Develop a process for choosin!~ outside vendors.
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Monitoring and Controlling. Prepare report templates for regular team updates on project status. Develop report templates for the project manager to use in updating tho stakeholders about project progress.
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ClOSing. Plan a checklist for contract closure with outside vendors or subcontractors. Fashion a questionnaire to capture lessons learned among team members and share the Iresults. End with developing a process to release the team and archive the lessons learned and other project documents.
While each industry or service organization will differ in their processes, these general guidelines will get you off to a workable and inexpensive start. Notes For My Projects:
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MANAGEMENT Quick Quiz 23 My title says project manager, but I feel I'm focused mostly on spreadsheets and checklists. How do I add the leadership portion to my job? A. Don't work on the scope statement; focus on communication and project goals. B. Change your attitudes and actions to expand the project's business value. C. Demand to be promoted to program manager or you will quit. D. Speak to an executive about giving you more responsibilities and tasks. Answer: B. Change your attitudes and actions to expand the project's business value. As a project manager, you need to utilize spreadsheets, checklists and other tangible tools to help you guide the project. However, you should not overlook key behaviors that bring additional project value to your organization. If you want to assume a leadership role, here are some self-directed steps to consider: •
Think Alignment. Upper managers align business investments with the overall direction of the organization. Ask why your project is important to the entity: competition, infrastructure changes, new regulations, new products or services, or larger internal initiatives, for example. Make sure the project decisions you make serve that alignment.
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Communicate Upward. Rather than avoid manager, sponsor and customer involvement to deflect change, keep the flow of information moving steadily upward. If you are a source of accurate project data, then you will be seen as an important part of the management infrastructure.
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Motivate Teams. Use your knowledge of the organizational value of the project to motivate the team. Individuals work harder if they know that the tasks they do are important. Make the connection for them that late or overbudget projects hurt the organization. The payroll costs of the extra days and other resource expenses come directly out of anticipated profits.
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Pull the Plug. Finishing on time and budget becomes a primary goal for some project managers, rather than alerting the organization when it is apparent that the project should be terminated. Don't see early project closure as personal failure. Remember, each day a project continues after it no longer serves its original goals drains money and resources from other projects.
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Release Teams. When a resource has completed its usefulness to the project, release it to be used in a functional department or on other endeavors. The costs of people, materials, facilities and equipment kept idle on a project are still charged to the project and may change a profitable project into an unprofitable one.
A project manager who exercises leadership will be concerned primarily with the overall organizational success and reputation-not for his own project's success. Your role is to add business value, not just to complete the project on time and on budget. Once you begin to change your attitudes and actions to those of a leader, you will enhance your reputation as a critical part of the management team and feel your job is no longer limited to spreadsheets and checklists.
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COST RESERVES Quick Quiz 24 Although I figure my cost baseline carefully, I'm still consistently over budget. What should I do to try to get it right? A. Install automated software so your math is more accurate. B. Don't worry as long as you are -25 percent or +25 percent from your goal. C. Ask the accounting department for weekly reports on finance code activities. D. Include more than the cost for resources in your cost budget. Answer: D. Include more than the cost for resources in your cost budget. Often project managers use the amount calculated for the project's people, materials, facilities and equipment as the cost budget. While this is an important beginning, don't stop here. 1. Contingency Reserves-Overall project costs are only estimates based on the time project teams will spend on activities and the amounts you will be charged by vendors or charged back by your organization. Actual charges to the project budget will vary according to the accuracy of your estimates. Calculate an additional percentage of the project budget to set aside to cover these differences. Contingency reserves are placed in the project schedule at the end or at major convergence milestones. They have zero duration, but allow expansion of the project budget within a predefined range at the discretion of the project manager. 2. Risk Costs-Consider project risks early and decide which ones you will address. The costs associated with rearranging the schedule, changing vendors, purchasing insurance, assigning more experienced and expensive team members, or other risk responses should be added to the cost budget before setting the cost baseline. 3. Make-Buy Decisions-Analyze to see if you should create needed items in-house, or if you will purchase them. Consider maintenance, long-term user support, warranty considerations, storage issues and if this product or service will be needed by the organization after your project terminates. Don't forget the cost of the vendor selection process if you decide to buy. Include these make or buy costs in your cost budget prior to finalizing the cost baseline.
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4. Team Training-Scan potential project team skill sets to see if they meet the demands of this undertaking. If not, the cost of primary team training must go into the project cost budget. 5. Quality Standards-Assess quality requirements set out by the internal or external customers. Can you meet them with your current staff and technical set-up? Any additional charges needed to insure compliance or prevent non-compliance to customer quality expectations go into the cost budget. 6. Management Reserves-Advise management that an extra cash or credit amount should be encumbered in case the project encounters risks that cannot be anticipated. These funds can only be accessed with the approval of management or a change control board. Show the management reserves in the project scope budget, but not in the project cost budget. Make sure you include these hidden costs in your project budget. It can help you shine, as more of your projects come in on budget or at least within admirable variances. Notes For My Projects:
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CMMI AND WBS Quick Quiz 25 No matter how carefully I plan, my project reports often show the project to be over budget and behind schedule. My team works hard, so how can I stop this discouraging trend?
A. Bring all projects in on budget and on schedule with no exceptions. B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. C. Pad each activity with extra time and money. D. Ask customers where you can cut quality so that your projections are more on target. E. Look for a new job. Answer: B. Start an educational campaign for your manager and team. Report figures that are off projection concern managers and project sponsors, and are unsettling for project teams. All the stakeholders need to realize that projects may appear to be over budget and behind schedule at some point, but may not end that way. It's up to the project manager to involve others in choosing the way the team arrives at project figures. You may also need to help them interpret the reports to provide a more accurate picture of project progress. Try some of the following tactics: 1. Use realistic daily estimates. Spread activity estimates over the calendar, allowing for holidays, vacations, company meetings, phone calls and other interruptions. Estimate that a resource can devote between 4.8 to 6 hours (60-75%) to project work in a normal 8-hour day. Otherwise, your reports have the potential of being off 10 hours per resource during the first week of the project. 2. Set panic limits ahead of time. Most projects can vary slightly on cost and time on a weekly basis and still get back on track. It is not necessary to panic at every variance. For example, if you are over budget $1.57 on a $25,000 project, that is not as big of a deal as if you are off $1.57 on a $2.00 project. Decide from the start what percentage of schedule or cost variance will trigger you to intervene. 3. Track progress at reasonable intervals. Reports generated too frequently, or too infrequently, can become problems. A daily update may be necessary for a project that is two weeks in duration, but it would be overkill for a project that is nine months in duration. Appropriate tracking timing will produce more meaningful results. 120
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4. Consider posting details. How do you accrue fixed costs, for example? If you apply the costs of equipment, materials, etc., at the beginning of the project-when they are typically acquired-the project budget may look overloaded. If you add them at the end, your reports may appear artificially under budget. Both methods are used, but consider your choice and its implications when interpreting your project reports. 5. Use automated deadlines built into software. Automated tools can set deadlines, which will alert you if you are missing them. This may be a better way to schedule than setting constraints, which will make tasks appear they can't be done earlier when preceding tasks finish early. Reports are vital when monitoring and controlling a project. An awareness of why reports may be temporarily off-target, knowledge of when to reassure others, and a sense of when to spring into action to influence future results, separates the good project managers from the great. Notes For My Projects:
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OVERALLOCATIONS Quick Quiz 26 A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ(® Guide) shows that resolving resource overallocations is a process, but how do I actually do it?
A. Arrange assignments based on business goals, not only project goals. B. Book the most experienced teams members early, before other projects snap them up. C. Always lengthen the schedule a little so that fewer resources can perform more tasks. D. Request additional team members so no one person works overtime. Answer: A. Arrange assignments based on business goals, not only project goals. Resource overallocation, also called resource leveling, occurs when people and things needed to accomplish the project activities are in limited supply and there is a conflict between when they are needed and when they are available. Here are some creative ways to resolve those challenges. 1. Alter task assignments. Change the start of a task so that tasks do not conflict. Split a longer task so that a shorter one can be done in the middle. Or delay a task so it does not overlap with another one assigned to the same resource. 2. Change resources. While project managers often think the most experienced person, largest facility, or newest, fastest equipment is what should be reserved, these resources are often in short supply and may be better utilized on other projects. Perhaps a less costly, inexperienced team member could gain valuable training by completing lower level tasks. This reduces project cost, creates a skilled resource for future projects, and engages a novice where a veteran may be bored. 3. Change task relationships. Can the order of tasks be altered, allowing resources in short supply to be utilized when they are available? Perhaps working half-days on two parallel tasks could still meet interim milestones, particularly if there is float on either task. 4. Hire others. Create a resource assignment matrix to plot exactly what skill sets you need at what times, then consider hiring scarce skill-set resources for a short time from third-party sources. If a timely finish is key to the business goals, the extra costs may be justified. 122
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5. Delay participation. Perhaps others assigned to the task can begin the work and the overallocated resource can join when he or she becomes available. 6. Scan other projects. Are there qualified resources that are soon to be released from other projects and are exactly what you need? Ask around. If effective team member release processes aren't used in your organization, the availability of people with scarce skill sets may not become apparent quickly. 7. Consider overtime. Can you use salaried employees to work overtime for a while rather than use hourly workers to complete tasks? If not, and time is the primary concern with this project, perhaps you need to expand the budget to consider short bursts of overtime. If a low budget is key, you may need to lengthen the project schedule. Consider the long-term business advantage and the way your project fits into organizational goals as you creatively structure assignments for limited resources on your projects.
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BAD ESTIMATING Quick Quiz 27 The estimate on my new project was done by another project manager and is hopelessly unrealistic, but approved. What can I do?
A. Rebaseline. Do the project with the new estimates you feel are correct. B. Change the estimate and circulate word that the old project manager is incompetent. C. Document your findings and present the stakeholders with options. D. Do nothing. To have an estimate is what counts. No one expects you to actually work within it. Answer: C. Document your findings and present the stakeholders with options. Unfortunately, inherited estimates from a previous project manager that have already been approved in a project charter are tricky to correct. But it must be done or you will do the business a disservice. Management needs to plan for time and cost on this project and know which resources will be available for future ones. Uncover the business need. Before moving ahead, clearly understand the reason the organization will invest in this project. The way you proceed will depend on the relative importance of the project results to the organization. Find what went wrong. Speak with the other project manager and/or team members involved in the erroneous estimate. Did they have insufficient information or an inexperienced team member? Were their assumptions proven incorrect? Did management reduce the schedule or budget from the team's estimates to their own? Document your findings. Once you know why the estimates are faulty, figure more realistic ones. Be able to show why the numbers need to be raised. Prepare comparison charts with a focus on the benefit to the organization to adjust its expectations to the new findings. Prepare options. Consider what you found to be the hidden reason for the original miscalculation. If management wanted to shorten the duration, show a way the project could be scheduled for early completion, but the impact on the cost or quality. If money was the issue, create a plan that reduces scope and adds the lost features at a future date. If the assumptions were wrong, create a project based on more accurate assumptions and be prepared to share your logic. 124
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Meet with your team. Gather the team and present your findings. See what comments or concerns they may have about your new plans. You probably met with them individually, or in small groups, to collect the information for your options. Open your findings up to the entire team before moving forward. Make corrections based on their input. Once you get these estimates changed, you'll have more attention focused on the variables of this project and you definitely want to meet the new target goals. Call together the stakeholders. Present your findings in a positive way to the stakeholders. Open the floor for discussion. Allow them to choose which of your plans will best meet their collective needs. Project managers are judged on their ability to finish as planned. With this approach you will start your project with a realistic set of goals which are within your grasp and with stakeholder support.
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CRANKY STAKEHOLDER
Quick Quiz 28 There is a stakeholder on my project who openly opposes its goals. How can I win this person over? A. Ask his or her manager to talk to the person about their attitude.
B. Invite this individual's family to go to dinner with your family and you pay the check. C. Warn your project team that this person is hostile so they can hide their progress. D. Consider his or her point of view and adjust your project, if possible. Answer: D. Consider his or her point of view and adjust your project, if possible. Seldom are people antagonistic to a new undertaking without an underlying reason. Until you discover what it is, you can't move forward. Meet with the stakeholder who opposes your project. Have coffee or tea with your opponent, and use your best communication skills to find out the reason for the lack of cooperation. Have past, similar, projects harmed the department? Is there friction between this person and you, your manager, or a team member? Has the project moved forward over this individual's valuable advice about pitfalls? Has he or she been overlooked for sacrifices made for earlier projects? Is the organization choosing this project over another one that seems more valuable or more crucial? Respect his or her position. Once you find the source of the conflict, show an acceptance his or her point of view. You may discover that this individual knows the company's history, and is rich in information you need to capture in order to avoid ugly surprises. Take along your risk register and see if you can get help to document possible problems. You don't have to plan for all of them, but it helps you and allows the stakeholder to feel involved. Expose the value. Share the advantages of this project's deliverables whether a change, upgrade, new product or existing process alteration. Show how this is part of future organizational course changes that may be of benefit to this stakeholder, even if the current project is not. Let the stakeholder find the solution. Ask this person how the project could be adjusted to provide results that would be of greater benefit, or at least would be less offensive. If you have more than one problem stakeholder,
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view the results of meetings with each one and see if there is any way to adjust the objectives of the project to include items that are meaningful to your opponents. Pay special attention to suggestions that have widespread company benefits. Involve your manager. If all else fails, ask your manager or the project sponsor to exert power or functional authority to gain the stakeholder's cooperation. Project managers prefer to avoid conflict and may think they don't have time to woo this adversary. However, you'll save future headaches if you attack this issue early. Theoretically, all stakeholders should help the project manager succeed. However, in practice we may frequently come across people whose interests are at cross-purposes with our projects. Finding a satisfactory way to gain the support of errant stakeholders at the beginning of the project will smooth the path for success. Notes For My Projects:
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WHO PAYS Quick Quiz 29 Recently my project exceeded its estimate and the customer insisted that we absorb the extra costs. Is this fair?
A. No, but since you don't want the customer to sue your organization you should pay the costs. B. It depends on the way your contract was written, but probably the customer is correct.
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Usually the performing organization and the customer split overruns 70/30.
D. Ask the customer if they will pay the full amount this time for a 10 percent discount next time. Answer: B. It depends on the way your contract was written, but probably the customer is correct. Although most organizations follow a philosophy that the "customer is always right", it hurts when this means you must assume financial losses for a project that doesn't meet a planned deadline. When the customer is internal, individual departmental budgets will suffer, but the overall organization's revenues will not be affected. However, when it costs you more than estimated for an external customer project, there can be serious repercussions. Functional and Technical Requirements To protect our organizations, functional requirements must be specific. These indicate what the new product or service will provide to the user. Technical requirements must be fully detailed. These state the performance standards, compatibilities, sizes and shapes that are expected. Measurable acceptance criteria must accompany each functional or technical requirement. For example, if a requirement should make e-mail faster, should it be two seconds faster or download within an hour? Both parties should sign-off on these requirements documents. Contracts Written contracts are often overlooked. Many project managers feel these agreements are the responsibility of legal, finance or another area and don't
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consider the impact of contract type on the financial success of their project. Become familiar with these two types of contracts. 1. Firm fixed fee. This type of contract says you will deliver the product or service of the project at a set price, regardless of what your costs are to create, produce and deliver it. With this type of contract, the customer is well within his or her legal rights to insist you cover any additional costs for inaccurate estimates. 2. Fixed price economic price adjustment. If your contract was signed several years ago, the current problem with your estimates may have resulted from increased wages or cost of materials. Next time, use a fixed price contract that allows for price adjustments based on economic metrics. This would allow your organization to schedule price increases based on an official, externally-derived economic measure that you and your customer agree to use. Or, the contract can allow for re-negotiation should sizeable changes impact your costs as the seller.
Liquidated damages If the contract signed for your project states that your organization must pay an extra amount for liquidated damages if you are late, you may wish to consider adding a reasonable contingency buffer to your schedule. Automated software that performs Monte Carlo statistical simulations can show you the probability of finishing within your original activity estimates, so you can plan the amount of additional time you may need to complete the project on time with close to 100 percent certainty. Every project manager has the best intentions when he or she submits estimates. However, if you hone your ability to develop project requirements, and know the contractual arrangements made with the customer, then you will understand the impact to this project and to your employer if your estimates are inaccurate.
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HIDDEN COSTS Quick Quiz 30 I know the obvious things to do to control costs like get team members with lower salaries and watch material prices. But are there hidden costs I might be overlooking? A. The only way to control costs is get cheaper people and buy at a discount. B. Hidden costs result only when team members overestimate their activity time. C. If you have a hardware project, the price of electricity is always a hidden cost. D. There may be avoidable costs hidden in the way the schedule is planned and unfolds. Answer: D. There may be avoidable costs hidden in the way the schedule is planned and unfolds. Even the best project manager may find and eliminate unplanned costs if you remember any additional time the project takes costs the organization money. To control hidden costs look for techniques to optimize the project schedule. Here are two often overlooked ways to trim down your final expenses. Mandatory dependencies. You must have the workstation hardware arrive before you can install it, so there is a mandatory dependency between the arrive and install activities. But whether you install the software before or after you put the machine on the user's desk is your option. When the software is installed is discretionary. You may have stretched out your timeline with discretionary dependencies because you have only a few workers. As a test, arrange your schedule with only mandatory dependencies to allow you to see how fast you could complete the project if you had unlimited resources. This technique will help you break costly patterns that seem "right" because they are the way you have always done things. If the time saved between the mandatory dependency schedule and your usual one is sizeable, try to rearrange resources to complete one or two projects rather than doing several at a time. Perhaps you can borrow specialists from other departments for short stints on your project. Show management the business value of the shorter project cycle available if you hired an additional person. The quicker a project is completed and released the more business value it adds to the organization. 130
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Even if you must lengthen the schedule again in discretionary ways to account for resource limitations, you may identify at least a few places where you can cut time by rearranging dependencies. Outside Input Delays. Track down the places on your schedule where you are typically held up while you wait for vital input from another department, supplier, customer or internal approval process. Knowing specifically where you project may be temporarily halted is the first step toward minimizing or eliminating potential delay risk on this and future projects. Remember, those delays you have learned to live with will cost your organization money, as team members may be underutilized while they wait for those necessary inputs. The project manager is the most influential person in controlling project cost. Don't let hidden costs lower the profit your projects could earn. Always consider the impact of schedule dependencies and unreliable input sources. Notes For My Projects:
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PM KNOWLEDGE Quick Quiz 31 To be a good project manager, how much do you have to know about the industry or business that you are serving? A. It is more important to have a good project management foundation than to know the business. B. Each business is so different, in-depth knowledge in the field is key to a successful project. C. Organizational politics drive project success, so focus on your ability to sway management. D. Project success is random, so all you can do is work with the skill sets you have. Answer: A. It is more important to have a good project management foundation than to know the business. Both project management abilities and business/industry knowledge are advantageous for the project manager. However, it is increasingly common for organizations to choose someone who can run the project adeptly over someone who has in-depth knowledge of the field. Consider these parameters when you weigh the best candidate to head a project. Large Project. Big Budget. High Visibility. For this project-which spans many departments, has multiple stakeholders, outside suppliers and substantial organizational impact-it is best to have a leader with both project management and business knowledge. However, if forced to choose between the two areas of expertise, project management skills should weigh more heavily. It may be impossible to find someone with expertise in all of the departments, supplier industries and stakeholder points of view. But a person with strong training and experience in project management will be able to rely on key experts in each area to manage this sizeable project to a successful conclusion. In giant projects, the project manager should not be doing any of the actual project tasks or activities to produce the project deliverables.
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Mid-size Project. Medium Budget. Average Visibility.
Here you may be able to find someone with both the industry knowledge and the project management training to handle the undertaking. This project needs fewer inputs from other departments and suppliers. However, the project manager may handle several projects at once within a specific area of the organization, so project management skills remain vital. For example, many information technology projects may be run simultaneously by the same individual. Ideally, this project manager should not be personally responsible to complete project activities. Small Project. No Formal Budget. Internal Goal.
With small projects, it may be typical for the project manager to also create all or most of the work of the project, in addition to managing a few additional resources. This type of internal work may be done using current employees without the cost of their time being calculated. In this situation, the industry and business knowledge of the project leader moves to the forefront. However, these types of projects can certainly be improved to add extra business value by using sound project management practices. Currently, many organizations reorganize to a projectized structure in which all work is arranged as projects that are led by trained project managers. These entities see the value of a skilled person to guide the work necessary to achieve their business goals. Holding a PMI credential further strengthens your qualifications in the eyes of many employers. Notes For My Projects:
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WORK BUFFER
Quick Quiz 32 I'd like to use work estimates rather than duration estimates for project activities. How do I calculate how much extra to add for a risk buffer so that I can finish my projects on schedule? A. Pad each task by 10-15 percent; more if it is a software development task. B. Use the statistical probabilities calculated by automated software to choose your buffer. C. Take the risk buffer from your last project and add your birthday. D. Multiply duration estimates by two to arrive at work estimates.
Answer: B. Use the statistical probabilities calculated by automated software to choose your buffer. Usually, you estimate the duration of a project activity in days. However, project managers who use work estimates (amount of effort) find it is easier to add people or equipment to divide up tasks and shorten the schedule. Calculations of Earned Value (EV)-if you do them-start with the capture of data showing the actual work performed on schedule activities, so recording progress in terms of work rather than duration can give you a head start. The formula for the relationship between work (W), duration (D), and units (U), is D W/U. Automated software packages will automatically convert duration estimates into work estimates. But it is up to the project manager to add time for risk factors such as unexpected delays before placing the estimate into the project schedule.
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One technique to create a buffer on each task is PERT, the Program Evaluation and Review Technique. It uses optimistic, expected and pessimistic activity estimates. PERT, based on the normal Bell Curve statistical distribution of events, shows 68.26% of the results will fall within ± 1 standard deviation of the mean, 95.44% within ± 2 standard deviations, and 99.73% within ± 3 standard deviations. However, PERT is based on typical statistical results and project activities may have atypical factors that skew their results from a normal, bell shaped curve. For example an activity, "sign contract," may have an unusually high pessimistic time if you don't know how long it will take the client to read, approve and return the contract. Each client will be different. 134
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When the calculation of risk buffers is crucial for your project, you can search the Internet for "Monte Carlo type software". You will see multiple suppliers to consider. Their risk and decision analysiS programs allow you to enter the optimistic, pessimistic and expected values for each activity and automatically calculate predictions of how likely you are to finish within your time frame. The predictions are based on thousands of simulated trials using your data and are more scientific than the estimates you obtain when you complete the PERT formula by hand. If the automated results show that you have a 90 percent chance of finishing your 10 day project on time, you can continue to recalculate your numbers until you have a 100 percent probability of finishing as planned. Keep in mind that not all activities warrant this kind of micromanagement, or require an exact finish date. When you use probability statistics to select the size of risk buffers, calculate the cumulative durations between project milestones and add buffers to be sure you hit mandatory dates. Just remember that individual events along the way may finish sooner or later than estimated. Pay special attention to those activities that merge into a single milestone, as the delay of anyone task will halt the progress of the project in general. When you prepare a project schedule, estimate in work rather than duration if you like. In either case, more scientific estimates result in more reliable project schedules.
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PROCUREMENT Quick Quiz 33 My third party supplier doesn't meet deadlines. This person is the friend of a senior manager and ignores me as the project manager. How should I deal with this?
A. Ask the senior manager to talk to the supplier about attitude. B. Construct a better procurement process for next time. C. Warn your project team that this supplier is hostile so they can each prepare to be confrontational. D. Ask to be included the next time the senior manager and the supplier play golf. Answer: B. Construct a better procurement process for next time. This scenario reveals a gap in your procurement (purchasing) management processes. You have two approaches to consider, depending on whether or not you would like to use this third party organization for future projects. Plan A. If this is an excellent supplier you would like to use in the future, your best approach is to develop a contract in which payments are made in installments based on prompt deliveries by the dates set out in the contract agreement. Experienced project managers often use a contract type that includes a penalty for late delivery of the deliverables. Fixed fee and cost plus contract types can both have a penalty fee inserted. If you do not have the responsibility for contracts, you can talk with those in your organization who do to get these contract terms added. However, they may not fully understand the importance of timely deliveries to your project. Be ready to show them. Construct a project schedule path of "sticky notes" to show how activities converge (come together) at a milestone and if the supplier delivery activity is late the project can't progress. Also display activities that diverge (divide after the milestone) and must have the delivery from the third party organization milestone achieved before two or three other activities can begin. Those in procurement need to understand that salaries are wasted and project finish dates are altered if expected documents or materials are delayed.
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Plan B. If your supplier was chosen based on favoritism and should not be used for future projects, the politics of the organization may mean you can't easily choose another vendor. Since you may not have procurement power as a project manager, you need to convince the appropriate department or individuals to upgrade the way suppliers or vendors are selected. Ask to have the selection pool of potential partners increased to at least three or more. Prepare a criteria scale, perhaps 1 to 10, to evaluate each supplier on qualities such as price, availability, transportation, contract type, quality and other criteria important to your industry. Be sure to include a category for percentage of deliveries completed on time for the last few months or years. Next, assign each of the criteria a percentage weight, the more important ones having a higher numeric weight. The total of all weights cannot be larger than 100 percent. Since timely delivery is crucial to your project success, weigh that factor heavily. Evaluate each potential supplier on each criteria and then multiply by the weight. When all the criteria score results are added, the top scoring supplier or two are harder to overlook as potential sources. The senior manager exposes his or her obvious bias if he or she tries to hire his or her friend instead. Theoretically, all company executives should help the project manager succeed. However, in practice we may come across people whose interests are at cross-purposes with our projects. Finding a non-confrontational way to choose the most appropriate supplier is a smart project management approach.
Note from Barbee Davis: After this topic was originally published in the PMI Community Post, some readers felt it was best to talk to the senior manager and have him or her persuade the supplier to perform as needed. Unfortunately, many project managers will feel that is a risky move or will not feel comfortable doing so. As the project manager, focus on mitigating the schedule and budget impact of the late delivery caused by the tardy supplier. You cannot change the delivery date after the fact, so do not waste time bemoaning it now. Moving forward, your best strategy is to work on procurement practices that protect future projects from this tardy supplier. QIick QIizzes for Project Managers -
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LARGE PROJECT POLITICS Quick Quiz 34 I have just been assigned an extremely large project. How do I handle the politics between all the stakeholders? A. Ask to be voted in as project manager rather than appointed by the project charter. B. Circulate each decision among all parties and get agreement before proceeding. C. Use only team members and third party suppliers you have worked with before. D. Change your approach to be a manager of managers rather than of individual workers. Answer: D. Change your approach to be a manager of managers rather than of individuals workers. Extremely large projects with numerous departments and many outside suppliers are a great challenge. Politics, conflicts and attempts to sway the project for personal gain or recognition may abound. Project managers who ordinarily manage individual team members will need to rethink their usual role into order to sidestep political conflicts around goals, resources and deadlines. You are now managing managers who will get the work of the project completed. Think Strong! Strong Visibility. Start with a kickoff meeting led by the CEO. Include highlevel managers from all departments and suppliers. Set the tone of this project as one that will be highly supported by upper management and it may help you avoid political issues. Strong Reporting. Circulate clear and frequent reports sorted by department that show project variances and performance indexes. Indicate whether the variations are typical and will continue throughout the remainder of the project or are atypical-a single unusual event. This keeps all managers knowledgeable and thus accountable for their department's performance. Strong Communication. With a large project, communication needs multiply exponentially. The communications channel formula n (n-1 )/2 shows that a small, four-member project team has 4 (4-1 )/2 or 4 (3)/2 =6 lines of
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communication within the team. A team of 50 people has 50 (50-1)/2 or 50 (49)2 1,225 individual lines of communications you must manage.
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A detailed communication plan that identifies who you will contact, how frequently, and in what format is essential. Circulating accurate information will help you avoid inter-departmental conflicts. Find administrative help, if possible. Strong Accountability Matrixes. Create an organizational RACI matrix for the project at the work package level. •
Responsible for doing the work,
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Accountable and ultimately answerable for the task completion,
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Consulted for needed input, and
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Informed or kept up-to-date.
Make the vice president of the department Accountable and the department manager Responsible. Forward these RACI matrix charts to the CEO as well as all listed parties. Strong Sponsorship. Most project managers lack the formal authority to deal with department managers and outside suppliers as their equal. A committed project sponsor at an organizational level equal to or above the department managers can be invaluable to you in navigating the political waters of a large project. Alert your sponsor early on that you may ask for help as the project progresses. Strong Milestone Celebrations. Short projects have a better chance of success than long ones. Divide your project into progress milestones and joyfully celebrate meeting them. Praise those managers who met deadlines and have contributed to the project success thus far. Strong Planning. Project complexity lessens your chance of meeting your project goals. With a large project that contains hundreds to thousands of tasks, clear planning is mandatory. Tell each group in the project the expectations you have for resource commitments and delivery dates, and do so well in advance. As project manager of a big project, you need to rethink your traditional project management role. Become a manager of managers and you'll be able to minimize the impact that organizational politics has on the success of your project. Notes For My Projects:
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STATUS REPORTS Quick Quiz 35 It has become my responsibility to prepare and present status reports to a senior executive. How should I do this?
A. Schedule a monthly luncheon with the executive and your team, and present the project status in person. B. Copy ("cc:") this executive on all project correspondence to keep him or her up to date. C. Periodically send a customized report including only the information this executive needs to know. D. Purchase smartphones for all stakeholders and text them twice a day with updates. Answer: C. Periodically send a customized report including only the information this executive needs to know. It is easy to overlook the importance of the project status reports sent to senior executives. As a project manager, you are concerned with coordinating the work of the project. You may lose sight of the project's position within the larger organizational goals that are upper management's primary focus. Your status reports are a bridge between the organization's strategy and action plan. Construct status reports not progress reports. Many project managers incorrectly believe that status reports and progress reports are the same thing. Technically, a status report shows what is true at a certain point in time and stresses achievement. It is short and custom-made for an executive audience. Progress reports are targeted to the project team. They track historical and current progress on the work of the project and compare this progress to the schedule, budget, quality and scope baselines. Progress reports can also list the risks that are being tracked and managed, and bring urgent issues to the attention of the team. Collect the right information. When gathering data, be sure to consider what feedback you need to control the project. In addition, ask the senior executive what data he or she would find valuable. Senior managers often compile the information from several projects into their own reports to the CEO or chief financial officer.
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Check format preferences. Some people are comfortable drawing conclusions from tables of numbers, some are more visually oriented, and still others respond best to a short written summary for their updates. Allow your executive to choose a style from samples you prepare. Can your summary reports be sent in a technical format that allows them to be easily rolled into the presentations prepared by the senior executive to send on up the organizational chain? Compose snapshots. Your summary report should be a quick update of the health of the project. Use techniques like placing the message of the report in the subject line of your e-mail. "Green Light for Project Lollipop" will mean that the executive can delay opening it, focusing instead on subject lines such as "3 Month Delay on Project Satellite". Connect frequency to size. A small project may need weekly status reports, otherwise the project could be completed before any communication is sent to the senior executive. A larger project can have monthly or quarterly reports. Ask the person who needs the information how often you should send it. Correlate data and interpretation. While you are familiar with the meaning of variances and indexes that you have calculated on your project, you should interpret them for management. For example, "The .80 Cost Performance Index shows this project will cost $125,000 rather than the $100,000 budgeted due to increased rent for product warehousing." That explanation is a more useful statement than "our CPI was off by 20 percent." Customize your status reports to aid the senior executive who receives them. It can payoff for you in increased understanding and support for your project:. Notes For My Projects:
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CONTROL CHARTS
Quick Quiz 36 I've recently moved to an employer who uses control charts. Do I need them in my project management work?
A. Control charts are helpful to assess results for both your product and your project. B. These charts are only for managers that work in manufacturing; unless that's your field, they do not concern you. C. Creating control charts means that you decrease your control as project manager. D. Money spent for control charts is better spent on donuts for the kickoff meeting. Answer: A. Control charts are helpful to assess results for both your product and your project. You may think control charts are for use only with manufacturing products. However, they can also be used to help you judge if a project process is giving you predictable results. Processes are a series of actions that bring about a result. Use control charts to help you evaluate your project management processes. Create a chart. A control chart has three main horizontal lines. The middle one is the average, or the expected result. The upper line is labeled the upper control limit. This line shows how far the results can vary over the average and still be acceptable. The bottom line is the lower control limit and shows how far under the average your results can vary and still be okay. Label your ranges. The distance between the upper, middle and lower lines on the control chart will be based on the allowable variances set by your organization or by you as the project manager. For example, say at the end of the planning phase you have a definitive estimate of $1,000,000 for project cost, divided into $100,000 a week for 10 weeks. You estimate it should cost -10 % to +10 % of that amount at completion, or $90,000 to $110,000 per week. Label the average or expected middle line $100,000. Your upper limit per week will be roughly $110,000 and your lower limit will be marked at about $90,000. Figure internal levels. Since you'll have results that fall within the upper and 142
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lower limits, you'll need some additional levels in your control chart to see exactly how far you are off target. Based on the normal bell curve statistical distribution of events, 99.73% of all the results you will get will fall within three standard deviations above or below your mean, or average, amount. That means most everything will be within a range of six standard deviations. Here is the formula to calculate the size of a standard deviation: the difference between best and worst, divided by six. The difference between $110,000 and $90,000 is $20,000. Divide that by six, and each standard deviation equals $3,333.33. Your additional internal lines will be labeled: +3 Standard Deviations: $109,999 (Figured as 100,000 +(3 x 3,333) Upper Control Limit +2 Standard Deviations: $106,666 (Figured as 100,000 +(2 x 3,333) +1 Standard Deviation: $103,333 (Figured as 100,000 +(1 x 3,333) Median or Expected: $100,000 -1 Standard Deviation: $96,667 (Figured as 100,000 - (1 x 3,333) -2 Standard Deviations: $93,334 (Figured as 100,000 - (2 x 3,333) -3 Standard Deviations: $90,001 (Figured as 100,000 - (3 x 3,333) Lower Control Limit
TMsWeek
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• ----------• -:-----------
- - - +3 SO - - - +150 - - - +1 SO Median or Average
• • -----.:=:...---+---
- - - -'50 - - -·250
Each week as you plot the actual project costs on this control chart you can see if your project processes are within acceptable budget limits. If so, move on. If not, adjust only the process or processes that cause you to be close to or outside your control limits. If you find a problem, be sure to ascertain if it is a random one, meaning you just had an unusual week. If the reason you are exceeding your control limits has a special, assignable cause, work to remove the cause. Control charts can be used for project processes as well as evaluating product results. They are a valuable tool for every project manager. Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
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GRASSROOTS
EVA
Quick Quiz 37 I would like to use Earned Value Analysis to track progress on internal projects, but we work in a weak matrix environment where salaries are confidential. What should I do? A. Figure salary costs only for workers who are willing to disclose their salary to you. B. Get confidential organizational salary data after a promise to do your reports only at home. C. Estimate salaries for workers on your projects and use the estimates in your earned value analysis. D. Salary amounts that are not 100 percent accurate are worthless, so do not bother. Answer: C. Estimate salaries for workers on your projects and use the estimates in your earned value analysis. Earned value analysis measures project performance and progress through a comparison of the budgeted cost of work performed-earned value-and the budgeted cost of work scheduled-planned value. Project cost is tracked by a comparison of the budgeted cost of work performed to the actual costs. With this information you can also forecast future performance and determine the budget. However, unless you know the amount workers are paid you can't calculate any of these helpful formulas. While purists would prefer that you use exact salary amounts to determine where both schedule and costs vary from their baselines during earned value analysis, estimates will work too. Many organizations have privacy policies that prevent a project managers' access to actual salary information. If you are a project manager in a weak matrix organization, you probably have low position power. You may never be able to obtain the salary data you need. However, here are some options you can use to get payroll numbers that will enable you to track the project cost and progress. Involve Human Resources. If your contacts in HR are unwilling to give you the salary cost numbers for individuals, they may be willing to give you average amounts or ranges by job title. Increase the likelihood that HR will provide information you can use by presenting a list of roles for which you need costs.
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Prepare a sample. It is easier to get what you need if you explain the reason for your request and how you will use the information. Show an example of how you would use salary numbers in mathematical formulas to interpret the weekly reports from your project team, and how this will help you forecast the project health in the upcoming weeks. Involve your sponsor. One of the joys of having a project sponsor is that he or she can be helpful to you when you request the cross-departmental sharing of information. Think about your organization and your relationship with the staff members in HR. Do you think you would be more successful if you approached them on your own, or should your sponsor make the first contact armed with your sample? Start a cross-departmental exchange. Consider contacting a few project managers from the departments that participate in your projects. Among yourselves, develop a list of project roles and estimate an average salary for each role. Your earned value calculations will not be 100 percent accurate, but an average salary amount-used by project managers across many departments-will be more valuable to your organization than if the earned value analysis technique is not used at all. If you prepare your task estimates using these salary figures, and use the same figures when you calculate the value of your weekly progress, you will get helpful information. And it becomes easier to compare your projects to others in the organization. Be a one-person innovator. In organizations that are new to project management, or in early developmental phases, you may have to start out on your own. Gather the best information you can from informal chats, Internet research on job titles and salaries, and any other sleuthing you can do. Pick an estimated salary for each project role. You can calculate the value your projects are earning, spot problems, and do some general projections by consistently using the wage numbers you have determined on your own. Once you can show how this technique helps you manage your projects to a more successful outcome, you may be able to get more accurate information from your organization. Notes For My Projects:
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END
OF YEAR
Quick Quiz 38 I know the protocols to end a project. Are there also things I should do as a project manager to wrap up the year?
A. Use the end of the year to review the past year's projects and plan for continued improvement. B. Ask your team members to write a glowing note about you and send it to your boss. C. Warn your project team that next year they will be expected to perform faster and better. D. Consider whether or not your organization should switch all teams to matrix teams. Answer: A. Use the end of the year to review the past year's projects and plan for continued improvement. Many people see the end of the year as a time to reflect on the past and create resolutions for the future. Here are some suggestions to wrap-up one year and look forward to the next one in terms of your projects. Review lessons learned. What. .. ? You didn't actually write down your lessons learned this year? There is still time to gather the team and capture what you can remember. Keep the session positive and come away with a written list of things you can improve in upcoming projects. It is better to approach a few ideas with resolve than to create a long list of bullet points that will never be translated into practice. Update documents. Since the management of projects fills your working hours during the year, take this time to do some document housekeeping. Update, change or eliminate documents that you have found to be less than ideal. Approach a decision maker to support your changes or new creations, if necessary. The time saved by using streamlined, useful documents will be a cost benefit to your employer. Archive past projects and update risk lists. Acquire, upgrade or renew software. Is this the time to implement new, automated software or upgrade versions to increase your team's productivity? Are there companion applications that would further aid your project team? There may be some funds left in the budget that must be used or lost. Ask. Renew any licenses that run on a year-to-year basis. Thank your team. Take the opportunity to write a short note to team members, sponsors, department managers and third-party suppliers who helped you to 146
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be successful this year. If appropriate, bring in lunch or other simple treats to show your appreciation. Complete performance reports. This is a good season to write performance reports for your team, whether they work directly for you or for functional department managers. Write organized notes about the skill sets of team members who have worked for you this year. Update the information about certifications they hold, prowess with applications or other abilities they have gained. You can use this knowledge when you select future teams. Give to the profession. Think about what you could do to help other project managers and the profession in general. Could you form a lunch and learn group, mentor a new project manager, be a speaker for your PMI chapter, write an article for a newsletter, or speak to students at a local high school or college class? Go to pmLorg/Get Involved, then click on Volunteer Opportunities along the left. You'll see many other ways you could share your knowledge with your fellow project managers. It's a joyful feeling to complete a single project. However, don't miss the satisfaction that comes from taking a moment to savor the entire body of work you have accomplished this past year. You can also sweeten your anticipation of the New Year by engaging in simple year-end planning for the future.
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TEMPLATES Quick Quiz 39 The project management office (PMO) at my organization wants us as project mangers to use templates. I'm concerned that this additional paperwork will waste valuable project time. What should I do? A. The more templates, the better. Use them on all projects. B. Go through the motions to be compliant, but in addition use your own documents behind the scenes. C. Form a group of project managers to work with the PMO staff to develop useful templates and agree on how and when they will be used. D. Having templates will stall your projects. Fight them now while you can. Answer: C. Form a group of project managers to work with the PMO staff to develop useful templates and agree on how and when they will be used. There are pros and cons to the use of templates-pre-prepared word, spreadsheet or presentation documents with blanks for your information. Here are some ways for you and your fellow project managers to work with your PMO staff to help them create templates that can benefit your projects and your organization. PRO: Templates can save time. You eliminate the need to remember what information is needed and you capture it in a standard format. Standardized archives are a valuable tool to plan your own future projects and to share data across the organization. CON: Templates that ask for extraneous information but have no blanks for the data you really want to capture are a frustration and a time waster. Work with fellow project managers to decide the input blanks you do and do not need, then present the results to the PMO staff. PRO: Templates can give you a fast start-up, but they need to be kept in a quickly accessible location. Keep paper forms in a central location with a small supply at each project manager's or team member's desk. If possible, keep electronic templates on a shared server. CON: The physical or electronic paper trail for a project with many templates can be a burden to store and access. Work with your PMO to set up a central file system or an electronic archive location at the outset. PRO: Third-party suppliers will sell you industry specific packets of 148
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documents. This enables you access a tested methodology to record project information. CON: Purchased templates can be expensive. Although they are already customized for your industry, they may not be totally right for your organization. If your organization purchases templates, be sure to have the PMO request them in an electronic file format so that you can alter them to your specifications. PRO: Standardized documents can provide consistency in information available for enterprise-wide reports. While you are focused on the success on your individual projects, your organization needs to calculate progress and cost return on investment for its entire portfolio. CON: It's easy for a support tool like templates to become a fiercely enforced methodology that hampers project flexibility. Educate the PMO staff that you need to pick and choose only the appropriate templates for a given project. Project managers need to be focused on projects-not on the timely completion of every template in the drawer. PRO: Templates are a great communication tool for stakeholders. In an electronic format, they are especially valuable if you work on virtual teams or have clients around the world. CON: To be useful, all recipients need to have the same software to open and read your files. Check with each intended recipient to see if their software is compatible. If not, recommend free, downloadable, read-only software that is ordinarily available to allow them to open your files. Or, perhaps you can convert your file types to a compatible or generic format before transmission.
If you work with the PMO from the beginning, you and your fellow project managers may be able to develop or edit a set of templates that become a welcome, helpful tool. Use them to bring business value to your organization through projects. Notes For My Projects:
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COMMUNICATION SKILLS Quick Quiz 40 I know that people skills are essential for a project manager to communicate and execute a project successfully. How can I manage all types of team members when we are so different in the ways we communicate? A. You can't please everyone, so just communicate in any way you find comfortable.
B. Ask your family to note what you do wrong so that you can change it. C. Focus on executive stakeholders and gear your communications only to them. D. Notice how others choose to communicate and adapt your style to consider theirs. Answer: D. Notice how others choose to communicate and adapt your style to consider theirs. People around the world solidify their preferred communication techniques by the age of three. Successful project managers learn to notice the ways other stakeholders choose to communicate and adapt their own one-on-one and meeting behaviors to appeal to them. People have a preference to address either business issues or personal issues first. In addition, people inherently have learned to speak in either statement form or question form. These four characteristics form a quadrant that looks like this: Business
Businessl Question
Businessl Statement
Question
Statement
Personal! Question
Personal! Statement
Personal
When tested, people in all parts of the world were found to be divided fairly equally between the four quadrants, which indicates that inherent communications preferences transcend cultural and geographical differences. However, cultural and regional differences must also be recognized when planning team interactions. If you are to manage virtual teams, is especially important to expand your cultural knowledge.
Here are some ways to adapt your communications to be more welcome and accepted by others. Business/Statement people. When meeting with this type of individual get right to the pOint. Save the personal conversations until the business reason for the encounter is over. 150
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In addition, phrase your comments in declarative sentences. "This project!s behind target." is a better opener than, "Have you seen the numbers on this project yet?" Business/Question people. With this group, also get right to the point. Include statistics or proof of your comments. Format your sentences into an ask-oriented approach. For example, hand them a spreadsheet showing project numbers and say, "Do you think we can end on budget after this setback?" That's better than saying, "I don't think we're going to make our budget." Personal/Statement people. Here you have people who need to see the big picture and how it relates to them. You approach them with comments like, "You know our entire new product launch rests on your advertising campaign." Your interest in how they think and feel is welcome, such as, "Tell me how you feel about your progress so far." Personal/Question people. With these individuals make a friendly, personalized gesture before moving on to the work questions you need to ask. Open with a personal question rather than a statement. "How is your week going?" is a simple, effective opener. Recommendations for Meetings. It's important to have all communications types on a team as they each will have unique perspectives and input to the project. Arrive early to chat with the Personal types, but start the meetings on time and get directly to the point for the Business types. You might use presentation software to paint the overall purpose for the Person/Statementers, then move quickly and succinctly to the written meeting agenda for the Business/Statementers. Provide statistics and charts for the Business/Questioners, perhaps in takeaway format. Be sure to mention how this will benefit the people internal or external to the organization for the Personal/Question people. You can search the Internet for behavioral or communications style research to get more information about how to identify and relate to those who have a communication preference different than your own. Talking to a person in the way he or she unconsciously prefers will improve your ability to be accepted, heard and understood. With a little thought, you can give the stakeholders on your team the information they need in a way that makes it easier for them to hear and process. The improved communication should have a positive effect on your projects.
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PRIORITIZE PROJECTS Quick Quiz 41 I've been promoted and I am now responsible for prioritizing projects, which I have never done before. How do I start? A. Look at your resources and choose projects by a systematic, planned process.
B. Do the projects that are pet projects for your boss. After all, this person promoted you. C. Have your project team vote on the work they think would be fun and challenging. D. Accept only projects that will give you and your team outstanding visibility. Answer: A. Look at your resources and choose projects by a systematic, planned process. Projects should solve issues, meet new requirements and capture opportunity. First, gauge how much you have to spend on all projects. What people and non-human resources do you have at your disposal? Remember, even though projects may be sequential on your list, they will overlap as they are implemented. As you prioritize, here are project types in order of importance: Infrastructure. Top spots go to internal projects that keep the organization open and able to make money. Examples include retooling production equipment on a manufacturing line to fulfill a lucrative customer order, or upgrading servers or applications to enable your website to take orders and process payments. Regulatory. If there are new legal requirements in your industry, compliance projects need to be near the top of your list. Look at the length of time you have to meet the new standards. Are there marketing advantages to adopting them earlier? Removing lead additives from products immediately could be a definite marketplace advantage. Revenue. Choose revenue-generating projects for new products or services that best fit the company's strategic goals. Place the projects that can be done for the least money and effort and/or have the shortest payback-but the most gain-on the list next. Ignore sunk costs.
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Consider the market demand. Is the market almost saturated, or are you the first to offer this product or service? If you need to train people on new skills to do this project, factor the additional time and cost into your decision. You may think revenue projects should be first on the list. However, if the internal processes used to produce your current products and services break down, or if you have to pay large fines for failure to comply with legal requirements, the profit from new ventures may be jeopardized.
Routine. A project manager's dream is to mastermind a creative, innovative project and turn its revolutionary output over to operations for day-to-day use. But routine machinery, hardware, software, training and service upgrade projects are important, too. Your goal is to tend to these on a regular, planned schedule to lower risk. Infrastructure projects should be done as planned, rather than only as a reactionary measure when something breaks down. After choosing projects from each of these four groups, start the cycle again. If there are no important projects in a category, skip it and move on to the next one.
Stakeholders. Important stakeholders will have favorite projects they try to push higher up the list. If they possess substantial organizational position and power, they may be hard to refuse. Be prepared to defend your prioritizations. Plan and map your choices on a calendar. Have a synopsis of each upcoming project and its justification and pay-off with regards to infrastructure, regulatory requirements, revenue and routine considerations. Prepare resource charts to show how much of your available personnel, materials and equipment have been committed to your plan. Armed with these documents of logic, you are in good shape to make wise decisions and convey to others the process you used to arrive at your prioritized list of projects. Notes For My Projects:
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FAILURE SYMPTOMS Quick Quiz 42 I capture the typical project progress metrics. What other things should I monitor to get an early warning about potential project problems?
A. Investigate the company statistics of past project success for the last five years. B. Use Earned Value automated software. Without it all projects tend to fail. C. Look to soft, non-statistical indicators of potential project failure. D. Study the horoscopes of team members to see if they have compatible signs. Answer: C. Look to soft, non-statistical indicators of potential project failure.
To create and track the pertinent statistics of project progress is an excellent contribution to project success. However, the savvy project manager will also be alert to less definitive, unmeasureable signs that signal possible problems ahead. 1. Unrealistic management expectations. Look at the charter that authorizes this project. You may perceive that the executives do not understand the magnitude of the endeavor. Meet with them immediately and seek to align their expectations with reality. Time and cost figures from past projects, outside industry benchmarks and early risk lists are effective documents to help others acknowledge and agree to provide your needs to complete the project scope. Get all stakeholders aligned before beginning any further work to plan the project.
2. Inadequate resources. When you begin your planning process, you might see that the internal resources of your organization are not adequate to successfully complete the project. Team members may already be overstretched with routine assignments or other projects, or may lack the unique skill sets required to complete the activities you have outlined. Equipment, facilities and materials may be inadequate, unavailable when you need them, or too expensive to acquire within the project budget. Approach your project sponsor with an option plan. Can you delay the project until the key internal resources become available? Research sources 154
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and costs to obtain the sources externally. For example, create an option to complete a truncated scope within the original time and budget, with a "phase 2" plan for when your team can achieve the scope objectives that you trimmed. 3. Uncontrolled scope changes. Once the work of the project begins, frequent and major scope changes signal that you will not be able to complete this project as originally designed. Furthermore, you may sense that this trend of shifting priorities and goals will continue. To solve this issue, solidify the new scope with your internal or external customer. Get help from the sales team, your department manager or your project sponsor to negotiate a set, shared vision for this project. If a documented scope change process is not in place, then create one and get buy-in from all the stakeholders. You will never achieve project success with goals that constantly move. 4. Discouraged, exhausted project team. As you execute the project, notice if your team is no longer motivated and fresh. No matter how beautifully you have planned this project, or how systematically you have prepared all of the documentation, worker fatigue can and does happen. When it does, it is a red flag. Move immediately to shift work, add resources, cut scope, or otherwise move to relieve some pressure from the team. Tired, defeated team members only mean your project will get further and further behind the longer you allow this situation to continue. Project management is more than following the statistics of the project. Learn to notice less obvious warning signs that show the project is in jeopardy. Your alertness will allow you to take positive measures to turn the project around before it is too late.
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GET EXPERIENCE Quick Quiz 43 I've completed some formal training in project management, but when I apply for project manager positions, the employer says I also need project management experience. How can I gain experience if I can't get hired? A. Be creative. Find places to volunteer for projects and keep excellent documentation of your project work.
B. Look for additional classes that will give you more academic knowledge. C. Start your own business and hire yourself as head of a project management office. D. If you are currently employed, insist to your boss that you be promoted immediately due to your recent training. Answer: A. Be creative. Find places to volunteer for projects and keep excellent documentation of your project work. Getting the opportunity to manage projects can be a challenge. It's especially difficult when you are a new graduate, someone who wants to enter the field, a person who wants to shift into project management internally, or someone who desires to change industries. You must be able to show a potential employer that you have the right background to lead his or her projects. Consider volunteer opportunities to gain your missing experience. Use your full set of tools, from the project charter through the project closeout. Track your progress as you would in a traditional project. Then, show these documents in an interview to persuade a potential employer that you have transferable experience. PMI offers volunteer opportunities, as do many other organizations. Chances are excellent that you can find one with a mission that interests you and that needs your project skills. Professional organizations. PMI communities and other groups in your profession or industry, welcome volunteers. Not only can you network this way, but service on a committee can present important opportunities to use your project management skills, including your leadership skills. For example, if you serve on a programs committee, you might plan the year's meetings, locations, speakers, and all details to ensure the success of each event.
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Social, civic and business organizations. Many domestic and international organizations need local volunteers to support a wide variety of important projects and functions. Consider your interests and where you might like to help out, while you build your project management credentials. School organizations. Check with your alma mater, your childhood schools, your child's school or a local college. Could you create a database for them as a project? Or manage fund-raising campaigns, class reunions, or regional academic, arts or sports competitions? Religious and political organizations. These groups tend to be heavily volunteer-based, and you may be able to occupy a responsible position that helps them meet their goals. If you handle your work as a project, you can show a future employer that you are able to move through the steps efficient~y. There are also other ways to enhance your allure as a potential employee. Internships. Although often unpaid, internships can be an excellent way to gain experience. Contact your university's career services department, check with large employers in your city or search the Internet for "find project management internships." You will locate lists of opportunities. Scan these for matches with your interests and availability. Temporary help or consulting agencies. Register with these services. Your education in project management may be enough to get you to work on a series of short projects. You are building your resume and may even find an employer who will hire you full time. Smaller organizations. A newly formed company or a smaller employer may not be able to attract a project manager with both education and experience. They may be your chance to get hired and prove your merit. Earn the CAPM® credential. With a high school diploma or global equivalent, and 1,500 hours of professional experience on a project management team or 23 hours of project management education, you are eligible to sit for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® exam. Earning the CAPM® certification will demonstrate your knowledge and commitment to project management and will help to impress an employer.
While there is no magic formula for moving into the project management field, a combination of documented volunteer project activity experience in a small organization or on a series of small projects, and a PMI credential can give you a resume that stands out. Notes For My Projects:
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FIXED TIME AND MATERIALS Quick Quiz 44 I work as a third-party programmer for AnyNameSI Systems Integrators on a time and materials basis. However, I know that the software I develop is being sold to their customer, BigTime Customer, on a fixed price basis. What should I do in this situation to lower my risk that this three-way contract will not go smoothly?
A. Convince BigTime you should to do their work directly, bypassing AnyNameSI altogether. B. Run your costs as high as you can to teach AnyNameSI not to try to profit from your work. C. Refuse this contract, as the risks are too high for you to incur. D. Tell AnyNameSI you need to have firm requirements documents, a clear acceptance policy and a written change policy. Answer: D. Tell AnyNameSI you need to have firm requirements documents, a clear acceptance policy and a written change policy. This is a common scenario, filled with risk. Initially, it seems that the end customer, BigTime, is getting their hardware and software for a fixed price. No risk. It also appears that systems integrator, AnyNameSI, has their profit guaranteed. AnyNameSI plans that the amount of their fixed price contract is high enough for them to pay your fees and still make a profit. At a glance, you appear to be in a good place, too. With a time and materials (T & M) contract, for each hour you work you will be paid at your hourly rate, plus all costs that you incur will be reimbursed. However, there is an endless list of possible risks. If you don't have direct contact with the customer, you could misunderstand the functional and non-functional requirements, or begin to code without acceptance criteria. You could over-estimate the amount of materials you can charge back to AnyNameSI. Your contract may have a hidden upper dollar limit. Perhaps there are penalty bonuses or early delivery bonuses you might inadvertently overlook. The change management plan could be non-existent, or understood differently in all three organizations. To keep this three-way arrangement advantageous for all parties, you need to make sure your immediate client, AnyNameSI, captures and conveys clear requirements for the software you are to create. If not, will they allow your project team to talk directly to the end-user team? Otherwise, important functionality may be missing from the end product. If you have to add it later, your price will increase and this will reduce AnyNameSl's profit margin. 158
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Remind AnyNameSI to ask about non-functional requirements. Performance? Scalability? Maintainability? Integration with existing hardware and software? Is BigTime expecting documentation? How much test code coverage do they assume they will get? Who will support this software if there are questions? What are the acceptance criteria attached to the quality of your software? What materials will you be able to charge to AnyNameSI? Paper? Disks? Heat, light and electricity? Travel and meal expenses? Training? Time spent in communication, preparing reports, tracking your time, meetings and project management? While AnyNameSI probably won't share their potential profit amount, they might let you know up front the highest amount you can bill them. That way you don't run the risk of spending many hours and incurring expenses they don't want to pay at the end of the project. Even though you are working for T & M, submit an estimate to AnyNameSI based on the requirements included with your contract. If your fee is unrealistic from the beginning, allow AnyNameSI to go to BigTime right away. Ask AnyNameSI if there are penalties for late delivery. Are there bonuses for early delivery? Will they be willing to allow you to share in the bonuses if you incur extra expenses in completing your portion of the project early? Be sure you, AnyNameSI and BigTime have a common change management agreement. As the end-user, BigTime may feel additions to the software functionality are "free" within their fixed price contract. Protect the company that hired you, AnyTimeSI, by letting Big Time realize that changes from the original requirements will cost extra. This may allow you the expanded budget to please both clients. Even if you feel the least powerful of the three organizations, use foresight and good communication skills to help the entire group have a successful outcome. The more parties in a business undertaking, the higher the risk. But if you are proactive to make sure all entities are protected, you can look forward to more business that is profitable and worry-free. Notes For My Projects:
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REDUCING COSTS Quick Quiz 45 Once again, I need to reduce the budget. Is there a systematic way to begin?
A. Cut any travel, transportation, training and recognition expenses by 50 percent. B. Immediately ask for more money, otherwise the project can't be done. C. Look at your budget systematically to locate errors and pinpoint places to cut. D. Put the extra amount needed on your personal debit card.
Answer: C. Look at your budget systematically to locate errors and pinpoint places to cut. Often a project manager begins to cut deliverables to save money without checking for errors in the paperwork. Double check this list before you pronounce your budget unworkable.
Calculation errors. Even with spreadsheets or automated software, one small data entry error, such as an extra zero or misplaced decimal point, can make a project appear thousands of dollars over budget. Check the math on your cost per use items. If you've inadvertently typed or written $50 per item instead of $5 for 1,000 items, you will show a $45,000 overage that it isn't real. ($5 x 1,000 =$5,000) ($50 x 1,000 =$50,000) ($50,000 - $5,000 =$45,000 error).
Check your resource rates. If you intended to use Joe on the team but only Mary was available, did you change the resource name on your records but neglect to change the rate? Mary at $10 per hour won't cost nearly as much as Joe at $40 per hour. However, remember it may take Mary a few hours more, since her lower rate may reflect newer skills and less experience. Look at fixed costs. Make sure you haven't added fixed costs both as a firm expense to the project and then also added it to calculate as a per use item. Sort costs from highest to lowest. Is there a way to find a more economical vendor, negotiate a volume discount or substitute internally-developed items for those with the highest costs? Adjust schedule. Check with team members to see if their initial estimates might be high, now that they know more about the project. Look skeptically at the activities with the longest duration times. They may indicate a very general "guess" at how long the task will take. 160
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Shorten activities. See if activities can be broken into smaller pieces. This could allow you to change task relationships and shorten the schedule. Check constraints. Do software or paper project plans have an excessive number of Must Finish On or Start No Earlier Than designations? Rethink whether those limitations are really mandatory. Remove them to allow yourself to use resources more economically and move the project along quicker. Make a RAM. What! You learned about Resource Assignment Matrixes, but don't really prepare them! Create a chart showing the time span of the project and the team roles needed day by day. You may find you are short a programmer for the first three weeks and add extra help at that point. Then you see that teammate can move on to other projects, saving you precious payroll hours. Have a standardized process for checking each project budget, even if it isn't excessively high. If after you check, it remains too large, you can ask for a larger budget or cut back on project scope or quality. The project manager who routinely scrutinizes the paperwork to make sure the cost of the project does not contain errors or unnecessary budget expenses is one who can feel proud. Notes For My Projects:
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SCHEDULE SAVVY
Quick Quiz 46 No matter how careful I am, the estimated time frames for my projects are always too long. What am I doing wrong? A. Cut each team member's estimate by 10 percent, as they have probably padded the time.
B. Never give an estimate as to how long it will take to complete a project. C. Always plan at least one hour of overtime per employee per day. D. Follow a checklist of suggestions to quickly see ways to reduce the schedule time. Answer: D. Follow a checklist of suggestions to quickly see ways to reduce the schedule time. Create your schedule. Take organizational holidays and team member vacations into account. Plan project tasks for 60 percent of the standard working hours in your organization. An eight-hour day equates to roughly five hours of project assignments; the other three hours are typically tied up in breaks, phone calls, meetings, e-mail and other non-project work. Once you have prepared your best schedule, look at the following list of suggestions to see if you can shorten the timeframe. There are six ways you can shorten a project schedule without changing the project scope. 1. Assign additional resources. Extra resources will usually enable you to finish some tasks faster. These resources can be internal workers who are available, or temporary help that you bring in on a short-term basis. The addition of resources will have repercussions on your project budget, but it can be worth it if schedule length is your primary concern. 2. Assign critical task overtime. The critical path is the longest path through the project. It shows the shortest time in which the project can be completed without slack or float (which is time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date). Only by shortening tasks on the critical path can you be sure that overtime expense will shorten the length of the project path. Be aware of any local or cultural work habits or expectations before you choose this option. If labor unions are involved, check their rules to see if overtime is allowed or is cost prohibitive.
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3. Change task relationships. To shorten the schedule time, you can change Finish to Start, Start to Start, Finish to Finish, and Start to Finish relationships. Fast track or overlap the activities that you would prefer to finish in sequence. Lead time (starting a little early) or lag time (starting a little late) may allow you to move tasks into a shorter time frame after you change the task relationships. 4. Change working times. Perhaps all resources will need to increase their work time on a regular basis to come in early, shorten lunch hours, stay late or work on weekends. Consider implementing these options for the duration of the project if a shorter schedule is mandatory. 5. Change the duration of a critical task. A more experienced person may be able to finish a critical task sooner than the original resource assigned. Be aware that the more experienced person will probably come at a higher price and affect the project cost. After the project starts, you can ask workers to re-estimate the time needed to complete activities. They may have a better sense of how difficult or time consuming the tasks will be once a portion of the work is completed. 6. Break up tasks. Look at critical tasks first. If you broke them into smaller pieces, could you do the pieces out of order? Could you assign the pieces to multiple people instead of just one person? For example, the task "Create a training manual" could be broken into the tasks: order paper, create content, print covers, and assemble pages. In this manner, the tasks could be done out of sequence and assigned to several resources. Portions of the task can often overlap when the task is divided, and thus shorten the schedule. Typically, task durations should be a week, maximum" or no longer than a typical reporting period. To shorten the schedule, you may need to make some tough decisions and compromises. Having a checklist of suggestions will quickly help you find ways to compress the time line when doing so is crucial. Notes For My Projects:
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QyALITY PLANNING
Quick Quiz 47 I'm confused. There are controls I should develop based on the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ(® Guide) Quality Control processes, but other project controls are needed in other Knowledge Areas. How do I write a quality plan that covers them a"?
A. Write your quality plan first, then plan the project activities to fit into this roadmap. B. Only the controls shown in the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area must be developed. C. You don't need to cover a" quality control processes in your quality plan, so create your own quality project document checklist. D. Every action on a project is considered a quality control process, so you are covered. Answer: C. You don't need to cover all quality control processes in your quality plan, so create your own quality project document checklist. Producing a quality product or service is a worthy goal. But uncertainty can arise in deciding how and where to document the myriad of quality control processes to be sure they are both planned and performed. We know that the Knowledge Areas are not intended to be used in a linear fashion. However, some of the processes of a project do occur in a sequence: project charter precedes work breakdown structure (WBS), estimates come before schedule and budget baselines, and risk analysis occurs before implementation. When it comes to quality processes, should you perform them in the order they are introduced in the PMBOJ(® Guide, divided by Knowledge Area? Or should you extract from the Knowledge Areas a" of the processes related to quality and group them into the Quality plan? Or what? You further need to consider how you wi" act to increase the effectiveness or efficiency of the policies, processes and procedures your organization uses to complete the project (Quality Assurance). Then, separately, you must establish activities to ensure that the product or service produced meets the customer's specifications (Quality Control). Are you baffled yet?
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Fortunately, the PMBOI(® Guide-Fourth Edition, published in December 2008, added new information to help you plan more clearly. It distinguishes between official project plans to be placed into the overall Project Management plan, and project documents. The quality management plan and the process improvement plan are two official plans that should still be completed and added to your main Project Management plan. In contrast, the newly introduced category is project documents. The preparation and maintenance of these project documents is intended to help the project manage in meeting the goals of the subsidiary plans of the project. These documents can be designed and produced by the project manager. Free-style. One approach to ensuring that you complete all of the necessary quality-related processes-regardless of the Knowledge Area in which they are described-is to create your own Quality Checklist project document as part of the new project document category suggested by the PMBOI(® Guide. Here's how: •
List and bold all the processes you know to be important to deliver a quality product or service, whether or not the word "quality" appears in their title.
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Under each process, indent and add a second level to identify the specific activities your team will perform to execute the intent of the bolded process. Start each activity with an action word such as plan, measure, check, test, compare or evaluate.
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Review this checklist at the start of every project. Then move the activities appropriate to your new project into the hierarchy of the WBS.
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Add the duration estimates to complete these tasks, assign team members to perform the work and sequence the tasks.
Now the flow of performing the quality activities will integrate into your project at the activity level. You can easily monitor the completion of each quality task. Use a Quality Checklist project document to enhance your other official plans. You will ensure an excellent product or service and a means to constantly improve your internal processes. Notes For My Projects:
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SCOPE TEMPLATE
Quick Quiz 48 Is there a template that is good for taking notes to develop the scope of work?
A. No template is necessary; just write down what your customer wants. B. The scope of every project is the same: cost, time and quality. That's your template! C. A perfect template isn't as critical to scope development as exceptional communication with stakeholders. D. A useful scope of work template is available only to Project Management Professional (PMP)® certified project managers. Answer: C. The perfect template isn't as critical to scope development as exceptional communication with stakeholders. Ideally, we would locate a magic scope template, fill in the blanks and guarantee a triumphant conclusion to our project. Sorry, but that template does not exist. However, it's easy to create your own document to use as a scope statement template. Include a section for a narrative explanation (scope description) to show the cost, time, quality and key resources. A short summary, about 100 words, is more useful than pages of information. Have places to capture the objective of the project, such as, "To create a three-wheeled transportation vehicle for city street use." Note the major deliverables you will complete, for example: "Three-Bee prototype to be delivered 29 May." It's critical to include the specifics of how you will measure when the deliverables are complete (acceptance criteria). Does the Three-Bee need to reach speeds of 37 miles per hour? Should it get 59 miles per gallon of fuel before it is "done"? Any quality metrics this product must meet are documented here. List any known constraints such as, "This project must be finished by 30 June and cannot cost more than $435,000." Record any assumptions that may affect the work of the project. For example, "We assume that our primary subcontractor, X2P43, will be available to work on this new product at their $xx hourly rate."
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What possible deliverables do you and the client agree will not be created as part of this project? These project exclusions should be listed, so there are no misunderstandings later in the project. Add spaces for the common project identification information, including name of company, name of project manager, date created, name of project, name of sponsor, names of primary stakeholders and a place for stakeholders to sign that they approve this scope statement. You now have created and completed a workable template for scope of work. But exceptional communication with stakeholders is also needed if this template is truly to support your success. The scope statement cannot be a solitary item on your work breakdown structure (WBS) that you finish in a single customer meeting. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide) removed the preliminary scope statement preparation as a project integration management process. But you still must meet with the customer early in the project to share ideas and identify questions to be answered or researched by both of you. Allow a period of time between your initial meetings and your first draft of the scope statement for all participants to collect answers to the questions you've identified. That way, what you write into your template is a well-considered representation of what the project will cover. Send a word-processed copy to all stakeholders. If using Microsoft® Office Word, ask them to turn on the track changes feature to note any problems, concerns or errors they see. After working out any differences, send the final copy for approval by all parties. By illuminating any disagreements or concerns about project scope early in the process, you will minimize misunderstandings and changes later in the project. You can now focus the project resources and your project management expertise to create exactly what the customer needs and wants. Notes For My Projects:
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PUZZLING PAIRS Quick Quiz 49 My team is confused. We see terms that appear to be interchangeable, but other teams treat them as though they have specific, unique meanings. How can we find out what the terms mean?
A. Have your project team vote on what definitions they would like to use for common terms. B. The best way to differentiate between similar project terms is to ask the project sponsor. C. There is no one source which defines every project management term, but the Glossary from A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOJ(® Guide) is a great resource for accurate definitions of many of them. D. Project management terms have different meanings in different countries, so consult your local PMI component. Answer: C. There is no one source which defines every project management term, but the Glossary from A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide) is a great resource for accurate definitions of many of them. Project managers use the same terms and the same processes regardless of their location in the world. However, the following PMBOJ(® Guide terms are often confused with one another. EV vs. EMV. Earned Value (EV), a term used in Earned Value Analysis (EVA), is a way to calculate the progress of the project schedule and budget. By comparing periodic results to the original plan or baseline, the project manager has an early warning about project problems. By contrast, Expected Monetary Value (EMV) is a risk management technique to help choose which projects will produce the best return on investment. Project A has a 10% chance of losing $2,000 and a 70% chance of making $10,000. (.10 x - $2,000
=- $200) (.70 x $10,000 =$7,000). Take the difference:
(- $200 (negative) + $7,000 = +$6,800 value for Project A). Project B has a 50% chance of earning $16,000. (.50 x $16,000 = +$8,000 value for Project B). Therefore, Project B would be the better investment. 168
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Delayed vs. Late. An activity on a project is delayed when it doesn't start as planned. An activity is late if it isn't finished as planned. Quality vs. Grade. Quality means an item or service is what it was intended to be, meets the specifications and is fit for use. Grade means a category or rank. A BMW and a Kia can both be quality cars. They meet the specifications set out by the manufacturer. However, usually a BMW is considered a higher rank or grade of vehicle. Direct Cost vs. Fixed Cost. A direct cost can be tied to a specific project deliverable. It directly benefits the project. Paper for a training project would be a direct cost. A fixed cost is one that does not change with the level of activity or production. The cost of a computer is fixed. It costs the same no matter how often or how long you run it. Schedule vs. Baseline. The schedule is the planned dates that the team will perform the activities of the project. Once the advanced planning is done for schedule and budget, a snapshot of the schedule is set in place as the schedule baseline. The actual progress of the schedule will be compared to the baseline to see if the work is keeping pace with the plan. Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control. These two quality processes are often confused. Quality Assurance is a series of activities to make sure that the project employs al/ the processes needed to have a quality project. It is about monitoring the way the project is done, not about the product that results at the end of the project. By contract, the Quality Control process is monitoring the results or outcomes of the project to see if they meet the quality standards set out. Do the toasters toast without electrocuting the user? If you clearly understand the correct meanings of these often-confused terms, you'll be able to communicate more specifically with project teams in your own organization and around the world. Notes For My Projects:
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EXTRA BUDGET
Quick Quiz 50 Every project manager knows you need a little extra budget for project emergencies, but how do I show and manage it in a professional way? A. There should be no extra budget in a project. Always ask for extra funds via a change request. B. Keep any extra, unspent project dollars from earlier projects in your desk drawer for emergencies. C. The only project money that needs to be tracked and documented is that which is in the original project budget baseline. D. You can choose how you track and use extra project funds based on your organization and the type of project. Answer: D. You can choose how you track and use extra project funds based on your organization and the type of project. While good project management procedures allow us to come close to estimating a project budget, it still is only an estimate. AntiCipating and managing the extra money you might need will be done differently depending on your organization's policies and the size and scope of the project. Ordinarily, by the end of the planning phase, a project may need an extra 5-10% over and above the actual project costs, put aside "just in case". For software projects, the additional funds needed are more likely to be 15-20%. These are labeled contingency funds, and they can be shown as a line item in the project budget. Contingency funds are under the control of the project manager. If the project exceeds its estimate, the project manager has full authority to release (spend) these dollars. The amount spent is then deducted from the total reserve funds set aside, and an activity/task is added to the project schedule to record the precise costs expended. For example: Extra building permit fees = $375. This technique is often used for smaller or shorter projects. Management funds, by contrast, take the form of cash reserves held aside by the executive management team in case the project needs them. They can only be used with management authorization, and frequently are released through a formal change request. The amount received through a change request is usually added to your project budget documents to show the influx of additional money. For example: Funding from Change Request #279 = +$2.575. If the amount is substantial, it may require re-baselining the project budget. 170
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In an effort to find beUer ways to handle fluctuating costs, some teams are using the critical chain method. Here, each task is given a low time estimate that has about a 50% chance of being met, assuming all materials and information are at hand. Rather than put the contingency funds in one spot, they are distributed in "buffers" at various points throughout the project, along with extra time allowances. Typically, the project is most likely to veer off course where two or more side paths join with the critical path. After activities are sequenced, the critical path is the shortest path through the project, with no extra time (slack or float) between tasks. If the side project paths get behind, extra time can be drawn from the buffer, and since extra time equals extra cost in salaries, you are also using the extra budget dollars that you have set aside. Other unexpected expenses may also be paid out of the buffer funds. When the buffer time/money is used, the buffer is lowered or eliminated. If it remains unused, it may be added to a future buffer. You can have great success with this approach, as the shortened task estimates leave no "extra" time for team members to delay before starting a task. Explore some of these options for showing and managing extra budget dollars in your organization. You may find they have an impact on how quickly and effectively you can respond to unexpected budget needs.
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COLLECT STATISTICS Quick Quiz 51 Management has asked me to research and present a list of project statistics gathered from both inside and outside the company. What do I collect and how do I present it? A. Before you collect or distribute any statistics, ask management how they will be used. B. Project statistics should not be shared with management, as they wouldn't understand them anyway. C. The only way to accurately capture and show project statistics is with automated software. D. Collect the daily statistics from all your projects. Plan three hours a day to assemble data and prepare charts. Answer: A. Before you collect or distribute any statistics, ask management how they will be used. As project managers, you try to plan carefully before you execute a project. The sequence should be "Ready, Aim, Fire," not "Ready, Fire, Aim." In order to gather information that is useful to management, ask what they are trying to achieve by looking at these project statistics and how they would like to receive and view them. Perhaps they are trying to evaluate how the organization's project success compares to that of others in the industry. Or they might want to see if adding project managers to the payroll has had a positive impact on how quickly internal projects are completed. Maybe your portfolio management team wants to choose future endeavors based on how close to time and budget projects are finalized. Regardless of management's specific needs, there are standard approaches you can follow to gather and present statistics: External statistics-Information about projects outside your own organization can be found from a variety of sources, including the Gartner Group or the Standish Group. You can also turn to PMI publications, such as PMNetworJ<®, Project Management JournafID and the PMI Marketplace. If you are part of an industry-specific trade association, or a member of a PMI virtual community, ask your peers if they can share knowledge with you. You might want to collect how long a typical project takes, what percentage of projects are finished on time, the percent completed on budget, and 172
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how much they exceed original schedule and cost estimates. Search online for reliable statistics that show how the addition of a project manager helps organizations reduce their completion times, save money and lower risk. Internal statistics-Use past project reports within your organization to calculate numbers for internal performance. For example, if a project was estimated to take 20 days and instead it took 25 days, subtract 20 from 25 to see that the project ran 5 days long. Now, take the number of extra days (5) and divide by the number of days in your original estimate (20). You get .25. Move the decimal point two places to the right to convert to a percentage, and you can report that this project ran 25 percent longer than you first planned. This same formula can be used to calculate the percent you ran over budget, too. Remember to also include why the project didn't match its original goals. For example, "This project cost 17 percent less because we removed three features to make the per-unit cost more competitive." Or, ''This project ran 31 percent over schedule, as the custom microchips had an unavoidable shipping delay."
Presentation method-Your management team may want you to make a formal presentation with PowerPoint® slides, simply provide them a spreadsheet via e-mail, have your information professionally configured into charts for the annual report, or just give your manager a verbal update. Whatever delivery format they request, always be sure to include your sources and some information about how to interpret the numerical data. Don't be afraid to ask why information is requested and how you should package the information you compile. You'll save yourself time and energy, and your early efforts will give you a better chance to look good to the management team. Notes For My Projects:
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Too MANY PROJECTS Quick Quiz 52 My manager constantly overloads me with projects. How can I get her to see that I've reached my capacity? A. Refuse to work on more than eleven projects at once, then select your favorites. B. Hire a third-party contractor to help you, and present your manager with the bill.
c.
Do fewer project management processes on each project to save yourself time.
D. Track your project management work just like other project team activities. Answer: D. Track your project management work just like other project team activities. Let's admit it: we all sometimes try to save time by not documenting our own project management work. But if creating and managing the project documents and processes aren't activities that are written down and figured into the project schedule, it's easy for functional managers to underestimate the time it takes to do them. Small Organizations-In the small-scale workplace, it is common for the project manager and the project work team to be just one person-you. When creating your work breakdown structure (WBS), be sure to include the work you will do to manage the project as well as the effort you will spend to complete the actual work of the project. This helps both you and your manager know the true length of the project schedule. Large Organizations-Here, the project manager will probably helm one project and not be expected to perform any of the work activities of the project. However, the extensive scope of the project means you must still formally plan out what you will do and when. Even when you devote all of your time to management, it is still easy to forget to create and maintain the important planning and tracking documents to guide you. You may also overlook some processes that you may have skipped on simpler projects. Mid-sized Organizations-Here is where project managers are often overwhelmed. Frequently, they were promoted due to their skills in the field, and now they may be expected to oversee five to seven projects or more. And, because of their expertise, they may also assign themselves a portion of
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O!tick O!tizzes for Project Managers -
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the WBS tasks, especially if no one else on the team can complete them as effectively. One of the fastest ways to have your project fail, or at least be seriously delayed, is to assign yourself project work. If a problem arises, while you apply yourself to solving it, your portion of the work sits untouched. Three Hints for Managing Multiple Projects:
1. Create a separate deliverable, or section, in your WBS containing your project management tasks, and then estimate, sequence and track them. You may be unaware of how much time you spend on them. 2. Rely on a tool such as Microsoft Projeci® or similar products. They allow you to add a section of activities for your project management tasks and then easily remove or hide them for customer reports. 3. Use the tool feature that allows you to gather all of the project management activities for separate projects into one master project and link each task back to its original project file. Updating the activity in one place also updates it in the other. Now you can view daily charts showing your personal activities across all projects that day. Once you document and have visual representations of how much of your time is committed, you can easily show your manager when you've reached the limit of how many projects you can handle at once. Notes For My Projects:
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COAXING COLLEAGUES Quick Quiz 53 The project managers in my organization tend to work in an isolated fashion. How can I get them to regularly break out of their cubicles and share information?
A. Request that your project sponsor insist on weekly meetings to share techniques. B. Start in an informal way and let the communication become more formal over time. C. Ask the corporation to bring in a communication consultant to create a website. D. Bring food to work and exchange it for creative project management tips. Answer: B. Start in an informal way and let the communication become more formal over time. The importance of communication with your project team cannot be understated. But most project managers also need peer mentors with whom they can share insights and ask for help with chronic problems. Unfortunately, the kind of open, free, non-competitive collaboration of your dreams isn't something that can be mandated by a project sponsor, department manager, or even forced by you as a colleague. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to initiate the valuable exchange of ideas and the support you crave. Start with the one person you can control: you. Decide on a topic about which you would like to get input from other project managers. Seek out one person who seems open and ask them to meet with you at a break to sit down and help you with [fill in your topic). If the conversation was helpful, thank your co-worker and offer to return the favor. The next time ask two people-your original confidant and a second colleague. State the problem you'd like to discuss and ask if they have anything that you could help them with in return. If appropriate, you could move the conversations to a cafe or other offsite location at lunch or after work, adding colleagues one at a time. You are training a support group. As the group expands, you might want to give participants a chance to suggest the topics for the next meeting, or send around an article with some new ideas that might be appropriate in your organization. Keep the conversations focused on how you can solve problems or evaluate
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outside ideas that may have merit in your workplace, rather than letting the discussions become complaint sessions. One way to turn a complaint into a positive is to ask questions like, "Why do you think that happened?" "What do you see as a way to avoid that in the future?" "Is this a process issue or is it a personnel issue?" As the group begins to increase beyond two or three people, begin to informally write down the ideas that you hear. Start to casually summarize: "So Bob had the idea that by all of us purchasing materials together we'd get a discount, and Sue thought that moving the status report day from Friday afternoon to Tuesday would allow us to include the progress reports from other units." Mention that you'd be happy to send the information to anyone who would like it. Begin to say, "What should we talk about next time?" Note the ideas and send them out bye-mail before your next gathering. If these conversations prove valuable, suggest that you meet at a regular time, such as weekly or monthly. Whether you continue to remain an informal group or you organize the discussions within working hours in a more formal way, you have forged trusting relationships with other project managers in your organization who can be called on individually, or as a group, when you need advice and support.
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MANDATORY OVERAGES Quick Quiz 54 My organization absorbs costs and doesn't want me to use change requests when customers add additional scope to my fixed-price projects. I look like an inept project manager, never meeting time and budget projections. How can I accurately track my accomplishments? A. Refuse to do the extra work for the customer without a signed change request.
B. Separate out time and cost for the mandatory overages and show management. C. Explain directly to the customer why you and your team can't include the changes. D. Find a job at another organization that does not use fixed-price contracts. Answer: B. Separate out time and cost for the mandatory overages and show management. It is frustrating to be forced to add extra work to your project after the project baselines are set, especially if your project statistics then show that you are frequently over budget and do not meet your completion deadlines. Not only do you need to document your real accomplishments for performance evaluation and resume purposes, your team needs to know that they are meeting projected goals to keep their motivation high. Here is how to honor the organization's request to add extra features or services that are outside of the original scope and baselines of your customer's project, without making your team look bad. Prepare files. Save your original project file. Create a second project file, adding MandatoryOverages to the title, which you will now use to track the project. Create a separate deliverable. Whether you are tracking the project manually with Microsoft Project® or using other software tools, create a separate heading entitled Mandatory Overages. You may add subheadings if there are multiple things being requested. Under each heading or subheading, indent the activities that you must add to the project to produce the extra features. Integrate the new activities. Link these activities into the other project tasks and assign resources to them. Estimate durations and note the new schedule baseline and duration. 178
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Set a new baseline. Manually record or use your automated software to create a new baseline2. Distribute the new baseline that shows the new finish date and the new cost to your internal stakeholders. Track the actual work as you usually do. Now you have a realistic yardstick against which to judge the performance of your team, and yourself as the project manager. These success figures are the ones you can place on a resume or bring to a performance or team review. Create an original baseline report. While it is not your responsibility to keep the company from giving away extras, management often does not know the real costs of those "make-nice" gifts. After the project is complete, save your completed project file as [projectname]OriginaIBaseline. Roll up the activities under the Mandatory Overages heading and remove the heading. The activities will be removed, too. Reset the software to the original baseline. You now can see the actual time and cost of the project had you not been coerced into the additional work. Create a mandatory overages report. Open your completed project file again, and save it as [projectname]MandatoryOveragesONL Y. Roll up the activities and remove all headings (and their activities) except the Mandatory Overages heading and its nested activities. Now you can see exactly how long and costly these additions were.
After a dozen projects or so, show management how much actual time and money was spent on each project over and above the original estimate. Although they may not wish to share the contract amounts and the profit percentages they receive, the amount of money that has been lost in "giveaways" might get their attention. Soon you may find that non-scope features are no longer routinely added for free. Notes For My Projects:
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TRAINING TRIALS Quick Quiz 55 The training budgets in my organization have been seriously cut. Are there any clever ways I can get training for me and my team?
A. Decide why you want training to help yourself find a creative way to get it. B. Insist on the same training opportunities you've had for the past five years or you will quit. C. Accept that you cannot get any training until the organization profits reach 27 percent. D. Ask your manager to redirect his or her discretionary departmental funds for training purposes. Answer: A. Decide why you want training to help yourself find a creative way to get it. In tight economic times, training budgets are often a casualty. To find creative ways to locate educational opportunities, it is important to consider why you want the training. If you simply want a free trip away from work to a glamorous location, you're probably out of luck. However, possibilities to enrich your knowledge still exist. Current Project Skills-For vital skills to complete an upcoming project, build the training into the project budget. Even though training dollars are tight, sometimes they can be justified to learn a new piece of equipment or software package, or to acquire a certification requirement the customer demands. Another option is to build team education into the vendor specification requirements when making procurement choices among third party products or services. Personal and Team Growth-Speakers for local conferences or members of user groups for Microsoft ProjecfID and Java ™ may be willing to speak at your event for little or no charge, especially if you can fit within their original travel plans. You can also contact your nearest PMI chapters to see if a fellow PMI member can share their knowledge and/or be a speaker. Check the websites of publishers who specialize in your industry, too. They frequently offer webcasts from writers releasing new books and keep libraries of past topics that you can access for free. See if you can join with clients or third-party vendors to meet training class minimums and share the lower costs. If you can't afford live, instructor-led 180
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training, would your organization pay for a few books to add to a team library? If not, find a group of knowledge-thirsty individuals to each contribute a few dollars and buy a book to pass around. Professional Development Units (PDUs)-To get PDUs and maintain your PMI credential(s), look to local chapter meetings and professional development events. Would your organization pay for you to go if you held training for the team afterwards? Would they pay half? Even if you pay the cost yourself, it will probably be a more reasonable amount than you could find elsewhere. Consider the new PMI® Publication Quizzes at www.pmLorg. You study PMI articles and take a quiz to earn category 3 PDUs for about $15 each. Also, you can check project management-focused books and other materials out of the public library and use them for self-directed learning PDU credit. Career Advancement-If you need to upgrade your skills for promotional opportunities, ask your human resources department if you have an employee tuition reimbursement plan. It may pay 100 percent of the training expenses, or the percentage you get back may be tied to your grade. If all else fails, barter a skill at which you excel for evening tutorials from a colleague or business associate. Regardless of where you acquire new skills, be sure to let your manager know. Spread your knowledge through lunch and learn sessions, offer to hold training classes for your team and other departments, and speak to management groups about new ideas that can help your organization. Share what you learn and you may be given other chances to train, even when budgets are tight. Notes For My Projects:
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181
CHANGE COSTS
Quick Quiz 56 We often have change requests from the customer after a project is already in motion. How do we effectively charge for that extra work? A. Sum the hourly rate of each employee who completes a new activity, and charge that amount in a time and materials contract. B. Calculate the cost of the changes and add the profit margin, original project changes, risk and your project management time. C. Divide the estimated hours of the original project into the contract amount and charge that amount per hour. D. Write the contract so that each potential added feature comes at a fixed price cost. Answer: B. Calculate the cost of the changes and add in the profit margin, original project changes, risk and your project management time. A common misconception is that once you are already working on a product, service or software application, adding extra features doesn't cost that much more. That mindset is a quick way to lose money on an originally profitable contract. So how do you calculate what to charge the customer for extras that come through your change control process? Develop a Plan. Create a subproject for the new feature deliverable and estimate the activities, assign specific people to the tasks, sequence the tasks, and calculate the budget and schedule as you did on your original project. Figure the cost. Frequently, this is the erroneous amount that is passed on to the customer, but don't you do it. Instead, you should: Add Contingencies. Savvy project managers know that they can't estimate to the minute or to the penny, so they build in contingency reserves to handle the unknowns that are sure to pop up. You may be able to estimate within a +/- 10 to 15 percent range, since the project is already in progress. So, add a percentage of the original schedule and cost estimates to your new feature customer figures. Add Risk. Squeezing a new function into a software project increases the risk that the existing portions of the code base will not pass their unit tests, functional tests and integration tests with the legacy system. Currently completed code may need to be rewritten. With other products, feature additions were not fully designed, prototyped and tested during earlier phases. They may not smoothly fit into the existing
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manufacturing, construction or production processes. Consider the risk that you may incur costs for reworking, retesting, re-inspecting, repackaging, rewriting training, etc., for your partially completed deliverables, and be sure to pass those costs along to the customer. Add project management. None of you work for free, so collect data on how long it takes you to prepare the estimates for the change request. Will you need to redirect team members' activities to insert the new feature tasks? Will you need to redistribute task assignments? How long will it take you to update and redesign project reports? The time you spend on any project management processes is paid for by your organization and should be reimbursed by the customer. Add charges for the time you spend to reconfigure this project. Add Profit. The original contract was profitable. If you pass along only the estimated costs from your planning processes, there is no business value to creating the additional features. Does your organization have a 20 percent profit margin goal? If so, add an additional 20 percent to the costs you have calculated.
Change requests are an intrusion into a smoothly flowing project. If you allow customers to push them through at a lower cost than if they had included the features in their original requirements, you encourage them to add extras frequently. When you protect your organization by figuring the true cost of midstream changes and passing that cost along to the customer, you also train your customers that their best value comes by writing careful requirements from the beginning. Notes For My Projects:
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COMMUNICATION NECESSITIESS Quick Quiz 57 Our group struggles with designing and implementing a communications plan that is effective and reaches the right audiences. What goes into a design that is easy to use and effective? A. Take out the list you used on your last project and update the names and e-mails. B. Explore a deeper knowledge of the communications field before starting your design. C. Ask for an administrative assistant so you can create custom contacts for each stakeholder. D. Have a website where everyone in the project has equal access to all information. Answer: B. Explore a deeper knowledge of the communications field before starting your design. Before the project start milestone, most project managers prepare a plan built around the five pillars of communication: Who is my audience? Where do I reach them? When and how frequently do I contact them? What do I send them? How do I transmit this information? However, highly successful leaders also analyze other considerations in order to shape their custom templates: Stakeholders. Look in the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOKID Guide) to see the list of stakeholders categories. Is there anyone you are overlooking as you prepare your information disbursement strategies for this new project? Risk register. You have prepared a list of project risks, prioritized by their probability of occurrence and their impact to the project-the risk register. As you ponder how to avoid risk incidents, or how to mitigate or soften the blow should they occur, see if early communication exchanges could prevent a risk incident, give you an early warning trigger or forewarn others of emerging issues which could damage the project. Add these preventative exchanges to your plan.
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Two-way exchanges. A common flaw is that most communications plans are one-way: Sender
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Encodes Message
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Message Sent
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Receiver Decodes
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Receiver
You send meeting notices, assignments, reports and additional data to others. Try building in requested feedback to be sure your message is being received and decoded as you intended. For example: "Please write back and tell me in your own words what you understand my request to be, and how and when you will do it." Understand and retain. Verbal conversations may be the best way to garner understanding, but if you want your audience to retain the information" they also need a written record of each presentation or conversation. Communications research shows that we absorb only 10 percent of what we read and 20 percent of what we hear. This suggests that we should use more than one method for relaying important data. Furthermore, we retain 50 percent now, 25 percent in two days and only 10 percent after seven days. You may need to build repeated contacts with the same content into your communications plan to keep it fresh in the mind of your recipients. One size. Have you adopted a "one-size-fits-all" mentality and sent the same documents to all stakeholders? Consider whether the customer really wants to see the same level of detail as the team member wrestling with an activity roadblock. Would the project sponsor appreciate it if you expose problems to the executive team before he or she has a chance to help you solve them? Closeout. Don't overlook the need for communications to close out accounting codes, get customer sign-off on scope, conduct lessons learned sessions and release team members back to functional departments. By adding them in up front, you blend the time and cost for them into the project baselines from the beginning. Many organizations feel that communications skills are one of the most important factors when selecting a project manager. Hone your ability to prepare a communications plan template that goes above the norm to set yourself apart in a competitive world. Notes For My Projects:
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185
FurUREJOBS
Quick Quiz 58 I read that tomorrow's jobs haven't been created yet. How can I prepare myself to compete as a project manager in the future if I don't even know what the jobs will be? A. Focus on personal skills and development, rather than only training for today's job roles. B. Watch science fiction movies and television shows to see future occupations revealed. C. Once you have a project management title, your job is secure no matter what. D. Obtain multiple credentials and certifications in every field, so you are guaranteed a job regardless of how the job market changes. Answer: A. Focus on personal skills and development, rather than only training for today's job roles. You are wise to think about your future career path now, as over the next 10 to 15 years the job market is predicted to change dramatically. The key criteria for survival may shift from specific knowledge of a particular technology or service to a broader ability to comprehend and master working within a data-rich environment. Prepare for change. Successful future organizations will be more dynamic, which means they will focus on continuous and productive activity or change. For example, they may flourish by providing information faster, quicker, and more reliably, rather than simply retooling the hardware or products that receive and process the data. Skill Work: Make sure your personal skill set around change control is solid. Brainstorm ways to make your product or service more dynamic and responsive to change. Embrace Interactivity. The old concept of choosing products based solely on their merits may become obsolete, as customers will increasingly make purchasing decisions based on their ability to be interactive during the pre-sale, sale and post-sale. Witness the success of websites that allow customers to read reviews, rate products, find similar products, perhaps bid and then order remotely. In your future role, you will need to be experienced with user interactivity. Skill Work: Familiarize yourself with social networks, leading online retailers and mobile devices. How could your organization retool its product and service 186
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placement to allow potential buyers to access your information in a more interactive way? Seek Collaboration. Today's trend to loosely join offerings from separate companies to enhance profitability for both will continue. For example, Apple"s iPhone was developed in conjunction with the retooling of the AT&T network to support the product. Skill Work: Begin to notice cooperation between entities that are able to maximize their margins by working together. Perhaps your organization or your internal department could explore partnerships. Training yourself to be aware of possible collaborative opportunities is a valuable future skill, whether your current boss acts on your ideas or not. Prepare Each Day. By the time the most desirable positions of the future become apparent, it will be too late to begin to train for them. To be ready, start now and do something every day. Skill Work: Learn more about marketing, manufacturing, information technology or any other department. Ask them about new trends in their world. Take 10 minutes each day to look for headlines about your industry, competitors, suppliers, or customers. Or, spend that time searching the web for topics such as "future trends". Or, devote 10 minutes to a book that is a "big idea"-something that challenges your current conceptions. Spend two minutes at the end thinking about how that might affect what you do at home or at work. Join an industry group, a PMI chapter or an online PMI community of practice. Follow a blog on a topic you always intended to learn more about. Ask questions and contribute. The future won't come in a burst. It will come day by day, whether you prepare or not. Guarantee your personal success by enhancing your distinctive skill sets as you go.
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AGILE TESTS
Quick Quiz 59 The team I manage works excessive hours at the end of each software project, regardless of our planning. When we integrate all of the parts, we are invariably stopped by hidden errors that should have been found earlier in the process. How do I convince my team to test for small problems as they go? A. Add at least 25 percent extra time to the schedule and "Hunt errors" as your last task. B. Keep a list of all errors and who is at fault. Submit them to the department manager. C. Send the application to your customers as is and work to fix it before they complain. D. Combine agile methods with the use of free, open-source tools that can quickly find common coding flaws.
Answer: D. Combine agile methods with the use of free, open source tools that can quickly find common coding flaws. Convincing team members to write unit tests to check code functionality as you go is challenging, especially if you are working in an environment where there is a quality assurance team waiting to test your application anyway. Introduce a few of the agile techniques shown below-and some open source toolsand you may see encouraging results.
Customer Involvement. Ask the customer to help your team prioritize the portions of the project that will bring the most reward, whether monetary or in added functionality. Say that the team will show a working version of a portion of that first priority item in one week. This motivates the team to get the software working, one small part of the project at a time. Planning. As a group, decide on that week's work and let the team members volunteer for tasks and estimate how long they will take. Place the tasks on sticky notes on the wall. Stand-up meetings. Every morning have a quick 10 to 12 minute informational meeting with your team. Have each person move the sticky notes for what they finished yesterday to a space you designate for completed tasks, and tell about any problems they encountered that may be valuable for the team to know. Have them say what they will do today, and ask for any help they need. As portions of code are added each day to the application, it will become obvious who wrote a non-working section. That developer can help solve the problem. 188
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Testing tools. A clever way to ease into unit tests, a method to verify and validate individual bits of source code to make sure they are "fit for use", is to download free, open source unit testing tools which are easy to find on the Internet. These pre-configured snippets of software automatically check your source code as you go. Since they are quick and easy to use, they can locate the most common problems immediately. Once your team gets used to uncovering problems in the stand-up meeting each day and running quick tests as they go, you can ask them to write unit tests for new bits of code that are not covered by the other tests. As blocks of additional code are written and integrated into the code base, al!1 of the earlier tests can be quickly rerun to see if the application still works. Customer demos. Hold a weekly unveiling of the functioning software developed the previous week. Let the customer sit down at the computer and activate the new features, while the programmers watch. This quick, 15 or 20 minute mini-demo encourages the software developers to finish their portions of the code and make sure they are working properly. The tested pieces will prove to be the most reliable. You probably can't force a team to write unit tests as they go if they don't see the value. But you can let them experience the success of starting out with predeveloped tests, add their own for areas that aren't tested by the standardized software, and internalize the joy of success when the project ends as planned and the application runs without major problems. Notes For My Projects:
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ACTUAL WORK
Quick Quiz 60 When I am tracking my projects, my teammates say to use percentages rather than actual work, but I feel that approach may not be capturing all of the significant data about the tasks. What should I record in my tracking chart?
A. Record only 100% complete tasks, as that best shows project progress. B. Actual Work and Remaining Duration are the best indicators for planning the future of the project and capturing data for analysis. C. Set a new baseline each reporting period and capture project variances quarterly. D. Resource performance rates compared to past project completion rates are the main indicators to note, as these drive both progress reports and performance reports. Answer: B. Actual Work and Remaining Duration are the best indicators for planning the future of the project and capturing data for analysis. Having a process to track your projects is essential. But what good is it if you record only percentages and don't capture accurate statistics about the work of the project that you can use to shape the remainder of the project? Here is a sample showing the columns of information that are important to capture. ~~lnjRg
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Ask your team members to report their progress in terms of how many hours they spent on the task (Actual Work) and how many hours they need to complete it (Remaining Work). If you do your tracking in an automated software tool, the columns will automatically fill to balance your entries between columns. If you're working manually, you'll need to fill in the columns and balance them on your own. For example, we have a task, Remove Fence. Baseline Duration is estimated at 10 hours and we work 1O-hour days on this job, so the duration is 1 day. Our resource, John, makes $50 an hour. The week ends and John has worked 10 hours on Remove Fence. Place 10 hours in the Actual Work column and place 0 days in Remaining
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Duration. Percent Complete hours at $50 per hour.)
=100 and Actual Cost =$500. (John worked 10
Remove Signage is also estimated at 1 day (10 hours). John started at 1:00 p.m. and got part-way through by 6:00 p.m. He worked 5 hours and estimates that he needs 5 more hours to finish the task. Enter Actual Work 5 hours and Remaining Duration 5 hours. John is 50 percent complete and the remaining duration is 5 hours, or .5 of a day. The Actual Cost is $250 (5 hours at $50 per hour).
=
=
Level Field has a Baseline Duration of 1 day. You assigned 9 laborers at $8 an hour to this task, so show 900% in your Resource Name column to designate nine people. When you track their completed task, place 90 hours in the Actual Work column (10 hours per day times 9 people). Place 0 in the Remaining Duration column. Now you are 100% complete. Your Actual Cost is $720. But what if you had 9 laborers (90 hours Baseline Duration) scheduled for 1 day to Remove Sprinkler Heads. Only 8 showed up, but they finished anyway. It took 1 day (10 hours) times 8 workers 80 hours. If you record only 80 hours in Actual Work, you'll still technically have 10 hours of baseline work remaining (.11 day or 11 %), although everything is done. That is wrong!
=
But recording 90 hours in Actual Work and $720 for costs (what the original 9 workers would have earned at $8 an hour) is also wrong! The solution is to place the 80 hours in the Actual Work column, but then put 0 (zero) in the Remaining Duration column. You had 80 hours of work and you are all finished. It cost $640. Have your team report Actual Work and Remaining Work column numbers and save 100% Complete exclusively for completed milestones. You will have clearer information to guide the remainder of the project and more useful statistics to use when you plan schedules for similar projects in the future.
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SOCIAL MEDIA Quick Quiz 61 My organization is small and doesn't have much money for communications tools. With the new interest and focus on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, would that be a way for my organization to stretch its budget? A. It depends on the age of your employees. Only people under the age of 30 use these sites. B. A smart move is to avoid social networking, as it is only for personal entertainment.
c.
Social networking can be used to great advantage by most organizations, but caution is necessary.
D. You should create your own social site. What is on the site is immaterial. Answer: C. Social networking can be used to great advantage by most organizations, but caution is necessary. People are linking to each other electronically via computers, cell phones and other devices in explosive numbers. And savvy organizations are taking advantage of this phenomenon to leverage it to their advantage. Social networking is a spontaneous outreach of individuals to contact others in a two-way exchange of information, products, insights, experiences, personal support and friendship via the web. External social networking (ESN), which involves open, public groups, is the FacebooklTwitter model. But there are also internal social networks (ISN) created to link private groups of people within an organization who want quick, inexpensive, project team communication. The advantage of working over a social network is that you don't have to be in front of a personal computer or a laptop to contact your team. Every type of mobile device, from cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), to Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation gaming consoles, allows you to connect to the web. However, there are larger, overarching uses for which your company can tap the global reach of social media. Are you involved in a scientific community? Sharing ideas, theories and discussing common problems across geographical and competitive lines may prove more advantageous than solitary experimentation. Do you work for a pharmaceutical organization? Social networks can influence public support for your research and distribute important warnings or usage instructions.
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Are you part of an educational institution? Teachers, professors and students can use chat rooms and texts to help with homework, give out assignments, or post internship opportunities. Do you manage health care? Private medicallSNs can carefully screen participants to be sure they are licensed, then use a dedicated site to allow physicians to exchange diagnostic and treatment information among peers. Are you engaged with an entity that helps those with physical and mental illnesses? Social sites can allow families and patients to provide emotional support for each other and exchange ideas to deal with the difficulties brought on by their problems. Will you look to hire new employees or to find a job? Linkedln, a social network dedicated to connecting business professionals, now has over 40 million users in over 200 countries. Are you associated with a government agency? Social networks are quick ways to disseminate information to the public and also test public opinion on key issues. Do you report to a for-profit employer? Build your brand and get feedback from your customers by creating your own social networking site with product information, reviews, breaking news about your brand, plus games and activities to draw people there. Social networks are here to stay and your competitors are using them to great advantage. Just be sure to select the right form of network to share information. To distribute your brand, message, product information, or point of view, choose an open network. Be sure you are on a well-secured network that allows access only to those on your extended team if you are exchanging private, proprietary content about your project. Social media is fast, it is fun, and it is the future of communication. Should you and your team join the revolution? Notes For My Projects:
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QyALITYTOOLS Quick Quiz 62 I'm frustrated. I use all of the documents and processes from A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOJ
A. Projects should run easily once the proper documents are created. You need additional project management training. B. Use more quality control tools on your project problems, not just on your products. C. Customers are getting more involved in projects, so accept that there will be even more disruptions in the future. D. Ask for more money to pay for project team rewards. Rewards make a team run smoothly.
Answer: B. Use more quality control tools on your project problems, not just on your products. Project managers who produce tangible products rather than services may be familiar with manufacturing-based quality tools for your proDUct (WHAT is produced). But both those who are involved in creating goods and those who deal with non-tangible project results often fail to remember that quality tools can also be used to solve problems in your proJEct process (HOW it is produced).
Determine the Problems
It is a misconception that well-estimated and well-planned projects will run without problems. But do you experience the same issues again and again? When you are under pressure to finish a project, it is hard to see the big picture. 194
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Try using a Pareto diagram, which places problem results in descending order with the ones with the most occurrences shown first. The diagram allows you to see which problems are giving you the most trouble over a whole series of projects. Direct your energies to solving the item shown at the far left of the Pareto diagram first. This is the recurring issue that causes the most disruption. Typically, addressing this one issue will solve a large number of the problems.
Determine the Causes Your most troubling problems might be midstream customer changes, unrealistic sponsor expectations, too few team members, or that your team lacks the correct skills. Maybe it is late or inferior supplies, activity delays caused by other departments, or rework due to lack of quality controls when the tasks are performed. Perhaps there are motivation, retention, general performance, or personality conflict problems among your coworkers. Regardless of the problem, get your team involved and try using an Ishikawa, or fish, diagram and brainstorm to isolate the root causes of the longest Pareto diagram bar. Once you have found one or more contributing causes you are well on your way to devising a solution that will actually make a difference.
In the example shown, at the far right place the name of your issue in the box at the head of the fish. For example, "Late Activities". On each diagonal bone of the fish scale, place a possible general cause, such as other departments., training, supplies, equipment, motivation or communication. The little arrows allow you to break down the potential causes for the late activities into smaller and smaller root reasons. On the bone labeled "Equipment", you might add "Capacity," "Supplier," and "Maintenance". Keep breaking down the possible contributing factors into increasingly detailed causes. Then decide which are the most likely to be at work and how you might change or address these reasons for late activities. Once you solve the problem that causes the largest portion of your project turmoil, the next projects should flow more smoothly. Now attack the second highest cause of problems shown on your Pareto diagram, and so on. Don't be concerned if solving one or two problems has minor negative impacts. Just redo your Pareto diagram and attack those new problems in order as time allows. You will never get to a place where you have no challenges in your projects. But if you reduce the portion of your time you spend fighting problems, your attention can go where it is intended: creating excellent products and services. Qtick Qtizzes for Project Managers -
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SHAPING TEAMS Quick Quiz 63 Many project management books talk about good team motivation and communication practices, but the team members I lead seem to respond in different ways to my attempts. How can I find an approach that will please all of them? A. No one technique will work for everyone, so look for ways to reach the team as individuals. B. The commonly suggested practices work for all other teams, so it must just be you. C. Teams will be more or less motivated depending on the age and experience of the project manager. D. If you treat each team member exactly the same, they will bond as a productive group. Answer: A. No one technique will work for everyone, so look for ways to reach the team as individuals. Information from books on managing teams can work. It is just that you can't ever "manage by group" and get effective results, because each person on the team is unique. When any team assembles, every member has a different background, skill set and personal agenda. The best way to help them grow into a productive team is to analyze and work individually with each one to help them make their best contribution. Some team members, stalwarts, are already experienced, engaged and working successfully. They are the firm foundation of any team. Keep them well-informed and let them know you appreciate their efforts. You may also encounter fledglings. These types of people may be young or new to the profession. You can spot them by their excitement and enthusiasm about being included on this new team. Unfortunately, their youth or professional naivety means they may not be able to provide the skill sets and project experience you need. As a project manager, you will need to spend time to carefully educate and guide a fledgling. Assign another teammate as a mentor to help this willing learner provide productive project work. But be sure you personally check in often to evaluate behavior and refocus it if necessary. Your time spent in nurturing fledglings can provide you with valuable performers as time goes on. 196
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You may also recognize team members at the other end of the experience spectrum. They have a lengthy history with the organization. But they may have been passed over for a promotion along the way, or feel that they were treated unfairly in a past assignment, and so are woundeds. These people have the knowledge and skills to help you immensely with legacy systems, organizational savvy and past project experience, if only you can help them shed their resentments. Talk with this type of team member one on one. Say, "I sense that you have had some bad experiences in the past. What happened?" Listen to their story. Don't agree that the organization, past project manager or customer was in the wrong. Just say, "You are so (knowledgeable about, or skilled in, xxx) that we need your help on this project. What can we do to help you move beyond this bad experience and really work together effectively on this project?" Some team members are physically present, but they are mentally just putting in time. They are the exhausteds. These are people who have been worn down over the years by the pressure and volume of ineffectively run projects. Ask them, "What was the most satisfying project you ever worked on? What made it so engaging?" Perhaps the exchange will help you see how you could find ways to recharge this team member. With the frequent shortage of human resources in organizations, being assigned the ideal team is unlikely. However, by nurturing the fledglings, healing the woundeds and re-energizing the exhausteds, you can engage existing team members to work alongside your stalwarts to build a strong, effective project team. Notes For My Projects:
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PPMM INDIVIDUAL Quick Quiz 64 I hear a lot about organizational project maturity and about personal certification exams. But how do I know if I'm progressing toward personal project management maturity? A. Each day you grow older, you are ensuring another day's maturity as a project manager. B. If your projects come closer and closer to budget and schedule, you are maturing. C. Promotions to higher roles in the functional organization mean you have successfully matured and outgrown the need for project management. D. The road to individual project management maturity is similar to the one for your organization, but it is in your personal control, rather than being an official path.
Answer: D. The road to individual project management maturity is similar to the one for your organization, but it is in your personal control, rather than being an official path. Many organizations are on a formal path to project management maturity. But whether or not your employer moves forward, you can deliberately plan your own personal growth. Find where you are now on the levels below, and begin to strategize how you can get to the next level. You do not need anyone's permission or any organizational approval. Remember, each level is a valid place for a project manager to be. Reaching for the next level is just a way to help you grow professionally as an individual and increase your value to your employer.
Level 1: Here you manage projects in a casual or impromptu way. You use little formal or consistent documentation and planning. You may be lucky and have successes, or you may feel helpless in controlling more than the smallest of projects. Explore the best practices in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Know/edge (PMBOI(® Guide) to start building your project management knowledge base. Level 2: Level 2 project managers begin to have a system. They plan, capture and share time, budget and quality information within their teams. They try various approaches and learn from their mistakes and their successes. You should start to have a consistent way to approach and deliver the goods or services of the project and use standard documents, plans and processes. 198
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Level 3: At this point, project managers begin to share their knowledge of how to construct and manage a project to meet the preplanned goals. They exchange positive and negative learning experiences with other project managers within the organization or outside their workplace. They are now consciously analyzing project activities, tools, techniques, and the organizational environment to note which ones are aids to greater productivity and which ones are barriers to be overcome. With this data, the number of projects that finish favorably should be on the rise. Level 4: By now you use a more uniform group of processes, selecting the most appropriate ones for each project based on its type and size. To analyze data, you employ more sophisticated tools and are able to quantify and evaluate your results. This allows you to track more detailed project indicators like earned value. Your ability to use risk management in a positive way rises. You will want to share your findings with management, if you are not already doing so. Level 5: At Level 5 you are ready to use your knowledge to help other project managers with their own progress. You may offer to lead training sessions, mentor other teams or move into new departments that are unfamiliar with basic project management processes. These processes, along with documents you have assembled throughout your maturity journey, should also help your organization find a more consistent path to projects that add business value. Personal project management maturity (PPMM) is a portable skill set that is in great demand. No one will guide you through your individual growth steps. But if you know the levels, are honest in your personal assessment of where you are now, and conscientiously choose actions that move you up the ladder, you can reach any level you choose. Notes For My Projects:
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FLOWCHARTING
Quick Quiz 65 I saw flowcharts mentioned in the Project Quality Management Knowledge Area, but I'm not a project manager in manufacturing. What value, if any, do they have for me?
A. Manufacturers need flow charts to plan assembly line movement. All other project managers should ignore them. B. Flowcharts are very valuable in tracking all types of projects and project processes. C. Project managers who use automated software have no need to consider using flowcharts. D. Flowcharts are expensive to construct and maintain, so they should only be employed on projects that are $50,000 and above. Answer: B. Flowcharts are very valuable in tracking all types of projects and project processes. If you work in a manufacturing environment or in Information Technology (IT), you are already well acquainted with flowcharts to diagram the path along which a product or information will travel. However, as with many project management tools, other industries and project types can also find the flowchart extremely useful. A flowchart is a visual representation of a process. Each step can be displayed using a symbol standardized by ANSI, The American National Standards Institute. These symbols let you see your entire process flow at a glance. For example, the commonly used symbol to designate a process or action step is a rectangle, while a diamond shows a decision point. In project management, the diamond is often used to show the project start and finish. Delays are bullet shaped, and designate any waiting period. Inputs and outputs to the process are shown as parallelograms and are commonly referred to as 1/0 shapes. When a document is produced, a rectangle with a wavy bottom represents the paper. To indicate a step where information is displayed to a person, the symbol combines a half diamond with an oval. Flow line or arrow connectors show the direction the process should move. So, a process to create a training manual might look like this: Flowcharts can be quickly drawn on a whiteboard or sketched out on paper, but they are most easily constructed and altered by using yellow sticky notes. When you are contracting with vendors, the ability to show them 200
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Add from Art Department ~
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your process workflow can keep them from deleting vital software connections between systems, or enable them to understand how vital timely deliveries are to you. Analyze your project flow to see if there is resource overlap from two departments when you could flourish more with only one outside source of personnel. Enhance your team's understanding of how their portion of a project feeds into the work of other teammates for a clear team vision. Involve the entire group in preparing a flowchart of the project processes, since each person is the expert on explaining his or her portion of the work. Larger projects involving multiple teams also benefit from the overall perspective of how each team's work flows into the greater endeavor. Bottlenecks, or delays in the project schedule, are easier to spot when work processes of the project are quickly diagrammed. Look for the I/O shapes and the Delay shapes first. Despite the short time needed to actually show a project deliverable to management, finding a time they can meet with you can be an issue unless you have a visual to show how a tardy approval will delay the entire project. Flowcharts aren't just for manufacturing and IT anymore. They help the savvy project manager communicate important project information in a visual and dynamic way. Track your own managerial project processes on a flowchart. You can use the diagnostic, communicative and visionary power of this pictorial image to help you solve complex problems more easily. Notes For My Projects:
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RISK TOLERANCES Quick Quiz 66 I have a primary stakeholder who is extremely risk adverse and is negatively affecting my project. Is there a way to give him or her confidence in our team? A. Your stakeholder may have confidential information that explains his or her risk aversion, so turn all of the project decisions over to this person. B. Ask to be moved to a different project where stakeholders don't participate. C. Find ways to help your stakeholder feel more objective about project risk decisions. D. Educate your stakeholder on the three types of risk tolerance and show where he or she fits. Answer: C. Find ways to help your stakeholder feel more objective about project risk decisions. People approach risk differently. Risk can be described as things that haven't happened yet and mayor may not ever happen. If they do occur they can impact your project in a positive or negative way. Anticipating risks early, when you have the best opportunity to prevent or soften negative ones and enhance or encourage the positive ones, is part of good project management. There are three types of risk tolerance, or reactions to potential risk: risk adverse, risk neutral, and risk seeking. They are distinguished by the way an individual evaluates his or her willingness to live with the uncertainty of the unknown to get the project payoff or reward. Risk adverse stakeholders like yours may ask you to spend time and project dollars to excessively protect against potential negative risk events, even if the probability they might occur is low or the impact to the project is negligible if they do happen. There are several tactics you can use to help your stakeholder feel more objective about his or her risk decisions: 1. Respect that this person's decisions are colored by a personal belief system and their emotional state. These decisions are not an attempt to sabotage your project. 2. If you know your own risk approach is risk neutral (you can handle the uncertainty of risk if the reward is right and the probability of occurrence is acceptable), find examples of similar projects where risk takers were winners to share with your stakeholder. However, it is not equally 202
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effective to share stories in which risks occurred but the organization was able to minimize the loss. 3. Listen as the risk adverse person tells you the inevitable stories of past projects gone wrong. Be sure to control your body language so that you are not inadvertently nodding and appearing to agree with this tale of failure. 4. To make a more logical choice, your stakeholder will not only need data, but a point of comparison. For example, your project is an outdoor stakeholders meeting for 10,000 people in July and one of the potential risk events is rain. It would cost $1,150,000 to rent the indoor venue your stakeholder wants. It is meaningless to say that the average rainfall in your state is 2.3 inches. But to say that since 1950 it has only rained during that week in July 5 percent of the time compared to 25 percent in August is good information. 5. Be sure your assessment of your stakeholder as risk adverse is accurate. Ask if he or she may have confidential information about the organization or from the management team that requires your project to have more risk protection than you have planned. Use your knowledge of risk tolerances to help you craft conversations with your risk adverse project stakeholder and accurately assess his or her comfort with the potential negative risks on your project. Only then can you intelligently decide which risks you should address and how vigorously you should try to prevent them. Notes For My Projects:
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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Quick Quiz 67 My organization has asked me to head a project to set up a knowledge management system. I'm not sure I know what they want, as the knowledge each department needs seems to be different. How do I move forward?
A. Ask each department to describe in their own words what information they need to run their portion of the business. B. Google other competitors in your industry and see what knowledge you can find on their web pages. C. Ask your project sponsor to provide you with a list of the requirements and expected outcomes that are important to him or her. D. Hold a kickoff meeting and ask your team to combine their knowledge to arrive at a set of items to manage.
Answer: A. Ask each department to describe in their own words what information they need to run their portion of the business. It is frustrating and a little embarrassing when you are asked to head a project and the deliverable is hidden in "buzzwords" you don't really understand. Knowledge management has many definitions, but usually it is an attempt by an organization to capture, organize, store and distribute the information necessary to make it run and flourish. Not only do you need to find a way to obtain, warehouse and disperse information; you need to figure out what actual data is important to your organization in the first place. Don't be surprised to find that this vital knowledge will vary by department.
A project that initially focuses on ways to store and distribute a mass of data may develop programs and purchase hardware that seem impreSSive, but this is working on the project backwards. You need to ask what information your co-workers need, when they need it and how they will use it, before you try to create a solution. Ask each area in your business environment to describe what they need to do their job-in their own words. The help desk may say, "I need an online guide to show me how to take my customer through a troubleshooting process to fix common problems. And I need a way to alert my supervisor if I need help." Management could reply, "I want to be able to oversee each product during production and calculate a cost/benefit ratio through an executive dashboard." Perhaps sales representatives would ask, "Is there a way I could quickly 204
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access each of our products and their features and benefits, compare it to our competition, and easily e-mail or electronically fax the report to a hot prospect?" Research and development scientists may find it crucial to be connected to not only their own past research, but to be able to safely and easily move outside the corporate firewall to access and download external database information from around the world. Double-check that you are clear on the information each part of your organization requires, and the particular way they need to access it, process it, share it and store it. You are now in a position to decide if you will create the infrastructure to provide this data circuit internally, if you will purchase it from a third-party vendor, or if you will contract to have a portion built to your specifications and then integrate it with your existing systems. Be sure to allow plenty of time in this project to involve representatives from each area of the organization. They are the best judges of whether or not your solutions will be a delight or a burden to operate on a day-to-day basis. Knowledge management involves setting up a trust repository for the entire business. You won't be successful if you try to do it without considering the unique needs of all of the people who are relying on you to set up a workable system that makes life simpler and the business more successful. Notes For My Projects:
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DEDICATED TEAMS Quick Quiz 68 My workplace wants to become more agile, but we have too many non-project tasks each day to work in dedicated teams. Is it really that crucial to have the team focus on just one project at a time?
A. There are no rules to agile. As long as you feel more flexible and don't create documents, you are going to be successful. B. Dedicated teams that work on a single project 100 percent of the time are mandatory for an agile methodology. C. There are sizeable benefits to dedicated teams, but while in transition find a creative way to balance the project work with the operational work. D. As long as your team members are dedicated to the vision of your project, they can work on as many projects at one time as they want. Answer: C. There are sizeable benefits to dedicated teams, but while in transition find a creative way to balance the project work with the operational work.
It is a myth to believe that any organization needs to conform to an exact set of processes in order to be successful. The idea is to take the paths to success that others have found useful and adapt them to your specific needs, your industry or your organizational maturity level. There are multiple research studies that have found when a person focuses on one topic (one project task) at a time, their productivity increases since they are not mentally losing time switching back and forth between activities. (For example, do an Internet search for "federal aviation authority multi-tasking" to get further information.) That is why agile methodologies suggest that the members of the project team be dedicated to a single project for the length of the project. However, that is not always realistic. The same people who are on the project team may need to do work that is not project-oriented alongside of their project activities. Test out one or more of the following approaches, listed in the order of declining desirability, in your situation. Interest Teams. Pick those in your workgroup who have the necessary skill sets, and are the most interested in exploring agile, to work on the agile team. Others can handle the day-to-day work for the length of the project. You may find that they prefer to do operational work exclusively, anyway.
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Reserve Mornings. If your workflow allows, try to have each team member devote mornings, or as much of the day as possible, to the project. Facilitate stand-up meetings to present what was accomplished yesterday and what each person will do today. Then there will be several hours to focus on accomplishing project work undistracted. Routine non-project work can be done at the end of this reserve period. Iteration Switch. When planning the project, try to anticipate which skill sets will be needed during the upcoming one to two week time period (iteration). All department members should attend the morning stand-up meeting to keep in touch with the project. Then those whose skills can be covered by someone else take care of the operational work while the project team moves forward to create project features and functions. Switch between team members by day, week or iteration. Team Switch. Although some of the value of the team learning is lost, if you have substantial work to do that is not project related, try forming two teams. One team completes this project, while the second team (equal in skills) takes the next project. Those on the "off' team complete the department's routine operational work. While there is real value in having the intact team work together over the entire project, there are times when a special skill is needed for only a few days. To make the best use of a short-term subject matter expert or consultant, make sure he or she understands the project vision and the specific reason this feature or function is important to the customer. Ideally, your agile team is dedicated to only one project at a time. If that is unrealistic, find creative ways to get the most focused work periods possible.
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MANAGEMENT STYLES Quick Quiz 69 As a PMO-housed project manager, I am sent to various departments, and the kinds of teams I manage vary from project to project. Is there a leadership style that will work with all of them?
A. More democratic leadership has been found to work successfully with all teams and all types of projects. B. Allow teams to be self-directed and solve their own problems to get the best project results. C. Ask the department manager, or the functional manager, to whom most of your team members report, the style he or she prefers you use for the project team. D. To be truly effective, you will need to change your leadership style based on the experience of the team and the complexity of the project. Answer: D. To be truly effective, you will need to change your leadership style based on the experience of the team and the complexity of the project. Despite the latest trends toward self-directed teams and a more supportive leadership style, one type of management will not work for all teams on all projects. Learn to assess the knowledge levels, skill sets and experiences of your team members on the project. Ascertain their history working on teams, and note if they have teamed with the same group of people in the past. Next, consider the degree of project uncertainty. Have similar project deliverables been created routinely, with only minor differences to make them unique? Or is this an uncharted endeavor that must interface perfectly with multiple existing organizational systems, practices and procedures? Plot your evaluations on a matrix with the degree of project uncertainty from low to high on one axis, and the team member's experience with this type of work from low to high on the other. For those teams who are novices to this type of work and who are working on a highly predictable projects, you are best to assume a more directive type of leadership. The team will look to you to plan out the project path, assign them their roles and tasks, train them in new skills, and monitor their work so that if errors are made they are noticed and corrected quickly. This management style is the Directive Leader.
208
Qtick Qtizzes for Project Managers -
Answers
High If your project has more uncertainty and less Facilitator Servant experienced people, become ~ z Leader Leader more facilitating in your ~ IX: w approach. These teammates Directive Coordinator o Z will still need supervision, but Leader Leader ::J since the work you are creating High EXPERIENCE requires additional discussion Low and evaluation as a group to discover and implement your approach, lead informal meetings to brainstorm and decide on a course of action. Become a Facilitator Leader.
If your team is more experienced and skilled, but they are working on projects that have a high degree of industry maturity and there are numerous benchmarks and industry metrics to access, you can step back and allow the team members to be more self-directed. You may want to involve them in planning out the project and they may self-select tasks. Or, task assignments may become obvious if there are union or certified skill sets involved. Your role is most helpful as Coordinator Leader, making sure individual tasks are on track and overseeing the project resource needs. Finally, you may lead a team that takes on a project with a high degree of uncertainty in terms of the time, cost and the proper approach to take to fulfill the needs of the customer. If team members are experienced and skilled in their individual roles and perhaps are interested in exploring a more flexible, agile way to take on project challenges, you may want to transform yourself into a Servant Leader. This is a project manager that allows the team to be self-directed and cross-functional, while the project manager identifies and solves organizational and resource roadblocks to allow the team to accomplish its goals. Management is never a one-size-fits-all proposition. Choose your style after considering both the project needs and the needs of your team. Notes For My Projects:
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Answers
209
Index AC (Actual Cost) 90, 112, 114, 115, 146, 193 acceptance criteria 130, 160, 161, 168 accountability matrixes 141 accrue fixed costs 79, 123 activities, converging 138 activities, delayed 197 activities, diverging 138 Actual Work 62,136,176,181,192,193 ACWP (Actual Cost of Work Performed) 90, 91 additional scope 56, 180 agile methodology 17,70, 102,208 agile project management 15, 102, 103,205,211 agile testing 61,190 agile velocity 102, 103 analogous estimates 76 assign resources 116, 180 assumptions 168 As-Late-As-Possible scheduling 77 automated software 26,34,44,53,67,88,92, 106, 116, 120, 131, 136, 148, 156, 162,174,181,192,202 BAC (Budget at Completion) 23, 114 baseline, definition 171 Baseline Duration 180 baseline, scope 112 baseline, schedule 22, 171 baseline, time 22 baseline, quality 113 BCWP (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed) 82, 90 BCWS (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled) 82 behind schedule 5,8,27,78,83, 122 bell curve 136, 145 brainstorming 188, 197,211 break up tasks 165 budget 50, 170, 171 budget, cost 24,118,119 budget, management 104 budget, project 161 budget, reducing 45, 160 budget, training 55,119, 180, 181 business needs 96,100,106,108,109,124 business value 11,23,92,101,116,117,130,133,149,183,199 CAPM® (Certified Associate Project Manager) cash flow 93, 112 change control 115, 182, 186 change control board 110, 119 Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Index
157
211
change requests 50,54,56,170,178,182,183 changes, customer 56, 182, 195 changing schedule baseline 178, 179 changing task relationships 122, 161, 163 closing project 115, 185 CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) 25, 120, 121 co-located teams 105 communication skills 8,40,57,63,86,87,126,150,159,184,185,196,197,201 communication tools 61, 106, 149, 192, 193 communications channel formula 138, 139 Communications Plan 57, 109, 115, 184, 185 communications, team 151, 192, 193, 201 compliance projects 11, 92, 93 constraints 20,77,108,109,110,121,161,166 contingency buffer 129 contingency funds 170, 171 contingency reserves 74, 118, 182 continuous improvement 38, 146 contracts 44,54,56,110,115,128,129,136,137,158,159,182,183 contracts, fixed-fee 129, 136 contracts, fixed price 44, 54, 56, 129, 158, 159, 178, 182 contracts, fixed price economic price adjustment 129 contract penalties 136, 159 control charts 36, 142, 143 control limits 115, 142, 143 Coordinator Leader 209 cost baseline 24,110,114,118,185 costs 9,21,29,30,45,56,88,89,112,118,121,128,129,130, 144, 160, 169, 182 CPI (Cost Performance Index) 112, 113, 141 CV (Cost Variance) 112 critical chain 75, 171 critical path, definition 162 critical tasks 162, 163 customer, internal and external 96, 108, 119, 128, 155 customer changes 56, 182, 195 customer requests 56, 182, 195 deadlines, automated 77, 121 delayed activities, definition 169 departments, internal 96, 129, 186 dependencies, discretionary and mandatory 130 direct cost, definition 169 Directive Leader 208, 209 duration estimates 32, 114, 134, 135, 165, 178 EAC (Estimate at Completion) 21,112,113 EMV (Expected Monetary Value) 168 errors, hidden 49,59, 160, 188 estimates 2,27,32,74,75,76,95, 100, 104, 114, 118, 120, 124, 125, 129, 134, 135, 160, 164, 173, 182, 183 ETC (Estimate to Complete) 21,112,113
212
~ick ~izzes
for Project Managers -
Index
EV (Earned Value) 5,80,81,88,112,134,168 EVA (Earned Value Analysis) 168 EMV (Expected Monetary Value) 168 Exhausteds 197 extra budget 50, 170 extra work 54, 56, 178, 182 Facilitator Leader 209 fast track 163 fish diagram 195 fixed costs 77, 121, 160 fixed cost, definition 169 fixed price 44 Fledglings 196, 197 float, free and total 82 flowcharting 65, 200, 201 forecasting 144, 145 formula, communications channel 138 formula, D =W/U relationship 134 formula, earned value 5,37, 112, 144 formula, standard deviation 143 Gantt Chart '104, 114 global teams 1, 72, 73 goals, 122, 152 grade, definition 97, 169 hidden costs 30, 130, 131 hidden errors 45, 59, 160 Human Resources (HR) 144,181,197 industry knowledge 31, 132 internal departments 96, 128, 187 internal projects 152 interpersonal issues 87, 196, 197 Ishikawa diagram 195 iteration, definition 207 jobs, future
58, 186
kickoff meeting 19,108,109,138 KnowledgeAreas 47,164,165 knowledge management systems 67, 204 lag time 163 late activity, definition 169 late projects 6,82,83, 116 lead time 163 leadership style 7,69,85,208 lessons learned 83,87,101,146,185 liquidated damages 129
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Index
213
make or buy decisions 118 mandatory dependencies 130 mandatory overages 178, 179 management expectations, unrealistic maturity levels 87 methodologies 22,100, 114 metrics 42,62, 166 milestones 118, 135, 139, 191 Monte Carlo simulations 129, 135
154, 195
organizational maturity 206 overallocations 26, 122 over budget 3, 24, 25, 118 Pareto diagram 195 performance reports 147 PERT (Performance Evaluation and Review Technique) 74,134,135 phase gates 101 PMBOKID Guide 15,26,47,62,92,100,101,104,114,164,165,167,168, 184, 198 PMO (Project Management Office) 39, 148, 208 PPMM (Personal Project Management Maturity) 198 presentation methods 173 prioritizing projects 41, 152, 153 process improvement plan 165 Processes 142 procurement 33, 136, 137 progress reports 140 project assumptions 166 project authorization 106 project budget 161 Project Charter 18,106, 107, 114, 156 project costs 9,25,30, 118, 130, 182 project documents 102, 165 project management tasks 175, 187, 182, 183 project overload 52, 174 project planning 188 project management processes 91,111,142,183,199 project quality 97, 101,166 project risk management 4,32,66,78,90, 100, 114, 126, 158, 159, 182,184,202, 203 project reports 3, 76, 77 project scope 13, 96 project sponsors 14,76,98,99, 120, 127, 139, 145, 146, 154 project statistics 51,134,143,172,178,190 project teams 1, 196, 197, 201 project tracking 178 project transferability 79 projectized structure 133 purchasing, vendor criteria scale 137 PV (Planned Value) 80, 144
214
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Index
quality 101 quality, definition 97, 169 Quality Assurance, definition 169 quality baseline 111 quality checklist 165 quality controls 47, 101, 111, 164 Quality Control, definition 169 quality management plan 47, 164, 165 quality metrics 166 quality tools 62, 100, 194, 199 RACI matrix 139 RAM (Resource Assignment Matrix) 122, 161 regulatory projects 152 release teams 117, 123, 185 renew licenses 146 resources 154 risk buffers 32, 134, 135 risk management 4,32,66,78,90, 100,114,126,158,159,182,202,203 schedule delays 131 schedule, definition 169 schedule, shortening 160, 162 scope baseline 110 scope changes 155 scope, controlling 110,185 scope development 166 scope statement 104, 114 scope template 48, 166 Scope Verification 110 Servant Leader 209 software simUlations 129 sponsor meetings 98 sponsor role 14,98, 106, 127, 145 stakeholder politics 34, 138 stakeholders 96, 108, 115, 120, 124, 125, 126, 132, 149, 150, 151, 153, 154, 166, 184,202 Stalwarts 196, 197 standard deviations 134, 143 stand-up meetings 188,207 status reports 35, 140, 141 stoplight method 12,94 strategic goals 152 subcontractors 75, 115 subprojects 182 supplier 33,131,132,136 SV (Schedule Variance) 81 target date 102 task assignments
122
Quick Quizzes for Project Managers - Index
215
task relationships 163 team communications 76, 151, 192, 196 team meetings 151 team motivation 63,98,101,116,147,155,178,196 team productivity 72,196, 197 teams, releasing 117, 123, 185 templates 115,148,149 third party suppliers 33 three-point estimates 74 time and materials contract 44, 158 time variance 76 time, baseline 20, 185 time buffers 171 total float 82 tracking 60, 190 training 55,84,86,90, 119, 180, 181,194 triggers 76,114 unit tests
188, 189
variance, time 76, 115 vendor criteria scale 137 vendor selection process 118 vendors 33, 75, 115, 118, 160, 200 virtual teams 105 warranties 118 WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) weak matrix 37, 144 work authorizations 84 Woundeds 197 zero duration
216
25,72,82,83,87, 104, 114, 164, 174
118
Qyick Qyizzes for Project Managers -
Index
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