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Project Management

20 Key Actions & their Successful Results

Initiating

Action Results of Successful Performance
1) Demonstrate project need and feasibility. A document confirming that there is a need for the project deliverables and describing, in broad terms: the deliverables, means of creating the deliverables, costs of creating and implementing the deliverables, benefits to be obtained by implementing the deliverables.
2) Obtain project authorization.
  • A"go/no go" decision is made by the sponsor.
  • Aproject manager is assigned.
  • A"project charter" is created which:
    • Formally recognizes the project
    • Is issued by a manager external to the project and at a high enough organizational level so that he or she can meet project needs
    • Authorizes the project manager to apply resources to project activities
3) Obtain authorization for the phase.
  • A "go/no go" decision is made by the sponsor which authorizes the project manager to apply organizational resources to the activities of a particular phase
  • Written approval of the phase is created which
    • Formally recognizes the existence of the phase
    • Is issued by a manager external to the project and at a high enough organizational level so that he or she can meet project needs

Planning

Action Results of Successful Performance
4) Describe project scope.
  • Statement of project scope
  • Scope management plan
  • Work breakdown structure
5) Define and sequence project activities.
  • An activity list (list of all activities that will be performed on the project)
  • Updates to the work breakdown structure (WBS)
  • A project network diagram
6) Estimate durations for activities and resources required.
  • Estimate of durations (time required) for each activity and assumptions related to each estimate
  • Statement of resource requirements
  • Updates to activity list
7) Develop a project schedule.
  • Project schedule in the form of Gantt charts, network diagrams, milestone charts, or text tables
  • Supporting details, such as resource usage over time, cash flow projections, order/delivery schedules, etc.
8) Estimate costs.
  • Cost estimates for completing each activity
  • Supporting detail, including assumptions and constraints
  • Cost management plan describing how cost variances will be handled
9) Build a budget and spending plan.
  • A cost baseline or time-phased budget for measuring/monitoring costs
  • A spending plan, telling how much will be spent on what resources at what time
10) Create a formal quality plan. (optional)
  • Quality management plan, including operational definitions
  • Quality verification checklists
11) Create a formal project communications plan. (optional)
  • A communication management plan, including:
    • Collection structure
    • Distribution structure
    • Description of information to be disseminated
    • Schedules listing when information will be produced
    • A method for updating the communications plan
12) Organize and acquire staff.
  • Role and responsibility assignments
  • Staffing plan
  • Organizational chart with detail as appropriate
  • Project staff
  • Project team directory
13) Identify risks and plan to respond. (optional) A document describing potential risks, including their sources, symptoms, and ways to address them
14) Plan for and acquire outside resources. (optional)
  • Procurement management plan describing how contractors will be obtained
  • Statement of work (SOW) or statement of requirements (SOR) describing the item (product or service) to be procured
  • Bid documents, such as RFP (request for proposal), IFB (invitation for bid),etc.
  • Evaluation criteria -- means of scoring contractor's proposals
  • Contract with one or more suppliers of goods or services
15) Organize the project plan. A comprehensive project plan that pulls together all the outputs of the preceding project planning activities
16) Close out the project planning phase. A project plan that has been approved, in writing, by the sponsor A "green light" or okay to begin work on the project
17) Revisit the project plan and replan if needed. Confidence that the detailed plans to execute a particular phase are still accurate and will effectively achieve results as planned.

Executing

Action Results of Successful Performance
18) Execute project activities.
  • Work results (deliverables) are created.
  • Change requests (i.e., based on expanded or contracted project) are identified.
  • Periodic progress reports are created.
  • Team performance is assessed, guided, and improved if needed.
  • Bids/proposals for deliverables are solicited, contractors (suppliers) are chosen, and contracts are established.
  • Contracts are administered to achieve desired work results.

Controlling

Action Results of Successful Performance
19) Control project activities.
    • Decision to accept inspected deliverables
    • Corrective actions such as rework of deliverables, adjustments to work process, etc.
    • Updates to project plan and scope
    • List of lessons learned
    • Improved quality
    • Completed evaluation checklists (if applicable)

Closing

Action Results of Successful Performance
20) Close out project activities.
      • Formal acceptance, documented in writing, that the sponsor has accepted the product of this phase or activity.
      • Formal acceptance of contractor work products and updates to the contractor's files.
      • Updated project records prepared for archiving.
      • A plan for follow-up and/or hand-off of work products

Article by Michael Greer
http://www.michaelgreer.com/





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