A Critical Chain Project Management presentation explaining how I used Microsoft Project 2010 and Prochain to implement Microsoft's Project Server Portfolio Management capability at an international law firm.

3. 1997

4. Session Objective
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5. Portfolio
Selection
Capacity
Planning
Centralized
Demand
Management
inventory
Benefits
Realization

6. Our Project Portfolio Management Capability Status
Demand Management
Portfolio Selection
Portfolio Tracking & Status
Portfolio Reporting
Capacity Planning
Resource Planning & Tracking
Financial Planning
Financial Tracking
Benefits Realization
Project Scheduling
Project Tracking, & Status
Task/Time Reporting
Legend
Capability implemented
Capability implemented but limited
Capability not implemented

7. Demand
Mgt
Portfolio
Selection
Portfolio
Track &
Status
Portfolio
Report
Capacity
Planning
Resource
Planning &
Tracking
Financial
Planning
Financial
Tracking
Benefit
Realization
Proj.
Scheduling
Proj
Track &
Status
Task &
Time
Report
Capability
Status
PRB process
Process
&Sequence
Process State
PM Frame
Budget
PM Frame.
CIL
CNI
CIL
CIL
CNI
CIL
CI
CIL
Excel
Excel
Excel,
MSPS
Excel,
MSPS
SSRS
Excel
Excel
MSPS
Excel
Excel
Elite
MSPS
CNI
CNI
CIL
CIL
CNI
CIL
CI
CIL
PM
Frame.
CI
CI
CI
MSPS
CNI
PM
Frame
MSPS
SSRS
MSPS
SSRS
CI
CI
CIL
Process
Assessment
Supporting
Application
Application Status
Application
Assessment
Legend
Fully Supporting Capability
Needs improvement or enhancement
Failure to support capability
Process State
Application State
CI = Capability implemented
CI = Capability implemented
CIL = Capability implemented but limited
CIL = Capability implemented but limited
CNI = Capability not implemented
CNI = Capability not implemented
CNI

9. Resource
Constraints
Bottlenecks

10. Organizational Core Issues
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11. Theory of Constraint: Critical Chain Process
Network
Building
Critical Chain
Scheduling
Buffer Sizing
Resource
Management
Buffer
Management
Synchronization

12. The Difference between the WBS and Project Network
Building the IT Portfolio
Capability Processes and
Deliverables
WBS
1.0 Game Plan
1.1 Baseline
Assessment
4.0 Assessing
5.0 Balancing
6.0 Communicating
7.0 Governance &
Organization
8.0 Assessing
Execution
3.1 Populate
portfolio
4.1 Monitor for
triggers
5.1 Identify tuning
options
6.1 Identify
Stakeholders
7.1 Manage
Portfolio Policies
8.1 Assess
program execution
4.2 Measure
Portfolio
5.2 Determine
Trade-offs
6.2 Create
Communication
Packages
7.2 Integrate
business
processes
8.2 Perform
assessment
comparison
3.3 Define metrics
4.3 Compare
Measures against
Targets
5.3 Select/approve
portfolio changes
6.3 Deliver
communications
7.3 Monitor
compliance
triggers
8.3 Assessment &
execution report
3.4 Build Portfolio
Views
2.1 Plan
Investment
Strategy
3.0 Creating
3.2 Identify
expected risks &
results
2.0 Planning
4.4 Portfolio &
Financial Tracking
5.4 Implement
changes
6.4 Training
7.4 Create/
maintain
governance
processes
8.4 Benefits
Realization
6.5 Portfolio
Reporting
7.5 Establish
Organization
2.2 Plan Portfolio
Structure
1.2 Define
Objectives
2.3 Plan individual
subportfolios
1.3 Define Process
Metrics
2.4 Demand
Management
1.4 Documents the
Portfolio Game
Plan
(Charter)
2.5 Resource
Management
2.6 Financial
Management
2.7 Methodology
2.8 Documentation
3.5 Solution
Implementation
2.9 Capacity
Planning
7.6 Portfolio
Selection &
Governance

13. Critical Path vs. Critical Chain Project Management
CPM 1910 to 1950
CCPM 1997
The algorithms in critical path vs. the critical chain are
radically different.

15. Accurate Estimating is a Paradox

16. Task variability is a fact of life.
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Putting on a pair of Levis
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Putting on a pair of Levis you owned in High School
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Putting on Sweats

17. • Rule of Thumb
• 32.5 days
• Square Root of the Sum of the Squares
• 100 + 400 + 100 + 100 + 225 = 925 (30.41)
• What are our options if the buffer is to small and how do
we know?

18. Plan
33%
OK
67%
100%
What is Buffer Management?
Act
Task variability is protected by aggregated buffers

19. Aggregated Buffers Saves Time and Money

20. Resource Histogram – Individual Capacity and Demand

21. CCPM requires Project Synchronization and Staggering
Reducing the number projects in the system and focusing on the
critical few will deliver more projects faster creating velocity

25. 25

26. Demand
Mgt
Portfolio
Selection
Portfolio
Track &
Status
Portfolio
Report
Capacity
Planning
Resource
Planning &
Tracking
Financial
Planning
Financial
Tracking
Benefit
Realization
Proj.
Scheduling
Proj
Track &
Status
Task &
Time
Report
Capability
Status
PRB process
Process
&Sequence
Process State
PM Frame
Budget
PM Frame.
PM
Frame
PM
Frame.
CI
CI
CI
CI
CI
CIL
CI
CIL
CIL
CI
CI
CI
MSPS
MSPS
Excel
Services,
MSPS
Excel
Services,
MSPS
SSRS
MSPS
MSPS
MSPS
PFS
Excel
Excel
Elite
PFS
MSPS
MSPS
MSPS
MSPS
SSRS
MSPS
SSRS
CI
CI
CI
CI
CI
CIL
CI
CIL
CIL
CI
CI
CI
Process
Assessment
Supporting
Application
Application Status
Application
Assessment
Legend
Fully Supporting Capability
Needs improvement or enhancement
Failure to support capability
Process State
Application State
CI = Capability implemented
CI = Capability implemented
CIL = Capability implemented but limited
CIL = Capability implemented but limited
CNI = Capability not implemented
CNI = Capability not implemented

27. Change total cost constraint and click
“Recalculate” to view the what if scenario and
results
Unselected
projects
Force in/out
projects

29. Project Description
High level summary
Cost Benefits
Analysts
Cost /Benefits Payback by Project
$1,400.00
$1,200.00
$$
$1,000.00
$800.00
$600.00
$400.00
$200.00
Total Benefits = $$$,$$$
Total Investment = $$$, $$$
Discount Rate = 7%
Payback Period = 4 Yrs
NPV= $xxx,xxxx
Discount ROI = xx%
$-
1
4
5
$100.00
$350.00
$700.00
$1,150.00
$110.00
$460.00
$635.00
$710.00
$735.00
$25.00
$100.00
$200.00
$350.00
$150.00
Expected Investments
Actual Investments
3
$50.00
Expected Benefits
Actual Benefits
2
$550.00
$660.00
$685.00
Years
Benefit Assumptions
Benefit Status
• Assumption 1
• Assumption 2
• Assumption 3
• Hard Benefits:
• Soft Benefits:
• Strategic Benefits:

30. Aligning Behavior to increase our execution velocity
What we want
What we don’t want
Balancing workload with the organizations
capacity to deliver.
Starting more projects than the organization has
the capacity to handle.
Focus on managing the project buffer and buffer
consumption. (Proactive management)
Firefighting to deliver projects on time, on budget
and within scope. (reactive management)
Understanding that variability exist and manage it
using aggregated buffers.
Padding each tasks to deliver projects on time.
Project will take longer and longer to complete.
Team Member Relay Runner Model Process
Violating task or project dependencies to keep
people busy
Project Managers and Resource Managers working
closer together
Project Managers fighting over resources

31. How can you implement this process in your environment?
Recognize the need for a new way to manage projects in a
resource constrained environment.
 Obtain agreement on the core problems managing projects with
constrained resources.
 Gain buy in and acceptance on CCPM from Senior Management
 Treat the implementation of CCPM as a project.
 Provide training and education on the benefits of CCPM
 Develop the internal technical capability to manage CCPM projects
 Develop a phased rollout approach
 Evaluate results and conduct lessons learned
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32. Summary
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What did we learn?
 Critical Path Management was developed by the DOD using unlimited resources.
Critical Chain Project Management accounts for the reality that all task have variability and
that resources are limited.
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Buffer Management provides a calculated leading indicator that provides an early warning if
projects are trending to slip.
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In addition, you learned:
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The Differences between CCPM vs. Critical Path
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The core issues Theory of Constraints CCPM must resolve?
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The Difference between the WBS and Project Network.
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What is meant by Project Synchronization and Staggering.
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Understanding tasks variability and the Buffer Management.
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How ProChain enables Critical Chain Scheduling in MS Project 2010.

33. Call to Action
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Other Sessions
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Critical Path 2.0, Eric Uyttewaal
Implementing PMI’s Practice Standard for Scheduling in Microsoft
Project, Kenneth Steiness
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TOC Links
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http://www.goldratt.com
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http://www.principlesofexecution.com/a_toc_transformation
http://www.prochain.com
Evaluation
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