The Project One-Pager: A Simple Tool for Collaboratively Defining Project Scope

The Project One-Pager A Simple Tool for Collaboratively Defining Project Scope Tito Sierra Digital Library Federation Forum 2011 Project Manager’s Group Meeting November 2, 2011

Outline
8 Reasons Why Projects Fail
The Project One-Pager
6 Basic Elements
Process Notes
Example
Benefits and Limitations
Closing Thoughts

Why Projects Fail
Projects can fail for many reasons.
Many of the fundamental problems can avoided at the start of the project with a little bit of planning and conversation.

Why Projects Fail
The goals of the project are unclear

Why Projects Fail
There is disagreement about the goals of the project

Why Projects Fail
The requirements of the project are ambiguous or unrealistic

Why Projects Fail
The requirements of the project are ambiguous or unrealistic
The project is inadequately staffed

Why Projects Fail
Lack of consensus on project roles (i.e., who does what)

Why Projects Fail
The proposed schedule for the project is completely unrealistic

Why Projects Fail
The scope of the project is poorly managed or unconstrained

Why Projects Fail
The scope of the project is poorly managed or unconstrained
The project doesn’t make sense upon closer inspection

Avoiding Bad Starts
Poor planning and communication at the start of the project will negatively impact the entire project lifecycle.

Avoiding Bad Starts
Good planning and communication will improve resource allocation, schedule estimation, and managing scope.
It will also improve team morale.

A planning and communication tool that enables a shared understanding of the project before it begins.

Six Elements
Project Name
Objective Statement
Requirements
Out of Scope
Team
Schedule

1. Project Name A unique name used for all communication about the project going forward.

2. Objective Statement A concise hi-level summary of what the project intends to achieve.

3. Requirements An enumerated list of outcomes the project must achieve to be considered complete.

4. Out of Scope An list of outcomes that the project will explicitly not address.

5. Team The proposed core team roster, with projects roles attached to each name.

6. Schedule A list of hi-level milestones for the project, with proposed dates attached.

Collaborative Planning

Process Notes
Project Manager writes first draft
Kickoff meeting to review one-pager
Solicit feedback from core team
PM revises document for next review
Rinse and repeat until consensus

One-Pager Benefits
Simple and accessible to all
Creates useful documentation for describing the project externally
Can reveal fundamental problems at the start of a project when costs are low

One-Pager Limitations
Not for managing the project lifecycle
You can’t anticipate all scope issues in advance; things come up
Not everyone reads bullet points; visuals can augment understanding

Closing Thoughts
Good communication is the key to get a project off to the right start

Closing Thoughts
Collaborative planning at the start can help minimize gotchas later

Closing Thoughts
Collaborative planning at the start can help minimize gotchas later
Simple tools work best

Thanks!
Tito Sierra
Associate Director for Technology
MIT Libraries
[email_address]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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The Project One-Pager: A Simple Tool for Collaboratively Defining Project Scope

by Tito Sierra

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