Project Management 101 Guide

Alianza Confidential
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
101
A functional reference & practical guide to the PMI Methodology
Ryan Campbell | Project Management Professional (PMP)
1

TOPICS TO COVER
Project Management Theory
Project Management Lifecycle
Templates and Examples

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
THEORY
3

WHAT IS A PROJECT?
“A temporary endeavor
(has a definite beginning and end)
undertaken to create unique
product, service or result.” - PMI

WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
WHAT IS TASK MANAGEMENT?
• “The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities to meet the project requirements.” -PMBOK Guide
• Project Management is the high-level management approach to
ensure tasks are done with the proper schedule, budget, & quality.
Project Management – Discipline for how to manage work.
• Task Management is the process by which a person captures,
organizes, prioritizes & executes on the work they do each day.
• Managing the individual tasks that need to be done as a resource
on a project team, or for other misc. work to be done.
Task Management – Skill for how to execute the work.
To learn more:
This is the industry standard
methodology this training is
based off of.
Complimentary training
about the “Get Things
Done” (GTD) methodology.

Task management:
• Simpler work. e.g. a handful of related actions that can all be
completed by the same person in a shorter period of time.
Project management:
• Complex work. e.g. lots of actions, multiple resources,
impacting multiple stakeholders, schedule deadlines, lots of
requirements, complex scope, fixed budget, etc.
6
WHEN SHOULD PROJECT MANAGEMENT BE USED?
WHICH APPROACH SHOULD MANAGERS TAKE?

Lack of Planning Lack of Visibility
Lack of
Communication
Miscommunication
Missed
Expectations
Missed
Requirements
Scope Omissions Scope Creep Poor Use of Time Missed Deadlines
Exceed Budget Emergency Heroics
Missed Target
Objective
Poor Quality
Outcomes
Loss of Trust
7
WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
COMMON PROBLEMS
Not every project that uses Project Management will be free of these problems,
but projects have significantly fewer problems when following best practices.

Alianza Confidential 8
WHY DO PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Project management as a methodology comes
from years of people struggling to get things
done, learning from their failures,

WHY DO PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
and then establishing best practices
(like PMBOK) to more consistently
drive project success through
continuous improvement.
Why make the same mistakes
when you can learn from
the wisdom of others?

• The Executive who provides resources (budget / project team) and support,
and is accountable for enabling success.
Executive Sponsor (ES)
• The primary customer and beneficiary of the project’s success.
Project Sponsor (PS)
• The person assigned to work with the project team to achieve the project
objectives and is responsible for the project schedule & budget.
Project Manager (PM)
• The person who helps identify the business case, business requirements,
scope of the project, and functions as the technical expert in the details.
Business Analyst (BA)
• A set of individuals who support the project manager in performing the
work of the project to achieve its objectives.
Project Team
10
PROJECT ROLES
The Executive and Project Sponsors often end up being the same person.
The PM and BA also often end up being the same person.

PROJECT LIFECYCLE
11

1. A new project is assigned by the Project Sponsor to the Project Manager.
2. Project Manager schedules a Project Vision meeting with the Project Sponsor.
3. Project Manager captures high-level information in the Project Charter in this meeting.
4. Project Sponsor approves the Project Charter with project team’s input.
5. Project Manager schedules a Project Planning meeting.
6. Project Manager holds planning meeting to review the Project Charter with the project team.
7. Project Manager schedules weekly project coordination meeting with project team.
8. Project Manager creates Project Schedule from deliverables & milestones in the charter.
9. Project team does task break down of the deliverables & milestones in the Project Schedule.
10. Project team starts executing tasks as defined in the Project Schedule.
11. Project Manager monitors performance and progress of the project task execution.
12. Project status updates are provided to the stakeholders as needed.
13. Project tasks are all completed on the Project Schedule!
14. Project Manager closes out the project and completes a Final Project Report.
15. A Project Feedback Survey is completed by the Project Owner.
TYPICAL LIFECYCLE OF A PROJECT
Initiatin
g
Planning
PMI Process Groups
Executing
Monitoring
& Controlling
Closing

TEMPLATES & EXAMPLES
13

WHERE ARE THE TEMPLATES STORED?
Hyperlinks in this training
will take you to the online
Dropbox location.
Tip: It is best to create a
shortcut directly to this
Dropbox folder in
Windows or macOS for
easy future reference.

WHERE ARE PROJECT FILES STORED?
Once started, a folder will be
created for each new (OEP)
project in the AZ_Project
folder in Dropbox.

It is best to use underscores (_) in file and folder names instead of spaces to make
hyperlinks more legible, and shorter (some systems have URL character limits).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ri45s5bw0uqd170/Example%20file%20with%20spaces%20in%20the%20title.txt?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ssfs918kvjqfkqs/Example_file_with_underscores_in_the_title.txt?dl=0
Template files should use the following naming syntax:
<TEMPLATENAME>_-_<PROJECTNAME>.<extension>
Example:
Project_Charter_-_Improve_Onboarding_Inputs_and_Outputs.docx
WHAT ARE THE FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS?

Operational
Efficiency Program
• Possible projects
are listed on the
OEP Dashboard
and prioritized in
quarterly
planning.
Customer
Onboarding
• Projects are
normally
prioritized on
first in first out
order as sales
come in.
Product &
Development
• Product &
Development
releases are
prioritized based
on the Product
Road Map.
17
HOW IS A PROJECT PRIORITIZED?

HOW DO YOU SCHEDULE A PROJECT CHARTERING MTG?
MEETING INVITE TEMPLATE:
Create a Project Charter, save it in a new project folder, and add a hyperlink to this invite.
Update areas highlighted in yellow
• Rename to
Project Vision
meeting not
Project Intake

“A document issued by the project initiator
or sponsor that formally authorizes the
existence of a project, and provides a
project manager with the authority to
apply organizational resources to project
activities.” –PMBOK
WHAT IS A PROJECT CHARTER?
A Project Charter is useful for clarifying
and thinking through a project at the
beginning and making sure that the
project manager is aligned with the
expectations of the project sponsor.

See the Effective Meeting Management Training
HOW DO YOU EFFECTIVELY RUN A MEETING?
Highlights:
1. Schedule the meeting.
2. Prepare for the meeting.
3. Start the meeting.
4. Run the meeting
5. Take notes in the meeting.
6. Capture task assignments.
7. Send notes to attendees.

HOW DO YOU SCHEDULE A PROJECT KICKOFF?
MEETING INVITE TEMPLATE:
Remove blue training text
Add hyperlinks to this invite.
• Rename to
Project Planning
meeting not
Project Kickoff

HOW DO YOU SCHEDULE A
WEEKLY PROJECT COORDINATION MEETING?
Remove blue training text
Request to have a Project Schedule Smartsheet created and add hyperlinks to this invite.

WHAT IS A PROJECT SCHEDULE?
Once the Project
Charter is approved,
the Deliverables and
Milestones section
is used to create the
outline of the
Project Schedule
in Smartsheet.
(New Smartsheets
need to be created
by a licensed user)

WHY USE A PROJECT SCHEDULE?
Helps break down large chunks of work into assignable tasks (WBS)
Keep track of the overall time frame for completing the project
Conditional formatting for visually indicating dates
The Smartsheet can be shared with anyone
Resources can track their own tasks for each project
Hold project team accountable each week for their specific tasks
Real-time visibility by Project Sponsor about the project status
(My Tasks Report)

WHAT IS A WEEKLY STATUS UPDATE EMAIL?
Each week you should plan to
cleanup the project, update
project the schedule, and inform
all project stakeholders about
the progress of the project.
This weekly email serves as a
good high-level update to keep
project sponsor, project owner
& other stakeholders up to date.
Add Hyperlink to
Project Schedule & Status Updates folder
Remove your
signature

WHAT IS A WEEKLY STATUS UPDATE EMAIL?
EXAMPLE: Best practices:
• Be concise (single line).
• Hyperlink to deliverables or
reference materials.
• Bold the highlighted words to
make it easy to skim read.
• Send email after the weekly
coordination meeting.
• Save each status update in a
folder for future reference
(see footer hyperlink)

WHAT IS THE FINAL PROJECT REPORT
x
• Final_Project_Report

WHAT IS THE PROJECT FEEDBACK SURVEY?
Introduction:
• While we strive to meet or exceed
expectations on each project, there is
always room to improve.
• This survey helps to gather feedback
about the Project Owner’s experience
with the project and identify
improvement areas.
• This survey also helps to objectively
measure the success or failure of each
project in specific areas, and overall.
Scores and stored in the Project Feedback Surveys Smartsheet

HOW DO YOU INVITE THE PROJECT OWNER TO
COMPLETE A PROJECT FEEDBACK SURVEY?
• Ryan sends out the invitation emails
for the OEP projects.
• This survey can be filled out
independently, or with the Project
Manager for direct feedback, based on
the preference of the Project Owner.
• As a Project Manager, you should be
familiar with these feedback
questions so you are aware of how
your project will be graded once the
project is completed.
Including Hyperlink

WHAT ARE THE PROJECT FEEDBACK SURVEY QUESTIONS?
Net Promoter Score (NPS) Question:
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the PMO to a colleague /
other department within Alianza?
All other 20 questions are graded on the following 5-point scale:
• N/A = Not Applicable
• 1 = Strongly Disagree
• 2 = Disagree
• 3 = Neutral
• 4 = Agree
• 5 = Strongly Agree
Each section is also followed by a Comment box for additional freeform feedback.

1 - I am proud of our finished deliverables (produced through this effort).
2 - The effort met the success criteria provided by the requestor.
3 - The methods and processes used on this effort worked well.
4 - Stakeholder expectations were set and managed properly throughout the effort.
5 - Communication was well planned and executed relative to the needs of the
effort.
GENERAL QUESTIONS

6 - The process for gathering requirements was effective.
7 - The Business Analyst documented and communicated the requirements
accurately and for the tasks to be completed by the designated resources.
8 - The requirements were gathered, documented and communicated in a timely
manner.
REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS

9 - The right people were assigned as resources to all roles on the team.
10 - The team had the appropriate skills for their tasks.
11 - Deliverables, specifications, or milestones, and specific schedule elements /
dates were clearly communicated.
12 - Scope was established, and scope changes were managed well.
13 - Scheduled deadlines were met (or adjusted) and communicated effectively.
14 - Input / feedback from the requestor was effectively gathered & provided to the
team.
15 - Issues were documented, tracked and resolved in a timely manner.
16 - Coordination meetings had clear objectives and were managed effectively.
INITIATION, MONITORING & EXECUTION

17 - Outstanding issues are being tracked and addressed appropriately by the
proper owner.
18 - Out of scope change & enhancement requests were transitioned to the proper
owner.
19 - Transition plan was well established and executed at the close of the effort.
20 - Overall, I feel the effort was successful in meeting the approved deliverables.
CLOSURE

1. Doing Project Management is different than just accomplishing a group of tasks.
2. There are lots of industry standard best practices for how to successfully do Project
Management, championed by PMI and documented in the PMBOK.
3. Using these best practices will help you be more successful with your projects.
4. Leverage the templates and tools available to help with managing a project.
5. Reference this training as a functional resource guide on your first few projects.
6. Start with the end in mind by occasionally reviewing the Project Feedback Survey.
7. Attend regular Project Management Guild meetings to learn more in depth skills,
discuss PM problems across the company, & learn from other Project Managers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Questions?
What did you learn?

Thank you!

The purpose of the Problem Statement is to:
1. State the business need
2. Identify the key stakeholders
3. Briefly describes the positive impact that meeting the business need will have on those stakeholders.
WHAT IS A PROBLEM STATEMENT?
The problem [Describe the problem.]
Stakeholders Affected [The stakeholders affected by the problem.]
The Impact [What is the impact of the problem – on each stakeholder?]
A successful solution would [List some key benefits of a successful solution.]
Tips:
1. Keep it short.
2. Don’t suggest a solution or tactic – the problem statement should lend itself to many solutions.
3. Think about the major challenge and what the goal or aspirations are.

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