This document discusses best practices for managing small projects, including defining objectives and scope, planning, communication, tracking progress, managing changes and risks. Key aspects of project management like planning, communication and tracking progress are still important for small projects, even if documentation is minimal. The project manager's role is to ensure planning is done, objectives are known, requirements defined, tasks scheduled and assigned, and contingencies planned, as well as communicate information and monitor progress.

1. Managing Small Projects Peter Tanswell

2. Focus on Project Delivery Apply Best Practices Defining Objectives & Scope Defining Deliverables Project Planning Communication Tracking & Reporting Progress Change Management Risk Management Managing Small Projects

3. Only produce as much documentation as is required by the project. A simple rule of thumb: if its useful in helping us to deliver the business objectives of the project then produce it Apply the Best Practices

4. Even on the smallest project there will be objectives which must be achieved. Define the objectives of the project Satisfy the needs of the stakeholders Define the scope – it forms the boundary of the project Define the stakeholders Defining Objectives & Scope

5. Define what is going to be produced Your aim – document a detailed enough set of descriptions of the products to be produced Define Deliverables

6. Do you need a plan for a small project? Consider the following: planning an expedition to climb Mount Everest or a trip to climb the skillion at Terrigal There is planning involved for both – time, what to take With a small project, you still need to work out which activities are required to produce a deliverable, estimate how long the activities will take, how many staff and resources are required and responsibilities of staff Project Planning

7. Consider the following a small project team comprised of just a project manager and one other person. The Project Manager will still need to assign tasks and responsibilities to the other person. Communicate plans via email, hard copy, or better still an informal or formal chat where you discuss the project plan. If the plan changes – communicate the changes with the project plan Communication

8. Consider a 2 person project team – the Project Manager and one other person. The Project Manager will need to know the progress of the activities which the other person is working on. Tracking and Reporting Progress

9. Even on a small project – changes are likely to occur. Requests for change usually come from stakeholders and it will be your responsibility as a Project Manager to assess the impact of accepting these into the project. Need to estimate the impact of the change in terms of extra effort and cost. Never simply accept the change. Need to fully understand what the change is and the impact on time and cost. Change Management

10. There will be risks – even on a small project. Ensure that you have thought through the potential risks at the beginning of the project. Monitor the risks, on a weekly basis. Failing to manage risk properly is one of the main reasons why projects fail Risk Management

11. Why is project management important and why does it come into play. It is the project manager's role to make sure that the planning is done -- that the goal and other objectives are known, that the requirements have been enumerated, that the workload is known, that all tasks have been scheduled and assigned, and a contingency plan is in place. It is the project manager's obligation to communicate required information to every-one that needs it, to monitor and track progress, report on status, and act on variances to correct them Summary

12. A Work Breakdown Structure is a results-oriented family tree that captures all the work of a project in an organized way. It is often portrayed graphically as a hierarchical tree, or, it can also be a tabular list of "element" categories and tasks or the indented task list that appears in your Gantt chart schedule. As a very simple example, Figure 1 (next slide) shows a WBS for a hypothetical banquet. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

14. Large, complex projects are organized and comprehended by breaking them into progressively smaller pieces until they are a collection of defined "work packages" that may include a number of tasks. A $1,000,000,000 project is simply a lot of $50,000 projects joined together. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is used to provide the framework for organizing and managing the work. Psychologists say our brains can normally comprehend around 7-9 items simultaneously. A project with thousands or even dozens of tasks goes way over our ability to grasp all at once. The solution is to divide and conquer. The WBS helps break thousands of tasks into chunks that we can understand and assimilate. Preparing and understanding a WBS for your project is a big step towards managing and mastering its inherent complexity. Why a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

15. Practice Task Prepare a work breakdown structure for the development of a website.

16. WBS for a System Development Project

17. A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. It is often portrayed graphically as a hierarchical tree, or, it can also be a tabular list of "element" categories and tasks or the indented task list that appears in your Gantt chart schedule. As a very simple example, Figure 1 (next slide) shows a WBS for a hypothetical banquet. Gantt Chart

19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_wGSFavTc Gantt Chart

20. Questions