2. Learning Objectives
• Defining project management
• The importance of project management
• The role of the project manager
• Keys to successful projects
• Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
3.
4. Professional and
conscientious project
management is critical to a
successful outcome!
5. Learning Objectives
Defining project management
• The importance of project management
• The role of the project manager
• Keys to a successful project
• Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
6. What is a Project?
A temporary and one-time endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product or
service, which brings about beneficial
change or added value
7. Project Management 101
The very first thing you learn in project
management is..
that the focus of a Project Manager is
always…
9. Defining Project
Management
• The application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques to project activities to
meet project requirements
• Organizing and managing resources so
the project is completed within defined
scope, quality, time and cost constraints
10.
11. Learning Objectives
Defining project management?
The importance of project management
• The role of the project manager
• Keys to a successful project
• Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
16. Why IT Projects Succeed
1. Sound project management
processes
2. Project tied to the organization’s
business goals
3. Senior management commitment
17. Why IT Projects Succeed
4. Good change management
5. Detailed requirements
6. Realistic schedule
7. Good stakeholder relationships
18. Why IT Projects Succeed
8. Empowered project manager
9. Skilled and appropriate team
members with defined roles and
responsibilities
10. Availability of funding
19. What makes this all work?
A good, solid professional project
manager
20. Learning Objectives
Defining project management
The importance of project management
The role of the project manager
• Keys to successful projects
• Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
29. Learning Objectives
Defining project management?
The importance of project management
The role of the project manager
Keys to successful projects
• Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
30. Keys to Successful
Projects
or
…Duh?!?
Things you already
know but let’s review
anyway
32. PLAN
• Identify all stakeholders up front!
• Develop the project plan before
starting the project
•Establish communications protocols
33. PLAN
•Define your requirements in detail
•Establish a speedy conflict resolution
process
•Make contingency plans
•Plan a reasonable roll-out schedule
42. Manage
•Ensure the system design reflects
sound planning
•Hold the reins on irrational exuberance!
(Ensure the system design reflects the
system you need and can afford at this point
in time)
43. Manage
•Train all staff in a timely fashion
•Make extensive testing a priority!
•Make the most of pilot testing!
44.
45.
46. A good project team can
be the key to a successful
project!
49. Learning Objectives
Defining project management
The importance of project management
Defining the role of the project manager
Keys to a successful project
Managing the Contractor
• Managing the Project
52. Manage the Contractor
• Don’t “marry” the contractor
• Trust but question
• Their bottom line is the bottom line
• Your bottom line is a working system
• Nothing is ever free
• The end product is only as good as
your requirements
53. Provide Performance
Feedback
• Build performance reviews into the
contract
• Be clear and specific
• Be timely
• The State is ultimately accountable for the
project
54.
55. Learning Objectives
What is project management?
Why is it important?
The role of the project manager
Keys to success projects
Keys to a successful projects
Managing the Contractor
Managing the Project
56. Manage the Project
Successful project
management is delivering a
quality product that meets the
customer’s requirements within
time, scope, and budget.
64. • Gradual, progressive increase in the
project’s scope that is not noticed
immediately
• Occurs when additional requirements result
in scope change and can cause cost and
schedule overruns
65. Ask these questions!
• Is it a must?
• Can the customer/user do the job without it?
• Does it contribute to the viability of the
system?
• Does it add value as a feature/function to the
system?
• Is it worth the additional cost?
67. Budget/Cost Management
• Monitor project spending
• When a variance occurs,
determine the cause
• Change the execution of the
project, reduce scope, or
submit an APDU
• Prevent unapproved
changes to the project
68. Project Management
Potholes
Buying a car without
checking under the hood
Focusing on the system front-end
processes
69. Focus on the entire project
Report?
What report?
What is a report?
Documentation….duh…
70. Project Management
Reporting
• Establish reporting requirements upfront
• Include the good, the bad, and the ugly
• Be brief but accurate
• Management really does want to know!
71.
72. Project Management
Potholes
You snooze, you lose
Not obtaining prior approval
73. Not Obtaining Federal Prior Approval
May cost the State funding that
may have been approved if
submitted in advance!
Retroactive
Approvals
74. Submit APDUs Timely!
• Annuals are due within 90 days of the
anniversary of the approval date
• As Needed are due as soon as the trigger
condition (time, budget, scope) becomes
known to the State
For the last day and a half we’ve talked about the APD process – how to get the funding and approval for your project. There is one very important piece that brings a PAPD or IAPD to a successful end. That is good, solid project management. There is no way we can teach you project management in such a short session. What we want to do is provide you with some basic guidance on PM = things to avoid and things to make sure you do. These are based upon our experience with State Systems and training in PM. We hope you find them useful. Is anyone ready for candy??? (Ask the audience for examples of good project management – list on flip chart!) (Ask the audience for examples of bad project management – list on flip chart!)
(USER LASER POINTER) We first saw this back in the IAPD session on Functional Requirements. Obviously, this project did not have a PM – or not a good one anyway! How the Customer explained it! How the Project Leader/Manager understood it! How the analyst designed it! How the Programmer wrote it! How the Business Consultant Described it! How the project was documented! What was installed! How the customer was billed! How it was supported! What the customer really needed! This is why we need Project Management!
It’s a balancing act – you’ve got a lot of things to keep going - and going well – all at once!
In order to define project management, we need to understand what a project is. A project is a temporary and one-time endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service, which brings about beneficial change or added value. Projects have end dates!
Read the slide. (CLICK)
ASK THE AUDIENCE?? Do we have any project managers in the audience?? Does anyone know what the PM Triple Constraints are? (GIVE CANDY) The PM Triple constraints are the keys to quality and success! These three are interdependent and create quite a balancing act for Project Managers. The time constraint is the amount of time available to complete a project. All projects have deadlines or end dates. This may be the most difficult constraint to manage. The cost constraint is the budgeted amount available for the project. Remember that cost also translates to resources – people, equipment, and materials. The scope constraint is what must be done to produce the project's end result – the system you need – meeting your requirements! These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope, or managing the project over a longer period of time to take advantage of various funding opportunities without a loss of continuity ! The discipline of project management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team ( not just the project manager ) to organize their work to meet these constraints.
The textbook definition of PM is: The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements And Organizing and managing resources so the project is completed within defined scope, quality time, and cost constraints.
Leadership - Always remember that fear and intimidation bring immediate results. Many ways to manage a project! What PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS NOT!! Though many people would be very happy trying this approach…
In order to demonstrate the importance of project management, let’s talk about what make projects fail and what makes them succeed
Let’s start with why projects fail. ASK the AUDIENCE! Why do project fails? (GIVE CANDY) REMEMBER: Failure is an event, never a person! Failure is not delivering the project on time, within budget, and according to scope . We’re going to review some of the project management reasons why IT projects fail. The combination of one or more of these can easily introduce enough RISK into the project for it to become no longer viable.
(CLICK) Weak business case – is this just a whim or is there a real need for the project? If so, prove it! (CLICK) Senior management commitment is vital – these are the decision-makers and hold the purse strings. You have to have their buy-in or else you set yourself up for failure. Every project has to have a CHAMPION = Senior management sponsor! (CLICK) Inadequate project planning will always present problems. You have to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, who’s doing what, when it needs to be done and how much it will cost.
(CLICK) Absence of user involvement is a showstopper. The users will be the staff who are going to live and breath the system once its implemented. You need their expertise and their buy-in to make the project a success. Leave them out and be ready to meet resistance to any change you try to implement. (CLICK) New or unfamiliar technology is always a risk. It raises risks and fears. You always need to manage risks. So, do your homework in your planning phase to make sure the chosen solution will work for you! You may want to perform a proof of concept and test it before deciding to move forward into full blown design and development. Recognize that even if it does work, there are other implications that need to be closely scrutinized and planned for accordingly – such as training and support. A lot of us here probably remember moving from DOS to Windows – that was scary at the time! What a learning curve – moving from character-based to graphical interface! I can remember in my past life at DOD moving from mainframes to client/server – change is always scary! It’s just human nature! (CLICK) We can’t say it enough – requirements must be defined (no one can read your mind), clear (what do you really mean), and concise (I want this to do this).
Now let’s talk about do the flip side - success! Why do IT projects succeed? Any ideas? (Write them down or cross out the reasons for failure!)
Here’s our Top 10 list based on our experience and it pretty much mirrors the industry trends we see. CLICK CLICK CLICK
CLICK – READ #4 Change management process has to be defined upfront at the beginning of the project! It should be written and agreed upon. Once you finish your risk management plan, you need to focus on change management! It will happen! How are you going to deal with change – it can affect scope, time, and budget. Changes can be things that you realize must be part of the core requirements or to your core requirements. Or they may be the start of your enhancement list! They can also be hardware changes. CLICK CLICK Realistic schedule is not just about our review time. It’s about giving yourself enough time to review deliverables. You’re going to have some large, maybe daunting technical documents to review. Make sure you allow yourself enough time – not only to comment but also to consolidate the comments from all reviewers, to resolve any conflicting comments, and then to deliver the comments in a professional manner to the developer! CLICK
CLICK CLICK CLICK Availability of funding is critical – you guys use grants and entitlement funding – these are not bottomless pits of money. You have to estimate well and manage your budget carefully! As I mentioned, our Top 10 list closely mirrors industry’s but… Industry experts would add a few more to this list that I just want to mention – risk management – active risk management – don’t just write your plan and let it collect dust, risks change and need to be managed using a formal development methodology - adds structure and formalizes your process using standard tools and infrastructure using an iterative process - if this meets your needs. It does help provide a product faster and to consistently improve the product as the project advances.
A Project Manage has to lead and manage! No followers need apply!
A project manager wears many hats –
a good project manager needs to be a juggler (CLICK) At times a magician (CLICK) a teacher (CLICK) a policeman (CLICK) a parent (CLICK) A Project Manager has to manage - juggle the triple constraints! Time Cost Scope A quote from PMBOK -- “An under-qualified project manager can destroy a contract as effectively as an under-qualified engineer” … .now we will discuss some of the skills involved in project management!
A project manager has to be empowered! With empowerment comes responsibility. This means.. Having a backbone! (USE LASER POINTER) Empower the project manager! Give that person more than just the title – give them authority to make decisions and trust them to do it correctly! The Project Manager represents the project in a professional manner and stand ups for the project when required – fight the battles that come their way! PICK THE BATTLES TO FIGHT VERY CAREFULLY! You don’t want to use your best nutritionist or caseworker. IT and program are subject matter experts – not PMs!
ASK THE AUDIENCE – what skills are important? (GIVE CANDY!) (CLICK) The PM doesn’t have to be an expert in the application area but – they do need to understand the application area, the standards required, and the regulations that apply (includes functional, technical, financial, and procurement). (CLICK) Understand the project environment! What are the cultural, social and political characteristics you are doing with? (DON”T TALK ABOUT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS) There are big differences between FSP & WIC - and even more between government and private industry! (think about dealing with contractors!) Educate yourself, listen and try to understand.
General management skills and knowledge – prioritization, organization, decision-making, supervision, budgeting, negotiation (CLICK) Communication skills!!! Written, oral, presentation! These are essential! (CLICK) Interpersonal skills – this is a high visibility position for the duration of the project! The PM needs to be seen, heard, and understood. Calls for diplomacy, tact, and good listening skills. Maybe mediation.
The Project Manager has to play the of the referee and that of the interpreter between the program and technical subject matter experts throughout the process. If the two are talking over one another, aren’t listening to one another, or just plain at a loss to understand – the PM has to be able to intervene and interpret! These are members of the project team and the PM has to make the team work! PM also needs to make sure the team check’s their egos at the door! This is a team effort after all! This also is true between the Project Team and the developer or the Project and senior managers! Show respect Listen Try to understand their point of view
Primary role is to make things happen. Jumping through fiery hoops and keeping the money coming is only the tip of the responsibilities!
Stuff that seems obvious but gets missed!
PLAN early and plan well all aspects of the project!
(CLICK) Identify all stakeholders up front! (CLICK) Develop the project plan before starting the project (CLICK) Establish communications protocols – this should be written. Who reports to who, who carries the message to whom!
(CLICK) Define requirements in detail (CLICK) Establish a speedy conflict resolution process! WRITTEN and part of the SOW or Contract (CLICK) Make contingency Plans – if things didn’t go wrong you wouldn’t need a PM ! A risk management plan is NOT a contingency plan. Risk is something you anticipate! Contingency is something you must be ready to react to! (CLICK) Plan a reasonable roll-out schedule. You are not just putting in a new system – you are also changing the way your do business and this has a huge impact. Allow time to deal with it .
Lead the project and the project team!
(CLICK) (CLICK) (CLICK) (READ SLIDE) KEY POINT: The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring the work gets done – not DOING all the work!
(CLICK) (CLICK) (CLICK) Give IT and program a seat at the table – this is about OWNERSHIP! One of those three ships Karen talked about in the Procurement session!
(CLICK) Set clear performance expectations – for the developer, for the project team, for your stakeholders! (CLICK) (CLICK)
COMMUNICATIONS IS SO IMPORTANT! Even in our daily lives we see how communications can make or break a situation. It’s true for projects as well! DID YOU KNOW THAT PM’s SPEND 90% of their TIME COMMUNICATING??!!
(CLICK) Communicate objectives frequently – keep everyone on the same page! (CLICK) Recognize different perspectives KEY POINT!!!! Recognize that with the various stakeholders (program staff, IT, workers, management) come different perspectives that are all valuable to the project! Listen!! These reflect their concerns and interests. Repeat them back to make sure you understand! (CLICK) Check assumptions Remember those system goals and objectives we discussed during the alternatives analysis? These need to be reiterated to make sure assumptions stay consistent and are truly reflective of the business case.
(CLICK) Manage expectations of all stakeholders – need to be realistic and match the actual work involved. Sometimes states think this will solve all your problems – save time, money, staff, etc. These expectations, if overblown, can cause problems. Be very honest about what the new system will or will NOT do. Don’t give false expectations. Remember change brings a fear factor with it. Assuage fears. Encourage success. (CLICK) Share success and broadcast achievements Broadcast achievements throughout the project – newsletters, e-mails, announcements at meetings – too often only hear about the problems – need to hear the good as well! Use on-line forums or even a project blog. (CLICK) Invite feedback Invite feedback from all stakeholders throughout the project! Good or bad! Be ready to manage it! KEY POINT!!! A Project Manager has to be willing and able to tell the truth to power! Remember PM’s should be empowered and this includes being the messenger to the senior managers – the project champions!
All of the Project Manager roles are critical but this is crucial!
(CLICK) Ensure the system design reflects sound planning Ensure that the system design reflects the system that you need and you can afford using your budget at this point in time! (CLICK) HOLD REINS ON IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE Don’t let your project team or stakeholders be blinded by the lights and just jump on the latest and great technology going! We’ve all seen those “bright idea” moments whether it is in requirements definition or in design sessions. Excitement is wonderful but we’ve all been in those sessions where we get carried away. This can lead to adding expensive tweaks and functions that end up causing scope creep and affecting the budget and the schedule. MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS! Make sure it meets your needs and your budget at this point in time. Remember Karen said that a strong RFP is what you hold your contractor to. This is managing back to what you planned and agreed upon. Don’t let your project get out of hand! If you are going to increase scope, do it knowingly! Keep an eye on that requirements traceability matrix!! Some of these “bright ideas” may need to become options or go on your wish/enhancement list!
Remember the “Getting to Go Live” session!! (CLICK) Train all staff in a timely fashion (CLICK) Make extensive testing a priority! Don’t go cheap on testing. (CLICK) Make the most of pilot testing!
I expected times like this – but I never thought they’d be so bad, so long, and so frequent – This is how you don’t want to feel!
Together we can! Working together as a team means winning together as a team! This is how you do want your team to feel!
A good project team doesn’t mean leaving the uncooperative people out of the room – make the extra effort to co-opt them! Draw on all areas of expertise! You need the subject matter experts on your team! Involve your stakeholders – encourage synergy and collaboration! Being a team member also gives stakeholders a sense of ownership and commitment. Good teamwork makes the Project Manager look good and the project successful!
WORDS OF WISDOM – Think Big, Think Fast, Think Ahead
Determination - There is in this world no greater force than the force of a man determined to succeed. QUESTIONS???
How are we doing? We’re getting ready to talk about managing the contractor. Now I’m going to turn the rest of the presentation over to Gregg!
If you’re not a part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem! So let’s talk a little about managing your contract or better yet your contractor! Too cynical? Maybe. Put another way, if they think they delivered what you wanted, then they will be expected to get additional $$ for additional requirement.
Remember we talked about having clear language in the RFP and contract on the performance and expectations of the contractor? Well, now we get to manage and enforce this!
Here are some quick tips on how to manage the contractor! (READ LIST)
States must be proactive and provide the contractor with a clear and accurate picture of expectations and how their performance compares with the requirements. Providing performance feedback should be an on-going process . Appropriate times to discuss performance may be when reviewing work, project reports, status reports or other tasks where the opportunity presents itself, critical work milestones such as submission of deliverables. Build performance discussions into the project plan Know your purpose – have a clear understanding of the issue(s) you intend to address Present a clear message – clearly express concerns and/or observations Be specific – use examples to illustrate the issue(s) Be timely – don’t wait for an extended period of time (potentially jeopardizing the schedule or reducing the impact of the feedback) before speaking with the contractor
HAVE A BACKBONE! Empower the PM and trust them!
A reminder of the three key factors or constraints!
Remember we talked about why IT projects fail earlier? Now we need to talk about some of the potholes we’ve identified specific to State systems, starting with…
Giving away the farm -- Giving the contractor too much control, responsibility, or authority They are not always RIGHT! Don’t let them baffle you with the techno-speak, charts, and diagrams!
Think twice before giving away the farm!
Remember all those creeps from the procurement session? (CLICK) or the creepiest thing you can think of… (Click) This is a creep you need to be ready to identify and deal with!
(Read Definition from slide) Scope creep occurs when additional requirements, sometimes minor, are identified and added to the project. Overtime, these collectively may result in scope change and cause cost and schedule overruns. OFTEN DON’T RECOGNIZE IT BECAUSE IT HAPPENS WHEN EVERYONE IS AGREEING! Delineate between requirements and enhancements. You need buy-in from all of the stakeholders to add enhancements.
Stop! Ask these questions? Have a change control process that involves all of your stakeholders, so you know you have their buy-in, particularly if the change significantly impacts the budget or timeline.
This ties back to the triple constraint and our nemesis scope creep. It also may reflect poor planning. Keep on top of your budget. Don’t let changes in time or scope occur without updating your budget. A GOOD PROJECT MANAGER STAYS ON TOP OF THE BUDGET. While some changes in budget are not uncommon, projects that go significant over budget are in danger of not getting something they really need or want that comes later in the project because of failure to control cost.
Monitor project spending to ensure it stays within the baseline plan for spending rates and totals When spending varies, determine the cause. Change the execution of the project to bring the spending back in line within the budget, or recognize the original estimate was incorrect or you require additional funding due to variances in scope or time and either submit an APDU to request approval of additional funding or reduce the scope of the project Keep your stakeholders, particularly executive sponsors in the loop. Prevent unapproved changes to the project
Focusing on the front-end processes and the design – forgetting about performance issues, the reporting, reconciliation, back-end stuff. Easy to do – all the glitz, the bells and whistles are up front!!
One of the areas of concern for a project manager is maintaining focus on the entire project! Especially when you’re getting close to the end of construction and everyone is eager to test and pilot. You have to make sure the system provides you with the data to prepare accurate reports.
Management Reporting is crucial to a successful project – management buy-in and continued sponsorship is dependent upon good communications! Establish reporting requirements upfront (frequency, delivery method (meeting, written, conference call), items to be included. This is where you should establish a change control process. Remember these are management reports – be brief but provide accurate and sufficient information for managers in language they understand about the current status and any issues. Remember the higher up the food chain you go the shorter the attention span, but believe it or not management really does want to know! If they don’t, your project has another problem!
Don’t let this happen to your manager! Be the first to inform management of new issues.
If you don’t follow the 901 guidance on when to get prior approval from your Federal friends you risk our funding.
Remember! Your system is a blue chip investment! STOP! Go to Slide #80
Here’s what we’ve discussed – we’ve covered all of our topics. Questions?
We’ve provided some resources for you. These are also on the web site and in HB 901. PMI NY State has created a PM guidebook that has been received as a model for others to use Our own 901 chapter.
We’ve only scratched the surface on PM. Now let’s play Millionaire! Take it away Lizbeth!
