The document outlines the project initiation phase, detailing objectives, entry and exit criteria, inputs, activities, and the roles of key project personnel. It emphasizes the importance of stakeholder identification and management, including conducting interviews to establish needs, prioritizing them, and aligning project goals with stakeholder expectations. Additionally, it covers the preparation of essential project documents such as the project charter and business case, and provides insights on planning and the role of stakeholder engagement in project success.

1. Tathagat Varma
Tathagat Varma
Session 9/12: 14-Jul-2010

2.  Goals: what are the objectives of this phase ?
 Entry Criteria: what all conditions must be fulfilled
before the project could enter this phase ?
 Inputs: what all management and technical inputs are
required in this phase ?
 Activities: what key activities are performed in this
phase ?
 Tools & Techniques: what are the key tools and
techniques used in this phase ?
 Actors: who are the key project personnel involved in
this phase and what are their respective roles and
responsibilities ?
 Outputs: what are the outputs of this phase ?
 Exit Criteria: what conditions must be satisfied in
order for the project to exit out of this phase and
proceed further ?

3.  Identify, document and get agreement on
 What is required ?
 When is it required ?
 How much time, budget and resources are
available ?
 Who are the key stakeholders ?
 What are the key risks and assumptions ?
 What are the project cost / benefits ?
 Prepare Project Charter
 Get GO / NO GO approval for project

4.  Project initiation verifies that your project is
required, feasible, and secures agreement by all
parties. Your objectives in project initiation are:
 Confirming that your project has an acceptable Business
Case.
 Agreeing whether or not your project has sufficient
justification to proceed.
 Ensuring that your project has a firm and accepted
foundation prior to commencement of work.
 Ensuring that there is project ownership at stakeholder
and management levels.
 Agreeing to the commitment of resources for at least the
initial stages of your project.
 Ensuring that a workable plan is in place so that the
investment of time and materials is effectively employed.
 Taking account of risks to your project's success.

5.  May not be very strictly defined in all cases
 PRINCE2 talks of a ‘Project Brief’ to be
available
 Different organizations might have different
standards, but might require some form of
 LOI / RFP / SOW from Customer
o Several pieces of information might be missing !
 PM assigned (even if temporarily)
 Effort approval during Initiation Phase

6.  Project SoW / RFP / LOI
 Business Case
 Contract
 Enterprise Environmental Factors
 E.g.
Government or industry standards,
organizational infrastructure, marketplace
conditions, etc.
 Organizational Process Assets

7.  Develop Business Case
 Feasibility Study / Proof of Concept (as
required)
 Develop Project Charter
 Stakeholders Analysis
 Identify Project Constraints
 Identify Assumptions
 Appoint Project Team
 Setup Project Office
 Perform Phase Review

8.  A Business Case expands on the original project
description or brief. It offers a detailed outline and
analysis of the anticipated business benefits in terms
of strategy, and materials and resource costs. The
Business Case also contains detailed description and
analysis of the project approach and identified risks
 The business case is created as a result of one or more
of the following:
 Market demand
 Organizational need
 Customer request
 Technological advance
 Legal requirement
 Ecological impacts
 Social needs

9.  Process of developing a document that formally
authorizes a project or a phase and documenting
initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder’s
needs and expectations.
 In multi-phase projects, this process is used to
validate or refine the decisions made during the
previous iteration of similar phase.
 The approved project charter formally initiates a
project
 A project manager is identified and assigned as early
in the project as is feasible, preferably while the
project charter is being developed and always prior to
the start of planning.
 Projects are authorized by someone external to the
project such as a sponsor, PMO or portfolio steering
committee.

10.  Documents the business needs, current
understanding of the customer’s needs, and the new
product, service or result that it is intended to satisfy,
such as:
 Project purpose or justification
 Measurable project objectives and related success criteria
 High-level requirements
 High-level project description
 High-level risks
 Summary milestone schedule
 Summary budget
 Project approval requirements – what constitutes project
success, who decides the project is successful, and who signs off
on the project
 Assigned project manager, responsibility and authority level
 Name and authority of sponsor or other persons authorizing
the project charter

11.  Develop Business Case
 Undertake Feasibility Study
 Establish Project Charter
 Identify Stakeholders
 Appoint Project Team
 Setup Project Office
 Perform Phase Review

12.  Recommend reading:
Project Clarity through Stakeholder Analysis
 Stakeholder Analysis
 Identify Stakeholders
 Identify Stakeholders’ interest, impact level, and
relative priority
 Assess Stakeholders for importance and influence
 Outline Assumptions and Risks
 Define Stakeholder Participation

13.  Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest in the project.
Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are
actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be
affected as a result of project execution or project completion.
They may also exert influence over the project’s objectives and
outcomes. Project stakeholders are those entities within or
outside an organization which:
 Sponsor a project or,
 Have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project.
 May have a positive or negative influence in the Project Completion.
 Examples
 Customer
 Government
 Society
o Directly affected citizens
o NGOs, Environmental Activities, PETA, etc.
 Project Sponsor
 Project Manager
 Project Team
 Program Steering Team

14.  A stakeholder is often incorrectly believed to be a person who is
providing financial backing for a specific function or project to
be completed. In actual fact a stakeholder is a more widely
ranging term.
 They can be individual persons such as customers or sponsors to whole
groups such as performing organizations and the public.
 Anyone who is actively involved with the project may be regarded as a
stakeholder, as well as anyone who may be positively or negatively
affected by the project’s outcome.
 Project management personnel may be regarded as stakeholders as well
seeing as they are directly involved with the project and are likely to be
affected by the project’s conclusion.
 A stakeholder is often a random and unforeseen variable when it comes to
project management. They can be divided up into two categories, positive
stakeholders and negative stakeholders.
o A positive stakeholder will benefit from the successful completion of a project in
some way, either by increasing their own quality of life or by profiting financially.
o Negative stakeholders will be affected negatively by a successfully completed
project and will work to have the project slowed or scrapped altogether. An
example of this would be an environmentalist faction who opposes the decisions
of project management to place a housing development into an area with a high
concentration of natural plants and wildlife.

15.  The importance of stakeholder management is to support an organization in achieving its
strategic objectives by interpreting and influencing both the external and internal
environments and by creating positive relationships with stakeholders through the
appropriate management of their expectations and agreed objectives. Stakeholder
Management is a process and control that must be planned and guided by underlying
Principles.
 Stakeholder Management, within business or projects, prepares a strategy utilising
information (or intelligence) gathered during the following common processes:
 Stakeholder Identification - Interested parties either internal or external to organisation/project. A
stakeholder map is helpful for identifying the stakeholders[1].
 Stakeholder Analysis - Recognise and acknowledge stakeholder's needs, concerns, wants, authority,
common relationships, interfaces and align this information within the Stakeholder Matrix.
 Stakeholder Matrix - Positioning stakeholders according to the level of influence, impact or enhancement
they may provide to the business or it's projects.
 Stakeholder Engagement - Different to Stakeholder Management in that the engagement does not seek to
develop the project/business requirements, solution or problem creation, or establishing roles and
responsibilities. It is primarily focused at getting to know and understand each other, at the Executive
level. Engagement is the opportunity to discuss and agree expectations of communication and, primarily,
agree a set of Values and Principles that all stakeholders will abide by.
 Communicating Information - Expectations are established and agreed for the manner in which
communications are managed between stakeholders - who receives communications, when, how and to
what level of detail. Protocols may be established including security and confidentiality classifications.)

16.  Power/interest grid: grouping the stakeholders
based on their level of authority (“power”) and
their level of concern (“interest”) regarding the
project outcomes
 Power/influence grid: grouping level of authority
(“power”) vs. their active involvement
(“influence”)
 Influence/impact grid: grouping level of active
involvement (“influence”) and their ability to effect
changes to project’s planning or execution
(“impact”)
 Salience model: describing classes of stakeholders
based on their power (ability to impose their will),
urgency (need for immediate attention), and
legitimacy (their involvement is appropriate)

18.  Expert judgment
 Often used to assess the inputs used to develop the
project charter
 Such judgment and expertise is applied to any
technical and management details during this
process.
 Such expertise is provided by any group or
individual with specialized knowledge or training,
and is available from many sources, including other
units within the organization, consultants,
stakeholders, customers, sponsors, professional and
technical associations, industry groups, subject
matter experts and PMOs

19.  Customer
 Issues LOI / RFP/ SOW
 Releases Business Case
 Approves Contract
 Clarifies queries from PM
 Senior Management
 Identifies and authorizes PM and Project Charter
 Project Manager
 Translates LOI / RFP / SOW and other inputs
(Business Case, Contract) into Project Charter
 Perform Stakeholder analysis
 Identify risks, assumptions, constraints

20.  Project Charter
 GO / No GO Decision

21.  Approved Project Charter (in case of a GO
decision)

22.  (from Successful Project Management, Trevor
Young)
 Background
 Context
 Approach
 Objectives
 Constraints

23.  Why is the project necessary ?
 What is the overall problem or opportunity being
addressed ?
 Has the current situation been explored and
understood ?
 Has a statement of requirements been derived from
the needs list ?
 Is this an old problem ?
 How long as it existed ?
 Who wants to change things ?
 Have previous attempts (projects) been made to
address this problem ?
 What information exists about past attempts to fix
things ?
 What assumptions have been made ?

24.  Is the project in line with current
organizational strategy
 Will the project form past of a chain of linked
projects or a program ?
 What is the timescale of the project ?
 Is there a business critical date to get the
results ?
 Will the results be of value to another
customer or part of the organization ?

25.  Have all the needs been identified and analysed ?
 Has a statement of requirements been agreed ?
 Are there predetermined solutions ?
 What are these solutions ?
 Is there a best option and a least worst option ?
 Is there enough time to explore more than one
option ?
 Are there known checkpoints for project review
other than the phase gates ?
 What specialized skills are expected to be
required for the project work ?

26.  Are the primary deliverables known ?
 What does the customer need, what and wish to get from the
project ?
 Can these deliverables be clearly defined and specified ?
 Does the end user agree with these deliverables ?
 What does the end user need, want and wish to get from the
project ?
 What are the perceived project benefits ?
 Have the benefits been quantified ?
 Has a project budget been fixed?
 Is capital investment necessary ?
 Has a capital expenditure request been initiated ?
 Is time used for project work to be measured and costed ?
 Has were the costs derived ?
 Has a cost/benefit analysis been carried out ?
 Has a financial appraisal been carried out to establish payback ?

27.  Have all project constraints been identified ?
 Is there a time constraint for all or part of the deliverables list ?
 Are there any financial constraints, for example manufacturer cost,
project cost ?
 Is there a financial payback constraint ?
 Are there any known technical constraints, for example new or untried
technology ?
 Are there known resource constraints ?
 Is the project team to be located together on one site ?
 Is part of the work to be carried out at another site ?
 Is part of the work to be carried out by sub-contractors or suppliers ?
 Is there a preferred list of approved sub-contractors and suppliers ?
 What existing specs and standards are to be applied to the project ?
 Are there any legal constraints that might affect the project work ?
 Are there any security implications ?
 Are there any operational constraints, for example access to production
area / test equipments etc ?
 Are the any health and safety requirements ?

28.  Perhaps the most important of all activities!

29.  If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant
trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people - Chinese Proverb
 A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door – Confucius
(551-479 BC)
 Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small. The
difficult things in this world must be done while they are easy, the greatest things
in the world must be done while they are still small. For this reason sages never do
what is great, and this is why they achieve greatness - Sun Tzu, Chinese General, The
Art of War, 400 BC
 Before beginning, plan carefully - Marcus Tulius Cicero, Roman statesman and orator
(106-43 BC)
 Long-range planning works best in the short term - Euripides, poet (480-406 AD)
 Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory - Miguel de Cervantes
Saavedra, Spanish writer and author of Don Quixote (1547-1616).
 By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail - Benjamin Franklin
 In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is
indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower, general and president (1890 - 1969)
 A plan which succeeds is bold, one which fails is reckless - General Karl von
Clauswitz
 Always plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark - Richard Cushing,
novelist

30.  Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed,
whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life have been the
consequence of action without thought - Bernard Baruch, stock broker,
advisor to presidents Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, (1870-1965)
 Those who plan do better than those who do not plan even thou they
rarely stick to their plan - Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister
 In the space of two days I had evolved two plans, wholly distinct, both of
which were equally feasible. The point I am trying to bring out is that one
does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One
tries to make plans fit the circumstances - General George Patton (1947).
 A good plan today is better that a perfect plan tomorrow - George S. Patton
 Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not
choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us - Richard I.
Winwood
 Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into
hard work - Peter Drucker
 Prediction is difficult, especially about the future - Yogi Berra, baseball
catcher (1925-present)

31.  It's a bad plan that admits of no modification -
Publilius Syrus, Roman slave and poet (circa 100
BC)
 Observe always that everything is the result of
change, and get used to thinking that there is
nothing Nature loves so well as to change
existing forms and make new ones of them -
Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome (121-180 AD)
 It is not the strongest of the species that
survive, not the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change - Charles Darwin,
scientist

32.  A project is successful when the needs of the stakeholders have
been met. A stakeholder is anybody directly or indirectly
impacted by the project.
 As a first step it is important to identify the stakeholders in your
project. It is not always easy to identify the stakeholders of a
project, particularly those impacted indirectly. Examples of
stakeholders are:
 The project sponsor
 The customer who receives the deliverables
 The users of the project outputs
 The project manager and project team
 Once you understand who the stakeholders are, the next step is
to establish their needs. The best way to do this is by conducting
stakeholder interviews. Take time during the interviews to draw
out the true needs that create real benefits. Often stakeholders
will talk about needs that aren't relevant and don't deliver
benefits. These can be recorded and set as a low priority.

33.  The next step once you have conducted all the
interviews and have a comprehensive list of
needs is to prioritise them. From the prioritised
list create a set of goals that can be easily
measured. A technique for doing this is to review
them against the SMART principle. This way it
will be easy to know when a goal has been
achieved.
 Once you have established a clear set of goals
they should be recorded in the project plan. It can
be useful to also include the needs and
expectations of your stakeholders.
 This is the most difficult part of the planning
process completed. It's time to move on and look
at the project deliverables.

34.  Using the goals you have defined in step 1,
create a list of things the project needs to
deliver in order to meet those goals. Specify
when and how each item must be delivered.
 Add the deliverables to the project plan with
an estimated delivery date. More accurate
delivery dates will be established during the
scheduling phase, which is next

35.  Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each
deliverable identified in step 2. For each task identify the
following:
 The amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task
 The resource who will carryout the task
 Once you have established the amount of effort for each task,
you can workout the effort required for each deliverable and an
accurate delivery date. Update your deliverables section with the
more accurate delivery dates.
 A common problem discovered at this point is when a project
has an imposed delivery deadline from the sponsor that is not
realistic based on your estimates. If you discover that this is the
case you must contact the sponsor immediately. The options you
have in this situation are:
 Renegotiate the deadline (project delay)
 Employ additional resources (increased cost)
 Reduce the scope of the project (less delivered)
 Use the project schedule to justify pursuing one of these

36.  Quality Plan
 Human Resources Plan
 Communication Plan
 Risk Management Plan

37.  Based on available inputs, information,
constraints, assumptions from customer,
organization and key stakeholders
 Prepare a Project Management Plan that will act as a
three-way contract between Customer, Senior
Management, and Project Team on how the project will be
executed to achieve its set objectives
 Identify the resources required to meet project objectives
 Identify suitable risk mitigation strategies to minimize
(ideally eliminate) risks
 Establish a mechanism to handle subsequent changes to
project scope, schedule or cost
 Based on actual performance of the project, identify how
best to meet original or revised project objectives

38.  Approved Business Case
 Approved Project Charter

39.  Project Charter
 Environmental Factors
 Organizational Process Assets

40.  Develop Project Management Plan
 Collect Requirements
 Define Scope
 Create WBS,
 Define Activities,
 Sequence Activities
 Estimate Activity Resources
 Estimate Activity Durations
 Develop Schedule
 Estimate Costs
 Determine Budget
 Plan Quality
 Develop Human Resources Plan
 Plan Communications
 Plan Risk Management,
 Identify Risks,
 Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis,
 Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis,
 Plan Risk Responses
 Plan Procurements

41.  Expert Judgment
 WBS
 Risk Management
 Estimation techniques

42.  Project Manager
 Collate
and validate all inputs and prepare Project
Management Plan
 Project Team
 Participate
in project planning activities and give
appropriate commitments
 Senior Management
 Approve Project funding and resources as required
 Customer
 Approve Project Management Plan

43.  Project Management Plan
 Subsidiary Plans
o Scope Management Plan
o Requirements Management Plan
o Schedule Management Plan
o Cost Management Plan
o Quality Management Plan
o Process Improvement Plan
o Human Resources Plan
o Communications Management Plan
o Risk Management Plan
o Procurement Management Plan
 Project Baselines
 Schedule Baseline
 Cost Baseline
 Scope Baseline

44.  Approved Project Management Plan

45.  Includes the processes required to ensure that
the project includes all the work required,
and only the work required, to complete the
project successfully
 Collecting requirements
 Defining scope
 Create WBS
 Verify Scope
 Control Scope

46.  Process of defining and documenting
stakeholder’s needs to meet the project
objectives.
 Requirements include the quantified and
documented needs and expectations of the sponsor,
customer and other stakeholders
 Project requirements can include business
requirements, project management requirements,
delivery requirements, etc.
 Product requirements can include information on
technical requirements, security requirements,
performance requirements, etc.

47.  Interviews
 Focus Groups
 Facilitated Workshop
 Group creativity techniques
 Group decision making techniques
 Questionnaires and surveys
 Observations
 Prototypes

48.  An interview is a formal or informal approach
to discover information from stakeholders by
talking to them directly.
 It is typically performed by asking prepared
and spontaneous questions and recording the
responses.
 Interviews are typically conducted one on
one, but may involve multiple interviewers or
multiple interviewees

49.  Focus groups bring together prequalified
stakeholders and subject matter experts to
learn about their expectations and attitudes
about a proposed product, service or result
 A trained moderator guides the group
through an interactive discussion, designed to
be more conversational than a one-on-one
interview

50.  Requirements workshops are focused sessions
that bring key cross-functional stakeholders
together to define product requirements.
 Workshops are considered a primary technique
for quickly defining cross-functional
requirements and reconciling stakeholder
differences. Because of their interactive group
nature, well facilitated sessions can build trust,
foster relationship, and improve communication
among the participants which can lead to
increased stakeholder consensus.
 Another benefit is that issues can be discovered
and resolved more quickly than in individual
sessions

51.  Several group activities can be organized to identify
project and product requirements, e.g.:
 Brainstorming: a technique used to generate and collect
multiple ideas related to project and product requirements
 Nominal group technique: this technique enhances
brainstorming with a voting process used to rank the most
useful ideas for further brainstorming or for prioritization
 The Delphi technique: a selected group of experts answers
questionnaires and provides feedback regarding the responses
from each round of requirements gathering. The responses are
only available to the facilitator to maintain anonymity
 Idea/mind mapping: ideas created through individual
brainstorming are consolidated into a single map to reflect
commonality and differences in understanding, and generate
new ideas
 Affinity diagrams: allows large numbers of ideas to be sorted
into groups for review and analysis

52.  Group decision making is an assessment
process of multiple alternatives with an
expected outcome in the form of future
actions resolution.
 Can be used to generate, classify, and
prioritize product requirements, e.g:
 Unanimity: everyone agrees on a single course of
action
 Majority: support from >50% members of the group
 Plurality: largest block in a group decides even if a
majority is not achieved
 Dictatorship: one individual makes decision for the
group

53.  They are written set of questions designed to
quickly accumulate information from a wide
number of respondents.
 They are most appropriate with broad
audiences, when quick turnaround is needed,
and where statistical analysis is appropriate.

54.  Observations provide a direct way of viewing
individuals in their environment and how they
perform their jobs or tasks and carry out
processes.
 It is particularly helpful for detailed processes
when the people that use the product have
difficult or are reluctant to articulate their
requirements.
 Also called ‘job shadowing’, is usually done
externally by the observer viewing the user
performing his or her job. It can also be done by a
‘participant observer’ who actually performed a
process or procedure to experience how it is done
to uncover hidden requirements

55.  Prototyping is a method of obtaining early
feedback by providing a working model of the
expected product before actually building it.
 Prototypes are tangible, so they allow stakeholders to
experiment with a model of heir final product rather than
only discuss abstract representations of their
requirements.
 Prototypes support the concept of ‘progressive
elaboration’ because they are used in iterative cycles of
mock-up creation, user experimentation, feedback
generation, and prototype revision.
 When enough feedback cycles have been performed, the
requirements obtained from the prototype are sufficiently
complete to move to a design or build phase

56.  Business need or opportunity to be seized,
describing the limitations of the current situation
and why the project has been undertaken
 Business and project objectives or traceability
 Function requirements, describing business
processes, information and interaction with the
product, as appropriate which can be
documented textually in a requirement list, in
models, or both
 Non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as
level of service, performance, safety, security,
compliance, supportability, retention/purge, etc.

57.  Quality requirements
 Acceptance criteria
 Business rules stating the guiding principles
of the organization
 Impacts to other organizational areas, such as
the call centre, sales force, etc.
 Impacts to other entities inside or outside the
performing organization
 Support and training requirements
 Requirements assumptions and constraints

58.  RTM is a table that links requirements to
their origin and traces them throughout the
project lifecycle. It helps ensure that each
requirement adds business value by linking it
to the business and project objectives.
 It provides a means to track requirements
throughout the project lifecycle, helping to
ensure that requirements approved in the
requirements documentation are delivered at
the end of the project.
 Finally, it provides a structure for managing
changes to the product scope

59.  Refers to a portion of a total project management
plan that is used by the project management team
to organize a project into manageable objectives
and create a blueprint by which the steps leading
to the completion of a project are obtained.
 The Work Breakdown Structure can be thought
of like an outline of the project and like an
outline, becomes more detailed under the
subheadings or work packages. The whole
project is defined by the Work Breakdown
Structure, with the work packages fitting
together at the completion of the project to
complete the whole.

60.  The work packages are individual steps or
portions of the task that must be completed in
order to achieve the project management goal.
 It allows for several different teams to work
simultaneously on separate components of a
project. This outline applies to any project
where a good or service must be presented to
the client in timely manner. These goods or
services are called the deliverables, and can
be either internal or external. Other terms that
are related are work package, control account,
contract work breakdown structure, and
project summary work breakdown structure.

62.  Decomposition is the subdivision of project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable
components until the work and deliverables are
defined to the work package level.
 The work package level is the lowest level in the
WBS, and is the point at which the cost and activity
durations for the work can be reliably estimated and
managed. The level of detail for work packages will
vary with the size and complexity of the project.
 Decomposition may not be possible for a deliverable
or subproject that will be accomplished far into the
future. The project management team usually waits
until the deliverable or subproject is clarified so that
details of the WBS can be developed. This technique
is sometimes referred to as rolling-wave planning.

63.  A project network is a graph (flow chart) depicting
the sequence in which a project's terminal elements
are to be completed by showing terminal elements
and their dduct breakdown structure show the "part-
whole" relations. In contrast, the project network
shows the "before-after" relations.
 The most popular form of project network is
activity on node, the other one is activity on arrow.
 The condition for a valid project network is that it
doesn't contain any circular references.
 Project dependencies can also be depicted by a
predecessor table. Although such a form is very
inconvenient for human analysis,
project management software often offers such a
view for data entry.

64.  PDM is used in Critical Path Methodology
(CPM) for constructing a project schedule
network diagram that uses boxes (“nodes”) to
represent activities and connects them with
arrows that show the logical relationships
that exist between them
 Also called Activity-on-Node (AON) and is
the method used by most project management
software packages

65.  Includes
 Finish to Start (FS) – most commonly used
 Start to Start (SS)
 Finish to Finish (FF)
 Start to Finish (SF) – rarely used
 http://blogs.msdn.com/b/project/archive/
2008/07/29/back-to-basics-understanding-task-
dependencies.aspx

66.  This is the most common type of dependency and
is the default type of dependency that Project
uses. In a finish-to-start dependency, the second
task in the relationship can't begin until the first
task finishes.
 So, for example, if you were planning a project to make a
wedding cake, you might use a finish-to-start
dependency between the "Bake cake" and "Decorate cake"
tasks. When the "Bake cake" task is finished, the "Decorate
cake" task begins.

67.  Start-to-start (SS) dependencies are used when the
second task in the relationship can't begin until after
the first task in the relationship begins. Start-to-start
dependencies don't require that both tasks start at the
same time. They simply require that the first task has
begun, in order for the second task to begin.
 Going back to the wedding cake example, let's say you had
planned to make the icing for the cake while the cake is baking
in the oven. You can't start making the icing until the cake has
started baking, so you might use a start-to-start dependency
between the "Bake cake" and "Make icing" tasks.

68.  If one of your tasks can't finish until another one finishes,
you can use a finish-to-finish (FF) dependency between
them. Finish-to-finish dependencies don't require that
both tasks be completed simultaneously. They simply
require that the first task be finished, in order for the
second task to finish. The second task can finish any time
after the first task finishes.
 In our wedding cake example, let's say there are some finishing
touches to the decorations that you can't finish until the cake is
delivered. You can use a finish-to-finish dependency between the
"Decorate cake" and "Deliver cake" tasks. When the "Decorate
cake" task is finished, then the "Deliver cake" task can be
completed.

69.  Finally, the start-to-finish (SF) dependency is a little
tricky. When you use this type of dependency, you
are saying that the second task in the relationship
can't finish until the first task starts. However, the
second task can finish any time after the first task
starts.
 Going back to our wedding cake example, let's say you have a
task for billing the customer. It begins when the customer
requests the cake, but it can't be completed until after the cake
delivery has begun. You can use a start-to-finish dependency
between the "Deliver cake" and "Bill customer" tasks, so that
when the "Deliver cake" task has begun, it is okay for the "Bill
customer" task to finish.

70.  So when you put the entire plan together,
with these dependencies intact, the plan
might look something like this:

72.  Mandatory Dependencies
 Discretionary Dependencies
 External Dependencies

73.  They are contractually required or inherent in
the nature of work. The project team
determines which dependencies are
mandatory during the process of sequencing
the activities
 Often involve physical limiations
 A.k.a. “hard logic”

74.  Project team determines which dependencies
are discretionary during the process of
sequencing the activities.
 they are established based on knowledge of
best practices within a particular application
or some unusual aspect of the project where a
specific sequence is desired, even though
there may be other acceptable sequences.
 A.k.a. “preferred logic”, “preferential logic”,
or “soft logic”

75.  Project team determines which dependencies
are external during the process of sequencing
the activities.
 They involve a relationship between project
activities and non-project activities, and are
usually outside the project team’s control

76.  Project management team determines the
dependencies that may require a lead or a lag
to accurately define the logical relationships.
 The use of leads and lags should not replace
schedule logic.
 A lead allow an acceleration of the successor
activity
 A lag directs a delay in the successor activity

77.  The process of arriving at estimates to aid
project planning / re-planning throughout the
project lifecycle
 Estimates are estimates – they are not 100%
guaranteed to be accurate, that’s why we call
them estimate
 The project, or a task, still takes the same time
whatever its estimate might be!
 Estimates get better with time

78.  An estimate is an input output mechanism that represents
a method in which a project leader or project team
member makes a judgment based on either previous
experience or based on a compilation of information that
has been gathered via various methods of information
gathering is made as to the expected cost of a project in
terms of either financial resources needed and/or in terms
of man hours that may be needed in completion of this
project. This judgment is typically determined through a
careful quantitative assessment, and is traditionally
applied to a modifier of sorts. Some examples of modifiers
in this instance are preliminary, conceptual, feasibility,
definitive, and/or order-of-magnitude.
 It is very important when providing and detailing an
estimate via either a written or oral form to provide an
indication of accuracy, such as a margin of error in terms
of plus or minus percent that an estimate may be off.

80.  Approximating the size (duration and cost)
and risk of a project (or phase) by looking at
the project as a whole and comparing it to
previously performed similar projects. The
comparison may be made directly using
“analogous estimating,” through an algorithm
as in “parametric estimating,” or from the
memory of estimating experts.

81.  Expert Judgment
 Analogous Estimation
 Parametric Estimation

82.  Expert Judgment is a term that refers a specifically to a
technique in which judgment is made based upon a
specific set of criteria and/or expertise that has been
acquired in a specific knowledge area, or product area, a
particular discipline, an industry, etc. This knowledge
base can be provided by a member of the project team, or
multiple members of the project team, or by a team leader
or team leaders. However, typically expert judgment
requires an expertise that is not present within the project
team and, as such, it is common for an external group or
person with a specific relevant skill set or knowledge base
to be brought in for a consultation, Some examples of
resources of expert knowledge can be stakeholders,
customers, professional and technical organizations, and
other miscellaneous industry groups that may provide
these types of services for a small fee, or may provider
them free of charge (in some cases, only free if one of the
members of the project team is a dues paying member of
said organization).

83.  Analogous estimating is a technique for estimating a variety of
project parameters and measures of scale. The project
parameters that can be measured include those of project cost,
project budget, scope of the project, and expected project
duration.
 The project measures that can be estimated using this technique
can range from the size of the project, to the project weight, to
the complexity. The estimates are made by comparing the
current activity to that of a smaller activity that took place
previously and drawing comparisons in proportion to that.
 It is frequently used to estimate the size of a particular
parameter when information as to that particular parameter
within the current project is limited or unavailable until a later
date.
 Analogous estimating is typically a form of expert judgment that
is most reliable not only when the previous activities are similar
to the current activity in fact, and not just in appearance, and
also is traditionally most effective when the team members
preparing the estimates have the expertise necessary to
accurately do so.

84.  An estimating technique that uses a statistical
relationship between historical data and other
variables (for example, square footage in
construction, lines of code in software
development) to calculate an estimate for activity
parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and
duration.
 This technique can produce higher levels of
accuracy depending upon the sophistication and
the underlying data built into the model. An
example for the cost parameter is multiplying the
planned quantity of work to be performed by the
historical cost per unit to obtain the estimated
cost.

85.  Bottom-up estimating is an extremely helpful technique in
project management as it allows for the ability to get a
more refined estimate of a particular component of work.
In bottom-up estimating, each task is broken down into
smaller components. Then, individual estimates are
developed to determine what specifically is needed to
meet the requirements of each of these smaller
components of the work. The estimates for the smaller
individual components are then aggregated to develop a
larger estimate for the entire task as a whole. In doing this,
the estimate for the task as a whole is typically far more
accurate, as it allows for careful consideration of each of
the smaller parts of the task and then combining these
carefully considered estimates rather than merely making
one large estimate which typically will not as thoroughly
consider all of the individual components of a task. In
general, the smaller the scope, the greater the accuracy.

86.  Wideband Delphi Estimation

87.  The Delphi Technique is an essential project management
technique that refers to an information gathering technique in
which the opinions of those whose opinions are most valuable,
traditionally industry experts, is solicited, with the ultimate
hope and goal of attaining a consensus. Typically, the polling of
these industry experts is done on an anonymous basis, in hopes
of attaining opinions that are unfettered by fears or
identifiability. The experts are presented with a series of
questions in regards to the project, which is typically, but not
always, presented to the expert by a third-party facilitator, in
hopes of eliciting new ideas regarding specific project points.
The responses from all experts are typically combined in the
form of an overall summary, which is then provided to the
experts for a review and for the opportunity to make further
comments.
 This process typically results in consensus within a number of
rounds, and this technique typically helps minimize bias, and
minimizes the possibility that any one person can have too
much influence on the outcomes.

88.  Activity resource estimating is a process in which the project
team carefully compiles a thorough listing of the resources that
will be needed in completing a project. There are six inputs that
are to be used in the process of activity resource estimating.
Those six inputs are the activity list, the activity attributes, the
organizational process assets, the enterprise environmental
factors, and project management plan, and the resource
availability. There are a number of tools that can also be utilized
in most effectively estimating the required activity resources.
Those tools include expert judgment, a complete alternatives
analysis, the use of published estimating data,
project management software, and the use of
bottom-up estimating. The resulting outputs from this process
include activity resource requirements, activity attributes
updates, requested changes, a resource breakdown structure,
and the development of a resource calendar. The successful
utilization of activity resource estimates will help assure that
enough resources are acquired without waste and excessive
expenditure.

89.  Activity duration estimating represents the act of
quantifying the amount of time that it is anticipated the
activity will take to complete. This phase of the project,
that which consists of the estimating of the amount of time
needed to complete all individual schedule activities,
typically and traditionally takes place before a project is
kicked off, during the conception phase, however, it is
possible for the actual activity duration estimating period
to take place later, perhaps close to or even slightly after
the project has officially kicked off, however, even in
those cases a draft or preliminary estimation has typically
been made. Estimations can be made in any calendar unit
that seems appropriate, such as months, weeks, days, etc.,
the entirety of the activity duration estimate can be further
broken down into subparts or milestones at which certain
elements, or deliverables, of the activity are to have been
completed in final or draft form.

90.  In project management, top-down planning gives senior management control of the
decision making process. Top-level managers are often reluctant to accept advice or
guidance from lower level employees. Therefore, upper management should be
specific with their expectations if they want those who aren’t part of the planning
process to follow the plan. Often this type of planning, which can invoke fear or rely
on incentives, creates problems with motivation and moral.
 Some critics might hold that using top down planning in project management is not
taking full advantage of talented employees who could have much to offer the project.
On the other hand, top down planning allows for the division of a project into steps
which can be studied and tasks properly assigned.
 With bottom-up planning, a greater number of employees are involved, each with a
specialized area of expertise. Team members work together and and take their plans
to the next higher level until reaching the senior management level for approval.
 Advantages to bottom-up planning is that lower-level employees take a personal
interest in the plan which can improve motivation and moral. Though lower-level
team members help to develop and implement the plan, it is primarily the project
manager’s responsibility to see that the project is completed within budget and on
time.
 A blend of the two approaches is probably best in most cases. Needs can be
determined at the top with accountability falling at lower levels. By combining the
vision of senior management with the skills of lower-level team members efficiency
and project success are more likely.

92.  Those in project management must be aware of the total float
time they have available to them at the beginning of the project.
Total float is how many delays are allowed from the beginning
of the project which will not interfere with the projected
completion date. Anything can happen during the course of
working on an extended task. Outdoor projects can be affected
by adverse weather conditions which might create delays of
hours or even days. Even indoor projects and virtual tasks can
be met with unforeseen circumstances which sidetrack workers
on the job. These delays are known as the total float, and project
management must always keep this number in mind to ensure
that the project will be finished on time.
 In order to determine the total float, project management use the
critical path method, and they can also figure the earliest
possible and latest completion dates for the task. Ideally, a
project should never go beyond the late finish date, and by
knowing how many days are built into the schedule for delays,
those in management can keep the project running right on
schedule.

93.  In the context of project management, the term “free float”
is used to describe amount of time that spans from the
completion of one previously scheduled activity and
extends to the point at which the next scheduled activity is
set to begin. Free float can be calculated by determining
the amount of the time between the earliest start date of
the initial activity and the earliest start date of the
succeeding activity, and then subtracting from that total
the amount of time that it is expected the first activity will
take to complete. During this period of free float, the
completion time or date of the earlier of the activities can
be extended up until the scheduled early start date or time
of the next scheduled activity without causing delays. If
there is no succeeding activity scheduled, the project end
date would be used to determine the back end of the free
float window.

94.  Lead time: the time by which a predecessor event
must be completed in order to allow sufficient time
for the activities that must elapse before a specific
event reaches completion.
 Lag time: the earliest time by which a successor
event can follow a specific event.
 Slack: the slack of an event is a measure of the
excess time and resources available in achieving
this event. Positive slack would indicate ahead of
schedule; negative slack would indicate behind
schedule; and zero slack would indicate on schedule.
 Float or Slack is the amount of time that a task in a
project network can be delayed without causing a
delay - Subsequent tasks – (free float) or Project
Completion – (total float)

95.  Schedule Network Analysis
 Critical Path Method
 Critical Chain Method

96.  The longest possible continuous pathway
taken from the initial event to the terminal
event.
 It determines the total calendar time required
for the project; and, therefore, any time delays
along the critical path will delay the reaching
of the terminal event by at least the same
amount.
 Critical Activity: An activity that has total float
equal to zero. Activity with zero float does not
mean it is on the critical path.

97.  The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project modeling
technique developed in the late 1950s by Morgan R.
Walker of DuPont and James E. Kelley, Jr. of
Remington Rand.[2] Kelley and Walker related their
memories of the development of CPM in 1989.[3]At
about the same time, Booz Allen Hamilton and the
US Navy were developing the
Program Evaluation and Review Technique [4] CPM is
commonly used with all forms of projects, including
construction, aerospace and defense, software
development, research projects, product development,
engineering, and plant maintenance, among others.
 Any project with interdependent activities can apply
this method of mathematical analysis. Although the
original CPM program and approach is no longer used,
the term is generally applied to any approach used to
analyze a project network logic diagram.

98.  The essential technique for using CPM [5] is to construct a model of the
project that includes the following:
 A list of all activities required to complete the project (typically categorized within a
work breakdown structure),
 The time (duration) that each activity will take to completion, and
 The dependencies between the activities
 Using these values, CPM calculates the longest path of planned
activities to the end of the project, and the earliest and latest that each
activity can start and finish without making the project longer.
 This process determines which activities are "critical" (i.e., on the
longest path) and which have "total float" (i.e., can be delayed without
making the project longer).
 In project management, a critical path is the sequence of
project network activities which add up to the longest overall duration.
This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any
delay of an activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned
project completion date (i.e. there is no float on the critical path).
 A project can have several, parallel, near critical paths.
 An additional parallel path through the network with the total
durations shorter than the critical path is called a sub-critical or non-
critical path.

99.  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. Terminal elements and summary
elements comprise the
work breakdown structure of the project.
Some Gantt charts also show the dependency
(i.e. precedence network) relationships
between activities. Gantt charts can be used to
show current schedule status using percent-
complete shadings and a vertical "TODAY"
line as shown here.

100.  The Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique, commonly abbreviated
PERT, is a model for project management designed to analyze and represent the tasks
involved in completing a given project. It is commonly used in conjunction with the
critical path method or CPM.
 PERT is a method to analyze the involved tasks in completing a given project,
especially the time needed to complete each task, and identifying the minimum time
needed to complete the total project.
 PERT was developed primarily to simplify the planning and scheduling of large and
complex projects. It was developed by Bill Pocock of Booz Allen Hamilton and
Gordon Perhson of the U.S. Navy Special Projects Office in 1957 to support the U.S.
Navy's Polaris nuclear submarine project. It was able to incorporate uncertainty by
making it possible to schedule a project while not knowing precisely the details and
durations of all the activities.
 It is more of an event-oriented technique rather than start- and completion-oriented,
and is used more in projects where time, rather than cost, is the major factor. It is
applied to very large-scale, one-time, complex, non-routine infrastructure and
Research and Development projects.
 This project model was the first of its kind, a revival for scientific management,
founded by Frederick Taylor (Taylorism) and later refined by Henry Ford (Fordism).
DuPont corporation's critical path method was invented at roughly the same time as
PERT.

101.  Optimistic time (O): the minimum possible time required to
accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds better
than is normally expected
 Pessimistic time (P): the maximum possible time required
to accomplish a task, assuming everything goes wrong (but
excluding major catastrophes).
 Most likely time (M): the best estimate of the time required
to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds as
normal.
 Expected time (TE): the best estimate of the time required to
accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds as normal
(the implication being that the expected time is the average
time the task would require if the task were repeated on a
number of occasions over an extended period of time).
 TE = (O + 4M + P) ÷ 6

104.  During project execution, however, a real-life project will
never execute exactly as it was planned due to uncertainty.
It can be ambiguity resulting from subjective estimates
that are prone to human errors or it can be variability
arising from unexpected events or risks. And PERT may
provide inaccurate information about the project
completion time for main reason uncertainty. This
inaccuracy is large enough to render such estimates as not
helpful.
 One possibility to maximize solution robustness is to
include safety in the baseline schedule in order to absorb
the anticipated disruptions. This is called proactive
scheduling. A pure proactive scheduling is an utopia,
incorporating safety in a baseline schedule that allows to
cope with every possible disruption would lead to a
baseline schedule with a very large make-span. A second
approach, reactive scheduling, consists of defining a
procedure to react to disruptions that cannot be absorbed
by the baseline schedule.

105.  Rolling wave planning is the process of planning for a project in
waves as the project becomes clearer and unfolds. It is important
in such projects to at least highlight in the initial plan the key
milestones for the project.
 Rolling Wave Planning acknowledges the fact that we can see
more clearly what is in close proximity, but looking further ahead
our vision becomes less clear. Rolling Wave Planning is a multi-
step, intermittent process - like waves - because we cannot provide
the details very far out in our planning. Depending upon the
project - its length and complexity - we may be able to plan as
much as a few weeks or even a few months in advance with a fair
amount of clarity. This involves creating a detailed, well-defined
Work Breakdown Structure for that period of clarity, but just
highlighting the milestone for the rest of the project.
 Progressive Elaboration is what occurs in this rolling wave
planning process. Progressive Elaboration means that over time
we elaborate the work packages in greater detail. Progressive
Elaboration refers to the fact that as the weeks and months pass
we have planned to provide that missing, more elaborated detail

107.  The most efficient way to shorten the schedule is to
change the tasks that lie on the critical path (critical
path: The series of tasks that must be completed on
schedule for a project to finish on schedule. Each task
on the critical path is a critical task.). The critical path
is a series of dependent tasks whose last task finishes
at the project end date. If any of the tasks in this
series move, the project end date also moves.
Modifying tasks that are not on the critical path may
not affect the schedule. You can:
 Shorten the durations of tasks (usually a reflection of reduced
scope or increased resources).
 Overlap tasks so that they can be worked on simultaneously.
 Remove tasks to meet the finish date (usually a reflection of
reduced scope).
 Assign additional resources.
 Decrease the amount of work assigned (usually a reflection of
reduced scope or more efficient resources).

108.  Over the course of a given project, often times, it is up to
the project management team and or the project
management team leader to make a determination that the
previously determined and derived schedule may need to
be modified and or tweaked in one way or another in
order to accommodate one of more schedule events. This
may be because a particular event is running behind
schedule, or in other cases because a succeeding event’s
timing has to e changed one way or another. One
technique that is often employed by the project
management team and or the project management team
leader is that of project schedule compression.
 Schedule compression specifically speaking is a technique
that is employed that involves taking the previously
determined schedule and shortening the project schedule
duration, but doing so in a manner which does not reduce
and or minimize the project scope in any way.

109.  Fast tracking is a technique that is often implemented
in crisis and/or crunch times so to speak as it involves
in taking a specific schedule activity and/or work
breakdown event that has been previously scheduled
and/or is underway and expediting it in some way or
another.
 Fast tracking is referred to as a project schedule
compression technique of sorts in that its intent is to
take an entire schedule of a project and attempting to
compress it into a smaller period of time by
conducting some events either quicker or by doing
some events that were intended to be done in a more
spaced out manner but rather doing some of them
simultaneously. The network logic has essentially
been changed allowing for some items that would
otherwise have been done in a sequence are instead
overlapped as such.

110.  Crashing refers to a particular variety of project schedule
compression which is performed for the purposes of
decreasing total period of time (also known as the total
project schedule duration). The diminishing of the project
duration typically take place after a careful and thorough
analysis of all possible project duration minimization
alternatives in which any and all methods to attain the
maximum schedule duration for the least additional cost.
 There are a number of standard and typical approaches to
attempting to crash a project schedule. One of the most
commonly utilized methods of crashing a project schedule
involves minimizing the schedule activity durations
while, at the same time, increasing the assignment of
resources on schedule activities.
 Crashing is something which can be utilized to attempt to
get the most value out of a project assignment. Essentially,
it boils down to an attempt to get the most productivity
out of the least time and expense.

111.  Schedule performance measurement (SV, SPI)
are used to assess the magnitude of variation
to the original schedule baseline. The total
float variance is also an essential planning
component to evaluate project time
performance.
 Important aspects of project schedule control
include determining the cause and degree of
variance relative to the schedule baseline and
deciding whether corrective or preventive
action is required.

112.  The phrase estimate at completion, which can also be
referred to by the three letter anagram EAC, is an input
output device that is used to measure the expected total
cost of a particular schedule activity, a
work breakdown structure, or of the project as a whole, in
cases where the scope of work that has been previously
defined will ultimately be completed. The estimate at
completion is equal to the amount of actual cost (also
know by the anagram of AC) plus the estimate to complete
(also known by the anagram of ETC) for the entirety of the
remainder of the work. The estimate at completion can be
determined by deriving calculations based on the
performance to date, or may be derived by the project
leader or team via using other miscellaneous factors
entirely. The estimate at completion, when updated based
on progress to date, is then referred to as a latest revised
estimate. See also the terms estimate to complete as well as
earned value technique for more information.

113.  Duration estimates may include contingency
reserves (sometimes referred to as time
reserves or buffers) into the overall project
schedule to account for schedule uncertainty.
The contingency reserve may be a percentage
of the estimates activity duration, a fixed
number of work periods, or may be
developed by using quantitative analysis
methods
 As more precise information about the project
becomes available, the contingency reserve
may be used, reduced, or eliminated.

114.  Direct and manage project execution is the
process of performing the work defined in the
project management plan to achieve the project’s
objectives. These include:
 Perform activities to accomplish project requirements
 Create project deliverables
 Staff, train, and manage the team members assigned to
the project
 Obtain, manage and use resources including materials,
tools, equipment and facilities
 Implement the planned methods and standards
 Establish and manage project communication channels,
both external and internal to the project team
 Generate project data, such as cost, schedule, technical
and quality progress, and status to facilitate forecasting

115.  Issue change requests and adapt approved changes
into the project’s scope, plans and environment
 Manage risks and implement risk response activities
 Manage sellers and suppliers, and
 Collect and document lessons learnt, and implement
approved process improvement activities

116.  Corrective action: documented direction for
executing the project work to bring expected
future performance of the project work in line
with the project management plan
 Preventive action: a documented direction to
perform an activity that can reduce the
probability of negative consequences
associated with project risks
 Defect repair: the formally documented
identification of a defect in a project component
with a recommendation to either repair the
defect or completely replace the component

117.  Process of tracking, reviewing and regulating the
progress to meet the performance objectives
defined in the project management plan.
 Monitoring is an aspect of project management
performed throughout the projects
 Monitoring includes collecting, measuring, and
distributing performance information, and assessing
measurements and trends to effect process improvements.
 Continuous monitoring gives the project management
team insight into the health of the projects, and identified
any areas that may require special attention
 Control includes determining corrective or
preventive actions or replanning and following
up on action plans to determine if the actions
taken resolved the performance issue.

118.  Comparing actual project performance against the
project management plan
 Assessing performance to determine whether any
corrective or preventive actions are indicated, and
then recommending those actions as necessary
 Identifying new risks and analyzing, tracking, and
monitoring existing project risks to make sure the
risks are identified, their status is reporting, and that
appropriate risk response plans are being executed
 Maintaining an accurate, timely infomration base
concerning the project’s products and their
associated documention through project completion

119.  Providing information to support status reporting,
progress measurement, and forecasting
 Providing forecasts to update current cost and
current schedule information, and
 Monitoring implementation of approved changes as
they occur

120.  Reports should be prepared by the project
team detailing activities, accomplishments,
milestones, identified issues, and problems.
 Performance reports can be used to report the
key information including, but not limited to:
 Current status
 Significant accomplishments for the period
 Scheduled activities
 Forecasts, and
 Issues