How do you create a project charter? How do you capture risk? Simple project management tips not to overwhelm you.

1. Practical Tips
about managing projects
Jan Van Bruaene
September 2021

2. This presentation was inspired by
a Medium post I wrote about
Practical tips every engineer
needs to know about managing a
project

3. “I am an engineer! I am not a project manager.”
“I am in HR. I am not a project manager.”
“I am in sales. Show me the money, not a gantt chart.”
“I hate all things project management”
But … why should I care?

4. “I am stressed. There are too many balls in the air.”
“I have no idea when I’ll complete this.”

6. “I am an engineer! .. And also a little bit a project manager.”
“I am in HR. .. And also a little bit a project manager.”
“I need to know a little bit
about how to organize what I do.”

7. Takeaways - What you can practice after this presentation
1. KISS - Use the right tools, matching the size and complexity of the
project. (A napkin may be fine for a simple project.)
2. Darwin rule - Adapt your project management style as the project
evolves, and the team comes together.
3. Start with a “Project Charter”. Create a shared understanding of
what we are doing
4. Only the paranoid survive - Manage Change and Maintain a Risk
Matrix
5. Communicate early and often.

8. The Role of the Project Manager

9. What is the role of the project manager?

10. The Project Manager
● is the promise maker
● organizes, plans and controls the project
● is the primary administrator of the project
● reports the status of the project, and communicates up, down, inside, all
around.
● is the canary in the coal mine looking for things which are going or can go
wrong.
● motivates the team, and resolve personal issues
● is the hard-assed butt-kicker when things do not go well
● is paranoid and worries about things going awry
● orders the pizzas and beer
The Project Manager is trusted by the team, the customer, the
company, in good times and bad times.

11. When do you need focused project
management?
Rule of 3
Projects with more than 3 people involved
require focused project management.

12. Try it. It is harder than you think. But also fun.
Explore with a small project.
If you like it, get Educated.

13. The Darwin Rule

14. Know thy team … your style will need to
evolve with it

16. Build a shared Understanding by
writing a Project Charter

17. “The Plan”
● What are we (not) doing ?
● What are the assumptions?
● When do we have to deliver?
● Who does what?
● What can go wrong?
● When do we synch up next?
Etc.

18. Project Charter
● Scope, Boundaries, Deliverables
● Assumptions, pre-requisites
● Estimates, Milestones, Schedule
● Responsibility Allocation Map
● Risk Management
● Communication Plan
Etc.
In
Proj
M
gt
Lingo

19. Scope: define project success by calling out
deliverables, not creating a detailed list of
requirements
Peel the onion: ask
clarifying questions
Don’t start with a detailed list of
requirements
Think in terms of customer
acceptance and success

20. Jan’s Project Mgt Rule #1
No unwritten assumptions
When somebody starts with “Let’s assume, …”, stop right there.
Write the assumption down, and test the assumption later.
Your entire plan depends on that assumption to be true.
Ask your team to list their assumptions, and write them down.

21. Document the Responsibility Allocation Map
(RAM) and key stakeholders
Task Primary Backup Must Review Must Approve
1 Select new espresso
machine for coffeehouse
Gunther Rachel Joey Monica
2 Select new coffee provider Ross Chandler Phoebe Chandler

22. Defining initial schedule starts with estimates

23. Estimation can be a black art
● Try different estimation techniques
○ Bottoms up - aka Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
○ By analogy (other projects, or by LOC of a related project)
● Involve others and get a second and separate opinion
● Know thy estimator: experience estimating, and also doing the work.
● Think in terms of effort. Not duration. Consider if things can be
parallelized.
● Don’t forget the lesser known tasks: documentation, customer
presentations, shipment, proj mgt, reviews, acceptance test plans and
implements, etc.
● Estimate ranges of effort: min <-> best guess <-> max
● Add a buffer for unknown tasks: e.g., 5-10% missed task factor on the
total effort.

24. A work breakdown structure can be as simple
as a bunch of sticky notes

25. Simple Work Breakdown
Project: 49ers to win the superbowl
(crazy project, I know)
Get a great
Quarterback
Get a cunning
Material manager
Fire Kaepernick
Court Tom Brady
Send flowers to Giselle
Call parents in San
Mateo
Get new pumps
Dated example

26. A more
detailed
Work
Breakdown

27. Simple Calculation
Amount of Effort: X
Parallelization factor: Z
Number of Eng: Y
Utilization Factor: Q
Duration: D = X / (Y*Q*Z)
Schedule: S = D + ramp-Up + Slack
Note the triple constraint:
effort, resources, schedule.
You can control 2 out of the 3
Schedules and milestones

28. Gantt Chart

29. Manage the critical Path
Critical path = the sequence of events that if any are delayed,
will delay the entire project.

30. Fancy: Stochastic Estimation - PERT

32. Only the Paranoid Survive

33. Jan’s Project Mgt Rule #2
No good deed goes
unpunished

34. Formally manage change requests
Review the impact of a change for
- Schedule
- Cost
- Interoperability
- Licensing
- Skillset
- Prerequisites
- ..
How formal you want to be with the customer depends on the relationship with
the customer. Sometimes an email confirmation of the change request is sufficient.
In other cases, a formal update to a Statement of Work may be required.
and … remember Jan’s project mgt
rule #1: no unwritten assumptions,
also for change requests

35. Perform a Pre-Mortem -
a risk review before the
project completes

36. Build a simple risk matrix
# Probability Consequence Description Mitigation(s) Owner
Low Low
Medium Medium
High High
Review and Update regularly

37. Focus on highly probable risk items,
with big consequences

38. Other items in the Project Charter
● Intellectual property
● Payment Milestones
● Change Management plan
● Acceptance criteria
● Support and Maintenance

39. Update the plan regularly

40. Communication &
Project Meetings
● Planning meetings
● Kick off meeting
○ Internal
○ External
● Preliminary Design Review
● Critical Design Review
● Internal project meeting - dig for truth
● Customer/stakeholder update meetings - build trust

41. Tools? Keep it Simple

42. Lots of templates already exist
Action items
Decisions
Risk Matrix
Simplified schedule with milestones

43. Common Failure modes
● Failure to take control/leadership of the project. If you can’t get permission to
run it, don’t.
● Not preparing for the kickoff meeting may result in weeks of recovery to get
folks in the right mind-frame
● Not building stakeholders into a team
● Failure to communicate frequently with stakeholders during all stages of the
process. Good news as well as bad.
● Brushing off slippage at first milestone. This is often an indication of
estimation failure or staffing problems.
● Passing the buck. Not taking responsibility for failures. Not addressing issues
head on.

44. Don’t forget - the project manager pays for
pizza and beer. Enjoy as a team. Celebrate
milestones.

45. In Summary
1. KISS - Use the right tools, matching the size and complexity of the
project. (A napkin may be fine for a simple project.)
2. Darwin rule - Adapt your project management style as the project
evolves, and the team comes together.
3. Start with a “Project Charter”. Create a shared understanding of
what we are doing
4. Only the paranoid survive - Manage Change and Maintain a Risk
Matrix
5. Communicate early and often.