CH15 - Project Management Tools And Techniques

Question 1

Name the different tools /techniques or documents used in planning stage of a project

Answer 1

Planning for activities and costs -
Work breakdown structure 
Work packages/statements of work
Product breakdown structure 
cost breakdown structure / budget

Planning for quality- project quality plan

Planning for time-
network analysis/Gantt charts
PERT/Scenario planning/buffering
Milestones/gates

Planning for resources - Resource histogram

Question 2

What is work breakdown structure (WBS)?

Answer 2

Important starting point for planning, contributes as follows-
Breaks complex tasks into manageable pieces
Sets out logical sequence of project events
Provide framework for making decisions
Provides input to subsequent project processes-eg estimating time and resources
Provides framework for continuous assessment of project progression
Is a communication tool

Question 3

What are work packages (WPs) and statements of work (SOWs)?

Answer 3

Work package -specifies work to be done for each package described in WBS.

Statement of work - describes deliverables against which project can be measured, who is responsible and when.

Both docs identify in detail the work to be done and possibly the standard.

Question 4

What is product breakdown structure (PBS)?

Answer 4

Product required for each activity
Description of machinery and equipment required.

This allows for different suppliers to be compared.

Question 5

What is cost breakdown structure?

Answer 5

Include all info gathered from

• WBS, WP,SOW,PBS
• Capital and revenue costs indentified in CBA and feasibility study

Describes categories that need costing to ensure nothing is left out. Numbers and cost allocated to each package, creating detailed financial plan for project.

Question 6

What are the benefits of using breakdown structures?

Answer 6

Summarises all activities comprising the project, including support and other tasks

Displays interrelationships of jobs(work packages) to each other and the project.

Establishing authority and responsibilities for each part of project

Estimating cost
Scheduling
Performing risk analysis

Provides a basis for controlling application of resources to the project.

Question 7

What is the project quality plan (PQP)and what does it include?

Answer 7

Major document detailing standards that must be adhered to. Outline clear policies and procedures that must be followed to maintain quality.
Includes-

Risk assessment- internal and external, and actions to reduce

Project overview-outline main activities

Project requirements-description of work, timescales and deliverables. This is cross referenced to the requirements specification.

Project organisation- stating management roles and responsibilities, this helps determine allocation of resources to each of project activities.

Monitoring and reporting procedures- cross referenced to project standards. How will project be monitored and what to do if slippage occurs. Frequency and content of reports. When will meetings take place. Procedures for evaluating final installed system.

Key development stages and processes

Key standards- (quality assurance) to help ensure quality outputs. Includes hardware,software and development standards such as notation of modelling techniques.

Testing strategy - identifies stage of developments where testing is to be carried out and by who

Procurement policy - and variation to normal procedure will be noted, with reason
Configuration management- how this will be dealt with. Should be set out so each version of deliverables is identified.

Question 8

What is network analysis?

Answer 8

General term referring to techniques used to plan and control projects for time. By laying out a network you can often see that assumptions for the order of work are not logical and can be achieved more cost effectively by reordering. Especially true with allocation of resources.

Question 9

What is critical path analysis?

Answer 9

One of the component parts of network analysis and is often called network analysis. Most commonly used technique.

Question 10

What is the process of CPA?

Answer 10

1 - analyse project- project broken down into tasks or activities. Examine the way these activities relate to each other. Some can’t happen until previous are complete etc

2 - draw the network - sequence of activities drawn in diagram called the network diagram.

3 - estimate time and costs of each activity

4 - locate critical path - chain of events that determines overall how long project will take. A delay on critical path holds up the project as a whole, whilst delays to other activities may not affect it (non critical activities).

5. Schedule the project - determine the chain of events that leads to most efficient and cost effective schedule

6 - monitor and control progress

7 - revise the plan - the plan may need to be modified to take account of problems that may occur

Question 11

What are the limitations of critical path analysis ?

Answer 11

It may be time consuming to produce and monitor for large projects

Difficult to use for less routine projects with lots of uncertainty

Overly complex for smaller short term projects

Question 12

Benefits of critical path analysis?

Answer 12

Helps identify all activities required for project

Helps identify activities that need to be completed before others can start (dependant) and those that can happen at same time (parallel)

Identifies activities on the critical path

Identifies activities with float, this give management indication of how much flexibility is available

Network diagram show minimum completion time, and allows for sensitivity analysis to be introduced into the project

Question 13

When planning for time, what techniques can be used to deal with risk and uncertainty?

Answer 13

Project evaluation and review technique (PERT)
Scenario planning
Buffering

Question 14

Explain PERT and what are the advantage and limitations?

Answer 14

PERT is used to overcome uncertainties over times taken for individual activities in a network diagram.

Each task is assigned-
O = optimistic best time
M = probable time
P = pessimistic worst time

It then uses a formula to calc an expected time, and by calculating variances for each activity, estimates the likelihood that a set of activities with be completed in a certain time.

(O+4M+P) /6

Advantages
Gives expected completion time
Gives probability of completion before the specified date
Gives a critical path
Gives slack through earliest and latest start times
Allows calculation of contingency to be added to the plan

Limitations
Activity times are subjective
Assumes probability distribution of project completion time as the critical path

Question 15

What is scenario planning?

Answer 15

Another way to deal with risk in planning time
Less complex than PERT

Scenario planning involves considering one or more sets of circumstances that might occur other than the expected/most likely.

Each set is then tested to establish what the outcome would be if those circumstances actually occurred.
This would allow project manager to switch to the appropriate plan for whichever contingency arose

Question 16

Thinking of risk when planning time, what is buffering?

Answer 16

Simple way to incorporate risk by adding artificial slack into risky activities. It adds padding to original estimates, allowing for the fact it can be difficult to ensure all activities are carried out exactly as planned.

It is not encouraged as build up of slack in the project can lead to complacency

Question 17

What is a Gantt chart?

Answer 17

Visual display of schedule of activities
Activities listed down the side, timescale along top
2 bars drawn for each activity, one budgeted and the other actual

Question 18

What are the benefits of Gantt charts?

Answer 18

Shared benefits with network analysis -
Assists identifying all required activities
Assists identifying dependant and parallel activities
Chart will show minimum completion time and allow for sensitivity analysis to be introduced.

Plus advantages over network analysis-
Easier visualisation 
Unlike cpa, it it drawn to scale
Drawn in real-time 
Actual shown alongside budget

Question 19

What are the limitations of Gantt charts?

Answer 19

Remember,charting phases and monitoring progress is only a tool, not the solution itself.

Not as effective for more complex projects,
It doesn’t identify potential weak links between phases
Doesn’t reveal team problems due to unexpected delays
Doesn’t show degree of completion of each stage

Question 20

What are milestones and control gates?

Answer 20

Milestone- an event that is a clearly identifiable measure of how far a project has progressed, and how far it has to run. They are important in assessing the status of the project and quality of the work. Monitoring milestones enables project manager to keep control over progress and allows for delays to be identified immediately.

Control gate - special kind of milestone - key point in project which gives project sponsor/steering committee an opportunity to review project progress and make a decision to proceed further or terminate.

Control gates should be identified in the project plan and a review will be required to formally pass each gate. If criteria are not met the project shouldn’t continue

Question 21

What is a resource histogram?

Answer 21

Graphical aid for determining total requirement for a specific resource during the project.
The height of bars indicates how much is needed for each period
The bar contains blocks indicating the proportion of each resource.
Can be used for all resources eg equipment,hr, overheads, subcontractors etc

Question 22

What are the benefits of resource histograms?

Answer 22

Help with capacity planning, resource scheduling and management.

Resource availability and allocation can be shown on a histogram to highlight overloads and under utilisation.

Easy visualisation of resource requirements

Drawn in real time

Question 23

How can project management software be used throughout a project?

Answer 23

Planning -
Ability to create multiple network diagrams
Ability to create multiple Gantt charts
Ability to create PID, PQP and WBS

Estimating-
Ability to consider alternative resource allocation
Ability to create and allocate project budgets
Ability to allocate time across multiple tasks

Monitoring -
Network links to all project team members
Central store for project results and documentation
Automatic comparison to plan

Reporting-
Access to all team members
Ability to create technical docs
Ability to create end of stage reports

Question 24

What are the advantages of using project management software?

Answer 24

Improved planning and control
Improved communication 
Accuracy eg of network diagrams
Ability to handle complexity 
Can give what if analysis 
Timesheet recording

Question 25

What are common functions found in project management software package?

Answer 25

Budgeting and cost control 
Calendars
Graphics-charts etc
Multiple project handling
Planning
Scheduling 
Reporting 
Resource planning

Question 26

What is project methodology and What are the two popular project management methodologies?

Answer 26

A set of guidelines defining methods and processes which should be followed which should help the project be delivered successfully. A systematic and disciplined approach to project management.
Every organisation and project is different so there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer.

PRINCE2 ‘how to’ approach
PMBOK knowledge based and roadmap for effective project management

Question 27

What are the benefits and limitations of a single project methodology?

Answer 27

Benefits:
Structured step by step approach
Stages in methodology become familiar which adds speed
Help keep project on track and identify deviations early
Users become familiar which reports and tools used,so can compare different projects.
Overall management improves because of familiarity of approach to team and managers
Methodology can be developed overtime into best practice.

Limitations:

If methodology selected is unsuitable, may make managing project difficult.
No one methodology suitable for all projects
Some methodology too detailed for smaller projects
Strictly adopting a methodology may become too bureaucratic

Question 28

What is PRINCE2 main purpose and main control feature?

Answer 28

PRINCE2 - projects in controlled environments

Main purpose-to deliver a sucessful project, defined as

• delivery of agreed outcomes
• on time
• in budget
• conforming to required quality

For this to happen, the main control features are -

• Enforces clear structure of authority and responsibility
• Ensures production of key products PID, project budget,plan and progress reports.
• gives clear understanding of task to be completed.
• contains several quality controls, such as clearly defined procedures

Question 29

What are the issues that the major component parts of PRINCE2 methodology addresses.

Answer 29

Organisation- PRINCE2 suggests using organisation chart so that there is clear structure of authority and responsibility. Responsibilities are defined in terms of roles rather than individuals.

Plans- successful control includes setting plans/standards for everything that needs to be delivered. (Time,quality,responsibility, communication)

Controls- regular and formal monitoring of actual progress against plan is essential to ensure timeliness, cost control and quality of project.

Products- includes the tools associated with control of projects (initiation document, budget, progress reports).

Quality- quality should be defined and controlled on the project. Aim should be zero defects. PQP’S should set the standards required.

Risk management- identify different types of risk allows us to plan to reduce or avoid them

Control of change management - and configuration management- any changes needs appropriate approval first. Management of these changes means knowing which versions are the current ones.

Question 30

What are the PRINCE 2 process areas?

Answer 30

Starting up a project - pre project designing and appointing project management team, creating initial stage plan and ensuring that info required by project team is available.

Initiation- similar to feasibility study, stage established if there is justification to proceed. Project board take ownership of project at this stage.

Managing stage boundaries- ensure planned deliverables are completed as required. Project board provided info to approve completion of one stage and authorise move to the next. Lessons learned in earlier stages can be applies in later.

Controlling a stage - monitoring and control activities are carried out by the project manager at each stage. Incorporates day to day management of project.

Managing product delivery- includes effective allocation of work packages and ensuring work carried out to required quality.

Project closure - formal and controlled close approved by project board. Establishes extent to which objectives have been met, lessons learned for the future. End of project report completed and project team disbanded.

These are elements of any good project management. Difference with PRINCE2 is level of structure and documentation required. Helps provide controls on planning and execution and forces identification of potential problems.

Question 31

What is PMBOK and what are the 9 project management areas?

Answer 31

Project Management Body of Knowledge

USA project management institute defines best practice principles and processes in 9 key areas.

1 - integration management - processes to ensure project is properly coordinated

2 - Scope management- process to ensure project includes all /only the work required

3- Time management - process to ensure timely completion of project

4- Cost management - process for ensuring project is completed within approved budget

5- Quality management- process for ensuring project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken

6- Human Resources management- process required to make the most effective use of people involved in the project.

7 - Communications management - processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution and storage of project info.

8 - Risk management - processes for identifying, analysing and responding to project risk

9 - procurement management- processes for acquiring goods and services for outside the performing organisation.

PMBOK is not an alternative to the project life cycle , but it is a view of knowledge and skill required in order to carry out each stage of the cycle.

Question 32

Why do some projects fail despite a strong project methodology?

Answer 32

Poor leadership - with a project manager who does not demonstrate all required skills to effectively manage team.

Emphasis on maintaining plan rather than managing the project - In a large project maintaining plan can be a full time task which leaves little time for dealing with important project issues. It is better to delegate to a project administrator.

Resources not managed realistically- for example if task over time budget adding more staff at late stage may actually slow it down as time is diverted away from other team members.

Poor estimates - (which are vital to identifying critical path and key milestones)

Inadequate skills - of team members. Right people need matching to right jobs

Work breakdown- some project fail because breaking work into tasks does not match with how people work. It assumes someone will spend a fixed amount of time on a task before moving to the next. Not all projects will work this way.