Chapter 11: Project Management Flashcards
Features of a well-run project
- clear AIM reflecting the needs of the customer
- thorough planning and full analysis of the risks involved
- a schedule of milestones should be produced, and progress against these milestones monitored
- the project should move along at an appropriate pace
- critical paths should be managed
- the success of the project should be measured against performance and quality standards
- thorough testing should take place at all stages
- excellent communication between those involved, with the team working in a supporting way
- relationship with external suppliers should be stable but challenging.
- if conflicts arise, they should be dealt with positively to act as a source of ideas and as a tool for development
Who would be in a project team?
- Project owner / sponsor
- Project manager
Other people involved in:
- designing
- building
- specifying
- implementing the project
The end users of the project should also be involved from the start.
What roles should the members of the team play:
Project owner
Should concentrate on the agreed milestone review points ensuring that they are properly scheduled and that the project is fully reviewed each time a milestone is met.
The project owner should make sure that critical questions are asked at these points.
What roles should the members of the team play:
Project manager
More hands-on.
Must be a strong, experienced individual.
Able to - establish direction, - decide on action, - organise resources - and motivate the project team.
What does the written strategy document contain (at a high level)?
At a high level:
- sets out the aims of the project
- any implementation issues
- the risks involved
- ways of managing the risks
What does the written strategy document contain (at a detailed level)?
sections on
- what the OBJECTIVES are (including economic)
- – how these objectives will be met
- – acceptable quality standards against which to assess the objectives
- ROLES of the parties involved (project sponsor & 3rd parties)
- a BREAKDOWN of the work to be completed
- MILESTONE REVIEW points
- EXPECTED COST of the project
- need for INSURANCE or reinsurance
- VARIOUS POLICIES.
Various policies contained in the written strategy document
- financing policy
- legal policy
- technical policy
- communications policy
- risk management policy
- IT policy
- policy dealing with conflicts of interest
Project definition
- Project definition produced in a timely and cost effective manner, with minimal changes occurring later in the project.
- Ensures successful implementation and client/company needs met
- Need to be fully planned and monitored during the implementation (esp if long time).
Planning
The actuarial control cycle forms a good basis for the management of this project and can be used to create the project plan
The following steps can be used to derive the project plan:
• Understand requirements
• Identify stakeholders in each area that is affected
• Understand current process and gaps that need to be filled – gap analysis
• Interview key stakeholders as part of this process
• Review results of gap analysis and discuss with management and project owner
• Document requirements based on gap analysis
• Estimate requirements to fill gaps and implement requirements in terms of the time required, resources required and the total cost
• Document the plan at a detailed level
This may be done using specialised software
Judging progress/ development
- Define and document key statistics used to track the progress of the project
- Involve key specialists in the process and use their input to help plan the project
- Any developments/external factors will need to be monitored to ensure that they do not change during the implementation period
Critical path analysis
- The project will have a number of work streams which may have interdependencies.
- Hence the critical path needs to be defined and monitored to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays in the implementation of the project.
Risk analysis
A thorough risk analysis will need to be performed and options to manage or mitigate the risks will be required – eg regulatory risk of not meeting deadline
Thorough testing at all stages
Hence the software and systems should be thoroughly tested at all stages of the project (mitigate risk of any new systems required not working properly)
Scheduling
The plan should include a master schedule that covers all people working on the implementation including both those internal to the project and external suppliers e.g. consultants or advisors.
Performance standards
- The project will require a number of different professionals (actuaries, accountants, lawyers, systems analysts etc.) and external suppliers to work together.
- It is vital that setting the standards of performance required from the parties involved is undertaken early in the life of the project, as these will have a major impact on the whole project.
