Chapter 4 Flashcards
What is systems view of project management and why is it important?
- Critical to successful project management
- Systems management: managing the business, holistic, technological, and organizational issues associated with making a change to a system
- -*Need to identify key business, technological and organizational issues
- -*Satisfy key stakeholders
- -*Do what is best for the entire organization
Project manager competencies (BA + PS + I + PM + SM)
- Business achievement competencies
- Problem-solving competencies
- Influence competencies
- People management competencies
- Self-management competencies
Business achievement competencies (B.B.C.)
Business awareness
Business partner orientation
Commitment to quality
Problem-solving competencies(CIIA)
Conceptual thinking
Initiative
Information gathering
Analytical thinking
Influence competencies (RAIO)
Resourceful use of influence
Anticipation of impact
Interpersonal awareness
Organizational awareness
People management competencies(CDMM)
Communication skills
Developing others
Motivating others
Monitoring and controlling
Self-management competencies(SSFC)
Self-confidence
Stress management
Flexibility
Concern for credibility
Project management functions (ESSOPDCC)
Scoping the project Planning project tasks and staffing the project team Estimating required resources Scheduling activities Organizing the project effort Directing the project team’s activities Controlling the project Closing or assessing the successes and failures of the project
A project is considered a success if: (SADD)
System development process had minimal impact business operations
Accepted by customer
Delivered on time
Delivered within budget
Project mismanagement problems and consequences: (LT FIFFI MOPPP)
- Lack of organization’s commitment to the system development methodology
- Taking shortcuts through or around the system development methodology
- Failure to establish upper-management commitment to the project
- Insufficient resources
- Failure to adapt to business change
- Failure to “manage the plan”
- Inadequate people management skills
- Mythical person-month
- Over-optimism
- Poor estimating techniques
- Premature commitment to a fixed budget and a schedule
- Poor expectations management (scope/feature creep)
What are the functions of project management?
ESSOPDCC
- Estimating: Each task that is required to complete the project must be estimated
- Scoping: defines the boundaries of the project. A PM must scope project expectations and constraints in order to plan activities, estimate costs, and manage expectations
- Scheduling: Given the project plan, the PM is responsible for scheduling all project activities
- Organizing: The PM should make sure that members of the project team understand their own individual roles and responsibilities as well as their reporting relationship to the PM
- Planning: Planning identifies the tasks required to complete the project. This is based on the manager’s understanding of the project scope and the methodology used to achieve the goal
- Directing: Once the project has begun, the PM must direct the team’s activities
- Controlling: Perhaps the manager’s most difficult and important function is controlling the project. Few plans will be executed without problems and delays.
- Closing: Good PM’s always assess successes and failures at the conclusion of a project
What skills do project managers need?
PERSONAL SKILLS
TECHNICAL SKILLS
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
COPING SKILLS
Personal skills:(BBDPUM)
motivate and sustain people, address and solve problems within the team, as well as outside the team
Be considerate Be directManage by example Define expectations Positive attitude “Under-promise, then over-deliver” Manage by example
Technical skills: (def.)
Level of technical skills required depends on the type, size, structure of projects, resources available and the project environment
Project manager is ultimately responsible for the management of the entire project, technical or otherwise
Management Skills (HOFC)
Human resource
Organization
Finance
Communication
Coping skills (RPPBF)
Receive stress and deal with it Persistent but firm Patient but taking action Be creative even when project does not call for it Flexible
What are the activities in project management lifecycle?
Activity 1: Negotiate Scope
Activity 2: Identify tasks
Activity 3: Estimate task durations
Activity 4: Specify inter-task dependencies
Activity 5: Assign resources (people, services, facilities, and equipment, supplies and materials, money)
Assign people to tasks
Resource levelling
Schedule and budget
Communication
Activity 6: Direct the team effort
Activity 7: Monitor and control progress
Progress reporting
Change Management
Expectations management and expectations management matrix
Schedule adjustments – critical path analysis
Activity 8: Assess project results and experiences
What responsibilities do project managers have?
1. Managing problems (UIDDD) The problem solving model Understand the problem Implement and evaluate Define the root causes Determine the solutions Decide and plan
- Managing risks
Assess project risks
What can happen?
How likely is it to happen?
If it does happen, what are the consequences?
Manage project risks
What are the mitigation mechanisms to avoid undesirable consequences? - Managing conflicts
Identify the sources of conflict among project stakeholders
Identify conflict management resolutions - Sustaining commitment to projects
Psychological determinants
Social determinants
Organizational determinants - Managing communications among project stakeholders
Have common project vocabulary
Assign a facilitator - Managing time
- Managing costs
- Managing quality
