Module 12: Executing Projects Flashcards
Summary of executing processes
- Project integration management: Direct and manage project work.
- Project quality management: Perform quality assurance.
- Project human resource management: Acquire, develop, and manage project team.
- Project communication management: Manage communication.
- Project stakeholder management: Manage stakeholder engagement.
- Project procurement management: Conduct procurements.
Direct-and-manage-project-work-process
PM ensures all relevant stakeholders are involved in completing the project.
- coordinate work activities.
- develop and use their soft skills (ability to deal with people).
Provide support to team members
- keep all project docs up to date
- use tools and techniques discussed at project planning phase.
Outputs of Direct and Manage Project Work
One or more deliverables, work performance data, change request, nnd changes to the project plan
Deliverable
one outpuf of project integration. Product or service project was intneded to create.
Work performance data
Includes - technical performance measure, actual durations and costs, key performance indicators.
Collected while observing work, holding formal meetings, analyzing survey results (if any), using other methods to address work performance. Compiled in report that lists milestones and issues, comments, and other relevant info at end of each milestone. Sent to stakeholders dependent on stakeholder mgmt plan.
Potential problems on a project
- Poorly defined estimates for cost or schedule; things coming up unexpectedly.
- Lack of management support for the project.
- Unmotivated or incompetent team.
- Unexpected staff turnover.
- Conflict among team members.
- Governmental changes imposed after project plan has been defined.
- Inexperienced project manager.
Benchmarking
Compares one’s own processes or practices to those of exemplary organizations.
Quality audit
Review quality management activities performed on the projects. “Lessons learned” tries to improve on processes identified. In-house or external auditors perform it.
Cause-and-effect diagrams
Identify root cause of problems identified through quality audit.
Kanban board
For agile projects. Help team visualize and improve their workflow. Shows tasks to do, tasks in progress, tasks complete.
Manage project knowledge
managing new and old knowledge pertaining to project and contributing to organizational learning. Transfer knowledge from one project to the next.
Explicit Knowledge
Easy to convey through words, numbers, images, etc. Ex: existing org. docs, metrics created to measure quality, and books. However, some explicit knowledge can be open to interpretation.
Tacit Knowledge
Not easy to convey, its pretty subjective. Expresses emotion, feeling and beliefs. Its not easy to codify since it resides in the mind of the individual.
Lessons learned register
Created to record and convey knowledge for future projects. Documents challenges, problems, realized risks, and successes. At the end discussed with team and archived.
Project resource managment
Crucial to execution. Needs right staff at the right time to perform activiites.
Resource calendars
Show which resources are needed when.
For non-HR it shows how they are used.
Project resource management soft skills
Matching the right people for the right activities, managers need to handle staff in all settings.
Motivation
Need to understand how people are motivated. PM familiar with the staff and their needs will find it easier.
Intrinsic motivation
Inspires people to work on a job for the pleasure of getting the job done and done well.
Extrinsic motivation
Requires a reward system or avoidance of a penalty. Ex: getting a raise.
Resource loading
Once PM has hired the right people, they have to assign them to the project for the time that they are needed
Resource histograms
show staff allocated at various stages or times during the project. Can show over allocation.
Resource levelling
manage the project in terms of how the team members are allocated across the project timeline.
- can be delayed until resource is freed up.
- can change schedule by shifting tasks and working within slack allowances.
Forming
The initial group gets together to start the project. Team members = best behaviour. Productivity = fairly low.
Storming
Members jostle for position and leadership within the group. This stage = conflict usually arises. Productivity = improve in this stage.
Norming
Team settles down and roles get determined. Collaboration replaces any struggles. Productivity = improved markedly from the storming stage. People begin to know what they need to do.
Performing
The work is performed and productivity is at its highest.
Adjourning
The team disbands and moves on to other projects.
Tips to deal with team members
-Be patient and kind.
-Listen to what team members are telling you.
-Establish rules and procedures.
-Establish a code of conduct.
-Have regular meetings.
-Help people resolve problems.
-Acknowledge accomplishments.
-Plan social activities to bring people together to have fun.
Formal communication
Done through reports and follow organizational hierarchy.
Informal communication
Accomplished through face-to-face communication and is rarely written down.
Team size
As team size increases so does the number. Better to have a bunch of smaller teams than a few larger teams.
Project stakeholder management
Keep updated on progress
- Involve them in decision making.
- meet expectations and deliver product/service they are expecting.
- involvement = increase support and reduce potential resistance.
Outputs of project stakdholder management
change requests and updates to the project mgmt plan and other documents.
Issue log
Produced during execution used to track issues (problems or complications that need resolution). Conflict between people, items, or activities that need to be resolved before work can continue.
Project procurement mgmt
During execution phase. Sellers are selected and agreements or contracts are awarded.
Laissez-faire
Hands-off approach to management
Transactional
Focuses on providing rewards as incentives to team members.
Servant leader
This approach focuses on other people’s growth demonstrating service as a form of leadership.
Transformational
these leaders empower others and guide changes through inspiration.
Charismatic
These people inspire others based on their enthusiasm and confidence.
Interactional
Combines transactional, transformational, and charismatic.
Executing agile projects
Can use same as predictive approaches. Important aspect is that they are self directed. Scrum master = servant-leader approach.
Competing conflict situations
Require assertive and uncooperative response.
