Notes Project Management
Notes Project Management
Module 1:
Important components of the planning phase: Scheduling (start date, end date, in between), budgeting
(total cost for completing the project), risk management (identifying risk and formulating mitigation
strategies)
How should a planning lick off meeting look like:
To ensure the milestones and task are arranged in order of execution, WBS (work breakdown structure) is
used. Completion of WBS before making SOW also helps in smoothly calculating approximate budgets
Module 2:
Key components of project plan: Tasks, milestones, people (roles and task mapping for accountability),
documentation (RACI chart, Project charter, budget, risk management strategies), and time.
Other important components: schedule, scope and goals, WBS, budget, management plans
Planning includes: time estimation, effort estimation, capacity planning, keeping track of critical path.
Critical path: The critical path helps you determine the essential tasks that need to be completed on
your project to meet your end goal and how long each task will take
Module 3:
Budgeting: break the budget down by milestones
Key components of a project budget: Resource cost rates, Reserve analysis, contingency budget, cost of
quality
To Do’s for budgeting: historical data, leverage experts, bottom-up, confirm accuracy, baseline.
As a standard practice, 5% of the overall budget cost is considered to be reserve cost (in google)
Budget management template:
Best practices:
When is a good time to review the project budget and identify if you need to make any
changes?: After you meet a milestone
Be proactive with cost control strategies rather than being reactive
Terms to remember:
CAPEX (capital expenses) are an organization's major, long-term, upfront expenses, such
as buildings, equipment, and vehicles. They are generally for assets that the company will
own and keep. The company incurs these expenses because they believe they will create
a benefit for the company in the future.
OPEX (operating expenses) are the short-term expenses that are required for the day-to-
day tasks involved in running the company, such as wages, rent, and utilities. They are
often recurring.
the most common ethical traps that exist when conducting procurements are corruption and
bribery, sole-supplier sourcing, and interactions with state-owned agencies.
Module 4:
Risk- possibility of event that might occur which in turn can impact the project
Use probability and impact matrix to evaluate which risks should be prioritized
Time risk
Budget risk
Scope risk
Single point of failure (has potential to be catastrophic and halt work across the project)
o Finish to start
o Finish to Finish
o Start to start
o Start to finish
Avoid
Minimize
Transfer
Accept
Author:
Status: Draft/Final
Date of creation
Date of updating
Objective
Executive summary (also include risk register, with level of impact and mitigation
strategy
Module 5:
Visuals
Listening
Course 4:
Module 1:
Importance of tracking: increases transparency, risk management and keeping the project on
track
How to check project progress: tracking and measuring (to identify deviation)
project schedule,
costs
Roadmaps: suited for high level tracking of big milestones, useful for illustrating how a project
should evolve overtime
Burndown chart: measures time against the amount of work done and the amount of work
remaining. Best suited for projects that require detailed, broken down review of each task
associated with the project. Also when the projects top priority is to finish on time
Key components of a project status report: Project name, Date, Summary, Status, Milestones and
tasks, Issues.
Change Request Forms:
Additional techniques for managing risks
Project summary
Action items
Key accomplishments
Future considerations
Lessons learned.
Resources
Module 3:
Benefits of using data:
Correlation between data, metrics and analytics: Once you determine your project's metrics, you
analyze the data according to those metrics to find patterns and answer questions about your project.
This process is called analytics
The six steps of data analysis: Ask (what needs to be analysed?), prepare (collect data), process (clean),
analyze (draw conclusions), share (data visualization to organize your data) and act.
Psychological safety
Dependability
Structure and clarity
Meaning
Impact
Leading high-functioning teams
create systems that turn chaos into order; (define processes, when to inform etc.)
communicate and listen (same page)
promote trust and psychological safety; (interpersonal risk, opinions are welcomed)
demonstrate empathy and create motivation; (being present and listen, recognize)
delegate responsibility and prioritize. (reduce ambiguity)
celebrate team's success.
Module 5:
Effective email writing:
State what you want clearly.
Keep the content short and concise.
Structure your writing.
Check grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Activity reference:
Module 6:
Exec summary
Key accomplishments
Lessons learned
Open items
Next steps and future considerations
Project timeline
Resources and project archive
Course 5:
Module 1:
Agile vs waterfall:
Bucket 3:
Bucket 4:
Designing (simple as possible to start with which can be further refined as and when needed)
Coding
Testing
Listening
Principles of lean methodology (continuously eliminates waste)
define value
map value stream
create flow
establish pull
pursue perfection
Module 2:
Agile is a foundation or philosophy, while scrum is a framework that materializes the philosophy.
Scrum: a framework for developing, delivering, and sustaining complex products. Works on iterative
(project processes are repeated) and incremental (work is divided in smaller chunks that build on each
other) approach
Scrum team
product owner (build the right thing)
scrum master (build the thing fast)
development team (build the thing right)
Product mission (why are we doing the work) and vision (what will the work be like when we are done)
Product backlog:
When writing user stories, you will need to include the following elements:
User persona. What is your user like? What is their relation to the project? What goals do they
have?
Definition of Done. This refers to an agreed upon set of items that must be completed before a
user story can be considered complete.
Tasks. What are the key activities needed to complete the user story?
Any feedback already provided. If you are adding features to an existing product and you have
already received feedback from customers on a past iteration, make sure to consider this
feedback.
Example user story: Let’s imagine you are working on a project for a local library. The library hopes to
launch a website so that customers can read reviews before they check out books from the branch. The
typical template for a user story looks like this: As a <user role>, I want this <action> so that I can get
this <value>. Therefore, an example user story for this situation might read: As an avid reader, I want to
be able to read reviews before I check out a book from my local branch so that I know I am getting a book
I am interested in.
Example backlog:
**As a <user role>, I want <this action> so that I can <get this value>**
Asana has lot of templates to directly use from (like the sprint planning template)
Estimation used in product backlog is relative estimation. Example if medium is the estimation for task A,
what will be the estimation for task B in comparison to task A.
Types of denotions used:
Tshirt size: s,m,l,xl…
Story points (palindrome): 1,2,3,5,8,13,21…
Planning Poker™
This particular method is well-known and commonly used when Scrum teams have to make
effort estimates for a small number of items (under 10). Planning Poker is consensus-based,
meaning that everyone has to agree on the number chosen. In this technique, each individual has
a deck of cards with numbers from the Fibonacci sequence on them. The Fibonacci sequence is
where a number is the sum of the last two numbers (e.g., 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on).
Sometimes, Planning Poker decks also include cards with coffee cups and question marks on
them. The question mark card means that the person doesn’t understand what is being discussed
or doesn’t have enough information to draw a conclusion. The coffee cup card means that the
person needs a break.
The Planning Poker strategy is used in Sprint Planning meetings. As each Product Backlog
item/user story is discussed, each team member lays a card face down on the table. Then,
everyone turns their card over at the same time and the team discusses the estimates, particularly
when they are far apart from one another. By first hiding the estimates, the group avoids any bias
that is presented when numbers are said aloud. Sometimes, when hearing numbers aloud, people
react to that estimate or the estimator themselves, and it changes what their initial thought may
have been. In Planning Poker, teams can easily avoid that bias.
Dot Voting
Dot Voting, like Planning Poker, is also good for sprints with a low number of Sprint Backlog
items. In Dot Voting, each team member starts with small dot stickers, color-coded by the
estimated effort required (e.g., S=green, M=blue, L=orange, XL=red). The items or user stories
are written out on pieces of paper placed around a table or put up on the wall. Then, team
members walk around the table and add their colored stickers to the items.
Large/Uncertain/Small
Large/Uncertain/Small is another quick method of rough estimation. It is great for product
backlogs that have several similar or comparable items.
This is the same general idea as the Bucket System, but instead of several buckets, you only use
three categories: large, uncertain, and small. Starting with the simpler, more obvious user stories,
the team places the items in one of the categories. Then, the team discusses and places more
complex items until each is assigned to a category.
Ordering Method
The Ordering Method is ideal for projects with a smaller team and a large number of Product
Backlog items. First, a scale is prepared and items are randomly placed ranging from low to
high. Then, one at a time, each team member either moves any item one spot lower or higher on
the scale or passes their turn. This continues until team members no longer want to move any
items.
Affinity Mapping
Affinity Mapping is useful for teams that have more than 20 items in their Product Backlog.
A best practice is to conduct this technique using sticky notes placed onto a wall, whiteboard, or
table. Each sticky note features a different user story or item. Using sticky notes allows the team
to move user stories around in order to group them by similar theme, group, and pattern. The
team begins by placing one sticky note on the board. Then, the team takes the next sticky note
and discusses whether it is similar to the first item. Based on the team’s assessment, the second
sticky note is placed in the first group or into its own group.
After all of the items are grouped (there should be anywhere from 3–10 groups total), the team
gives a name to each group that represents the general theme of the items. Then, the groups are
prioritized by importance so that the team knows which items to tackle first.
Plan using sprint planning template -> download as csv -> create a new project by uploading the CSV to
create a backlog in list format
Comparing Releasable Product Increment to Minimum Viable Product
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product with just enough features to satisfy
early customers. Eric Ries, an entrepreneur and author, coined the term in this guide and defined
an MVP as “that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount
of validated learning about customers with the least effort.”
A minimum viable product is a package of features that may take several sprints to develop, but
every sprint’s goal is to produce a product increment.
To differentiate between a potentially releasable increment and a MVP, let’s take our example of
the online pet adoption app and the three features we discussed previously. We noted that each of
these features on their own wasn’t a useful release of the solution. However, the Product Owner
may decide that the MVP for this user experience is to implement these three requirements for
cats only.
By reducing the scope of the MVP, the Product Owner is able to release the solution into the
marketplace and collect feedback from the users who wish to adopt cats. This feedback will be
valuable not only for the cat adoption process but for any type of pet adoption in future iterations
of the product.
Module 4:
Agile coach:
Design the play with team
Provide feedback to the team
Celebrate and learn with the team
Alignment: Synchronize the planning and execution of SAFe activities at all levels of the
organization.
Built-in Quality: Build quality into all stages of solution development.
Transparency: Make execution activities visible at all levels to build trust among teams
and across the organization.
Program Execution: Focus on working systems and business outcomes.
Leadership: Model the values and principles of SAFe.
Read this article to learn more about the core values of SAfe.
Scrum of Scrums
Scrum of Scrums is a technique for integrating the work of multiple, smaller Scrum teams
working on the same project or solution. Coordination among teams is critical to ensuring the
deliverables from each team can be integrated into one larger, cohesive deliverable.
A group of at least 12 or more people divided into Scrum Teams of five to ten people
each
Scrum of Scrums meetings, which are held once a week, twice a week, or daily. These
meetings follow the same format as a Daily Scrum meeting but focus on the Scrum team.
In these meetings, you’ll discuss questions like: “What did the team do yesterday? What
problems occurred, if any, that are negatively affecting your team? What does your team
want to accomplish before we meet again? Is your team blocked from moving forward on
any tasks?”
A Scrum Master or designated “ambassador” for each team that participates in the
Scrum of Scrums meetings and a Scrum of Scrums Master who focuses on the overall
Scrum process across multiple teams
Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective meetings
Beyond these very basic guidelines, there is no official framework or methodology to implement
Scrum of Scrums. Scrum of Scrums assumes that teams have a good working understanding of
Scrum and are able to apply the scaling principles to how they work. Building on this
knowledge, they design and iterate their own approach to coordinate multiple teams working on
the same product.
LeSS includes ten principles for applying the value, elements, and overall purpose of Scrum
across an organization. These principles were designed to create more customer- and
collaboration-focused teams. LeSS teams prioritize learning, transparency, and customer needs.
The ten LeSS principles are:
1. Large-scale Scrum is Scrum: Apply the values and principles of Scrum to a larger
team.
2. Empirical process control: Inspect, adapt, and learn from experience to improve
processes.
3. Transparency: Ensure clarity and accessibility across a project.
4. More with less: Create only necessary processes, roles, artifacts, and waste when
scaling.
5. Whole-product focus: Think holistically about the product, making sure that all the parts
serve the whole.
6. Customer-centric: Keep the customer’s needs and values at the heart of your process.
7. Continuous improvement towards perfection: Improve the product—and your process
—during every single Sprint.
8. Systems thinking: Think about the system as a whole; Don’t get lost in the details.
9. Lean thinking: Seek continuous improvement, aim for perfection, and respect people.
10. Queuing theory: Embrace the Lean principles of “flow,’ manage queue size,” and
“minimize multitasking” to keep delivering value.
The LeSS toolkit provides two frameworks—one for up to about 50 people (called Basic LeSS)
and one for 50–6000+ people (called LeSS Huge). More information on the LeSS frameworks
can be found at less.works.
1. Foundations discusses the principles, guidelines, Agile concepts, roles and team
structure definitions, and Way of Working (WoW).
2. Disciplined DevOps ensures that solutions are delivered to customers effectively and
safely, with data and security management always at the forefront.
3. Value Streams ensures that solutions are aligned with the organization's business
strategy, connecting customers, sales, and portfolio management to the framework.
4. Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE) connects the industry marketplace with corporate
governance and larger enterprise activities.
Project managers wishing to implement DAD can read more about the framework in this article:
Going Beyond Scrum.
Squads: Like Scrum teams, Squads are autonomous teams of 6–12 people working
toward the same outcome. All Squads include a coach (similar to a Scrum Master) and a
Product Owner.
Tribes: When multiple Squads work on the same feature area, they form a Tribe of 40–
150 people. Each Tribe has a Tribe Lead who fosters collaboration and coordination.
Chapters: Squads may be autonomous, but specialists (e.g., JavaScript developers)
should still align across an organization. Chapters establish best practices and, where
necessary, set standards.
Guilds: Any group of people interested in a certain topic can form a Guild, where people
with shared interests can come together as a community.
While some organizations have had success with this model, be aware that it evolved from
Spotify’s already significant Agile experience. It is the product of extensive introspection and
adaptation and draws heavily on the company’s culture of trust, transparency, and autonomy.
Therefore, the value of Spotify’s approach to scaling is not in team names like Squads and Tribes
but in how they developed practices that supported and served their organizational culture. To
learn more about the Spotify Model, check out this video from Henrik Kniberg.