Defining the project Step 1: Defining the project Project managers in charge of a single small project can plan

and schedule the project tasks without formal planning and information. However, when the project manager must manage several small projects or a large complex project a threshold is quickly reached in which the project manager can no longer cope with detail. The 5 generic steps described below provide a structured approach for collecting the project information necessary for developing a work breakdown structure. Defining a project sets the stage for developing a project plan. Project scope is a definition of the end result or mission of your project. The primary purpose is to define as clearly as possible the deliverables for the end user and to focus on project plans. A poorly defined project scope or mission is the most frequent mentioned barrier to project success The scope should be developed under the direction of a PM and customer. The project manager is responsible for seeing that there is agreement with the owner on project objectives, deliverables at each stage of the project, technical requirements and so forth. Project scope is a document that will be published and used by the project owner and project participants for planning and measuring project success. Scope describes what you expect to deliver to your customer when the project is complete. The project scope should define the results tp be achieved in specific, tangible and measurable terms 5 generic steps 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Defining the scope of the project Establishing project priorities Creating the WBS Integrating the WBS with the organization Coding the WBS for the information system

Step 1. Employing a project scope Project scope checklist 1. Project objectives 2. Deliverables 3. Milestones 4. Technical requirements 5. Limits and exclusions 6. Reviews with customer

1. Project Objectives- The first step of project scope definition is to define the overall objective to meet your customers need. 2. Deliverables- the next step is to define major deliverables the expected outputs over the life of the project. Ie list of specifications in the early design phase of the project might be a list of specifications. In second phase deliverables could be software coding and a technical manual. The next phase could be to test prototypes, the final phase could be final test and approved software 3. Milestones- A milestone is a significant event that occurs at a point in time. The milestone schedule shows only major segments of work. It represents first a rough cut estimate of time cost and resources of the project. The milestone schedule is built using deliverables as a platform to identify major segments of the work and an end-date. 4. Technical requirements- More frequently than not, a product or service will have technical requirements to ensure proper performance ie the ability of 911 emergency services to identify callers phone numbers and location of the phone 5. Limits and exclusions the limits of scope should be defined. Failure to do so can lead to false expectations and to expending resources and time on the wrong problem. Examples of limits are: local air transportation to and from base camps will be outsourced, system maintenance and repair will be done only up to one month after final inspection, client will be billed for additional training beyond that prescribed on the contract. Exclusions define the boundary of the project by stating what is not included ie data will be collected by client not the contractor, a house will be built but no landscaping or security devices added, software will be installed but no training given etc 6. Reviews with customer Completion of the scope checklist ends with a review with the customer internal or external. The main concern here is understanding and agreement of expectations. Is the customer getting what he or she desires in deliverables? Does the project definition identify key accomplishments, budgets, timing and performance requirements? Are questions of limit and exclusions covered? Clear communication in all these areas is imperative to avoid claims and misunderstanding. Scope definition should be brief as possible but complete. One or two pages are typical for small projects. Other names for scope statements scope of work, project charter Step 2: Establishing project priorities Quality and the ultimate success of a project are traditionally defined as meeting and/or exceeding the expectations of the customer and/or upper management in terms of cost ( budget), time (schedule) and performance (scope) of the project. The interrelationship amongst these criteria varies. Ie it is necessary to compromise the performance and scope of the project to get the project done quickly and less expensive. Often the longer a project takes the more expensive it becomes. Other times cost can be reduced by using cheaper, less efficient labour or equipment that extends the duration of the project

One of the primary jobs of a PM is to manage the tradeoffs among time cost and performance. To do so PM must define and understand the nature of the priorities of the project. They need to have a candid discussion with the project customer to establish the relative importance of each criterion ie what happens if a client keeps on adding requirements? If midway through a project a trade off must be done between costs and expediting which criterion has priority? One practice PM use is the priority matrix for the project to identify which criterion is constrained which should be enhanced and which can be accepted Constrain- The original parameter is fixed. The project must meet the completion date, specifications and scope of the project or budget Enhance- Given the scope of the project, which criterion should be optimized? In the case of time and cost, this usually means taking advantage of opportunities to either reduce cost or shorten the schedule. Conversely with regard to performance, enhancing means adding value to the project Accept- for which criterion is it tolerable not to meet the original parameters? When tradeoffs have to be made, is it permissible for the schedule to slip, to reduce the scope and performance of the project or to go over the budget? Project Management Trade offs

Scope

Quality

Cost

Time

Project Priority Matrix

Time Constrain

Performance

Cost

Enhance

Accept

The priority matrix for the devpt of a new wireless modem. Because tie to market is important to sales, the PM is instructed to take advantage of every opportunity to reduce completion time. In doing so going over the budget is acceptable though not desirable. At the same time the original performance specifications for the modem as well as reliability standards cannot be compromised Developing a decision priority matrix for a project before the project begins is a useful exercise. It provides a forum for clearly establishing priorities with customers and top management so as to create shared expectations and avoid misunderstandings. The priority info is essential to the planning process where adjustments can be made in the scope, schedule and budget allocation. The matrix is useful midway the project for approaching a problem that must be solved. During the course of a project, priorities may change. The customer may suddenly need the project completed one month sooner( ie President Kibaki asked the Department Of Defence to complete construction of a DOD project so that he could open it) the PM needs to be vigilant in order to anticipate and confirm changes in priorities and make proper adjustments Step 3: Work Breakdown structure Once the scope and deliverables have been identified, the work of the project can be successfully subdivided into smaller and smaller work elements. The outcome of this hierarchical process is called the work breakdown structure (WBS) The WBS is the map of the project. It helps to assure the project manager that all products and work elements are identified, It helps to integrate the project with the organization It helps to maintain control.

Basically the WBS is an outline of the project with different levels of detail Major work deliverables are identified first. Then the sub-deliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables defined. The process is repeated until the sub-deliverable detail is small enough to be manageable and where one person can be responsible. Because the lowest sub deliverable usually includes several work packages, the work packages are grouped by type of work . These groupings are called cost accounting. This grouping facilitates a system for monitoring project progress by work, cost and responsibility Hierarchical Breakdown of the WBS Level 1 Hierarchical breakdown Project Description Complete Project

Deliverable

Major Deliverables

Sub deliverable

Supporting Deliverables

Lowest sub deliverable

Lowest Mngt level

Cost account

Grouping of work packages for monitoring progress and responsibility Identifiable work activities

Work package

This breakdown group s work packages by type of work within a deliverable and allows assignment to an organizational unit. T he extra step facilitates a system for monitoring project progress How WBS helps the PM? It defines all the elements of the project in a hierarchical framework and establishes relationships to the project end items It facilitates cost time and technical performance at all levels in the organization over the life of the project It provides management with information appropriate to each level It serves as a frame work for tracking cost and work performances

It assists the PM to identify organization units and individuals can be assigned responsibility for executing work packages It integrates work and the organization OBS (Organization Breakdown Structure) It provides the opportunity to roll up (sum) the budget and actual costs of the smaller work packages into larger work elements so that performance can be measured by organization units and work accomplishment It is used to define communication channels and assist in understanding and coordinating many parts of the project It enables problems to be addressed quickly and coordinated because the structure integrates work and responsibility WBS development Work packages These are the short duration tasks that have a definite start and stop point. They consume resources and represent cost. Each package is a control point. A work package manager is responsible for seeing that the package is completed on time within budget and according to technical specification. If a work package has a duration of exceeding 10 day, check or monitoring points should be established within the duration so progress and problems can be identified before too much time has passed. Each work package should be independent of other work packages of the project as possible. No work package is described in more than one sub-deliverable of the WBS There is an importance difference from start to finish between the last work breakdown subdeliverable and a work package. A work breakdown sub-deliverable includes the outcomes of more than one package from 2 or 3 departments. Therefore the sub-deliverable does not have a duration of its own and does not consume resources and cost money directly Thus, the work package is the basic unit used for planning, scheduling and controlling the project WBS look at WBS development Page 109 -113 of Project management (Larson & Gray 5th Ed) for better understanding