What is a Project?

Work generally involves either operations/process or projects.

A Project is defined as:

· Temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service

· Has a definite beginning and an end

· Uses resources

· Causes change

· Meets pre-established goals for cost, schedule, and quality

Operations or Process can be defined as:

· Ongoing and repetitive – normal business

· Sometimes the product of a project

What is Project Management?

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed project objectives while balancing competing demands among:

· Factors such as Scope, Schedule, Resources, Cost, Risk, Quality and Change 

· Stakeholders with differing identified requirements (needs) and unidentified requirements (expectations)

Project Roles and Responsibilities

People involved with projects can have various and even multiple roles noted below.

· Customer or Client – The person or group that causes the project to start because of a need, funds the project effort, and accepts the project when it is completed.

· Project Stakeholder – Anyone who will be participating in, has influence over, or is affected by, the project results

· Governance Committee – An executive committee chartered with selecting projects for initiation, monitoring project progress to ensure they are addressing stated goals, and following up after project completion to gather and report on the actual versus projected project return on investment and customer satisfaction

· Project Sponsor – Typically an executive or a member of the top management team having the greatest investment in the project and who represents the project at corporate level with ultimate ownership of the project. On the customer side, the Project Sponsor provides the financial resources for the project. For the performing organization, the Project Sponsor:

o Is an advocate for needed resources

o Helps the project manager overcome organizational conflicts and barriers to project performance

o Ensure timely decision making and issue escalation

o Appoints and coaches coach the project manager as needed

o Provide guidance in key decisions and influence key stakeholder groups

o Provides project oversight and review

· Project Manager – A good project manager is like a good orchestra conductor. The conductor brings together all the diverse talents of the orchestra members (project team members) with their variety of instruments and talents to create beautiful music (deliver the project on time and under budget). The project manager:

o Is appointed by Business Partner, Project Sponsor, or the Governance Committee to lead the project

o Is the individual responsible for managing the project through planning, organizing, managing, and leading

o Controls project scope, schedules, resources, quality, costs, and change

o Enables others to do their job by acting as conduit for information and activities

o Interfaces with the customer as the primary contact

o As the project team members are specialists in their respective fields, it is key to remember the project manager is also a specialist in his/her field: project management

· Project Team Members – Possess unique skills needed to perform project activities under the management of the project manager to produce project deliverables

· Project Team Lead – Project team members leading sub-teams to create deliverables of a project (business, technical, financial, etc.); while taking direction from the project manager

The Focus of Project Management = Control + Communications + Documentation

Control

• The project manager controls:
• Scope by working with the client to define the scope and objectives of the project and managing to those definitions during the project implementation.
• Costs by managing the project budget.
• Resources by organizing and managing schedules according to project objectives.
• Risks through risk identification and mitigation
• Changes through change control process
• The project managers must also manage work relationships through motivation, delegation, supervision, team building, conflict management, and other techniques.
• The project manager uses General Management skills provide much of the foundation for building project management skills.

Communications

• Communications skills are used to exchange information.
• The sender is responsible for making the information clear, unambiguous, and complete so that the receiver can receive it correctly and confirm it is properly understood.
• The receiver is responsible for making sure that the information is received in its entirety and understood correctly.
• Stress how Project communications is critical and what aspects it takes on.

Documentation

• Another aspect of communications is Documentation.
• If you ever work a project with me, you will hear me use the term, "write it down" all the time.
• The need for documentation during the life of a project cannot be stressed too much.
• The more times you can document a conversation, a process, a plan, a schedule; and have it validated by other team members or a client, the more you will be seen to be organized and in control of the project.