Lynda.com Project Management Fundamentals

Overview

"Author Bonnie Biafore lays out a set of principles for efficiently managing projects. The course examines the concepts of project management, from defining the problem, establishing project objectives, and building a project plan to meeting deadlines, managing team resources, and closing the project. The course also provides tips for reporting on project performance, keeping a project on track, and gaining customer acceptance."

- Lynda.com

Initiating

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Problem Statement

• Problem Statement documents help define the problem or opportunity.
• Projects are started to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.
• Keep the problem definition simple.
• Do not start talking about solutions until the problem is clearly defined.
• Ask why until the problem is clearly defined.

Project Goal

• Project Goals are high-level targets that state the end result of the project.
• Easy to understand.
• Create objectives that define the goal. Objectives should be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Realistic
• Time-Related

Strategy

• There is often more than one strategy for achieving a specific goal.
• Brainstorm possible strategies with a team based on the problem statement, goal, and objectives.
• Evaluate the brainstorming ideas using a Strategy Matrix.
• Ask: Is this strategy feasible?
• Ask: Are the risks of this strategy acceptable?
• Ask: Does this strategy fit the culture of the organization?

Requirements

• Requirements provide the details of what the outcomes must look like.
• Don't include requirements that aren't necessary.
• Make sure you have all the necessary requirements.
• Techniques for gathering requirements:

• Reuse existing requirements - if this project is like a past one.
• Build a prototype - test the idea and evaluate it.
• Hold requirements meetings. (marcin)
• Observe end-users interacting with the product.
• Conduct interviews.

• With your goal in mind, document your requirements by writing detailed statements of what must be accomplished by the project to satisfy the objectives.

Deliverables

• Deliverables are the products or services that are delivered.
• Can be tangible (products) or more abstract (services).
• They help you measure progress.
• Process:

• Start by defining end deliverables.
• Next, define intermediate deliverables.
• Next, define success criteria so you know your progress is on track.

• Deliverables should be able to be completed in between status reports.
• How do you know the deliverables you receive are what you need?
• Success criteria help you determine that your deliverables are what you need.

• Success criteria should be clear and quantifiable.

Assumptions

• Assumptions are things that are believed to be true but are not confirmed.
• Get assumptions out in the open to make sure everyone is on the same page.
• Ask questions about what people expect, what they envision when they think about the project, don't be afraid to ask multiple times to make sure the story doesn't change.
• Ask people to describe project success.

Risks

• Risks are situations or events that might negatively affect your project.
• Identify risks early in a project so the management team can make a decision to move forward with a project.
• Document risks at the start of the project.

Scope Statement

• Scope Statements define the boundaries of what is included and what isn't included in the project.
• Can also include an out of scope statement that clarifies assumptions about what is outside the boundaries of what the project is.
• Change management processes control the small requests that come into a project.
• Sometimes team members expand the scope without management knowing it. When assembling the team, make sure they understand the scope statement.

Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are people who have a stake in the outcome of a project.
• Major stakeholder roles:

• Project Customer
• Project Sponsors
• Functional Managers
• Team Members

• How do you work effectively with your stakeholders?

• Make a stakeholder analysis:

• Identify what motivates your stakeholders?
• Identify who your stakeholders listen to.
• Identify the objectives that the stakeholders care about and their priorities.
• Document the stakeholder's contribution to the project.

• Stakeholders are crucial to the success of your project.

Approval

• Get approval from project stakeholders.
• Do not mail or email the project summary to your stakeholders and have them sign on the dotted line. They might not read the packet and fully committ.
• A face to face sign-off meeting is more effective.

• Review the project summary to make sure the project stakeholders agree with it.
• Obtain signatures.
• It’s important that the stakeholders understand what the project is about and buy into it.

Project Charter

• Project Charters are formal announcements of the initiation of the project and the delegation of authority to the Project Manager.

• Includes:

• Name of the Project
• Purpose
• Name of the Project Manager
• Responsibilities
• Authority specifics
• A formal declaration of authority by the project sponsor.

• When the project is ready to go, the project sponsor distributes the project charter to the team members.