 Describe the five project management process groups, define

a project life cycle, map the process groups to knowledge

areas, discuss other project management methodologies,
explain the concept of agile project management, and
understand the importance of top management commitment
and organizational standards
 Discuss the initiating process, including pre-initiating activities
 Prepare a business case to justify the need for a project
 Identify project stakeholders and perform a stakeholder
analysis
 Create a project charter and assumption log
 Describe the importance of holding a good project kick-off
meeting

2
1. Spending more time than industry average on,
“Training,” its employees

2. Training areas, “Sales, purchasing, engineering,

and information technology depts.”

3. Need to transfer knowledge/training/expertise

from many retiring workers to young workers

4. Most courses offered ‘during working hours,

using instructor-led format.”

5. Course topics were not yet changed from years

 Marie Scott with other mangers @Global Const.
◦ Decided, ‘what projects their firm should take to meet
business needs.’
◦ “Just in-time training program”
 Train employees on need basis
 Online training
 Cost reduction training
 Productivity training
 Phase-I
 Mike, finished the study that, ‘how they should proceed with
the over all project?’
 Phase-II
 Kristen, ‘Partnering with outside firm ~technical aspects.’
 Kristen: started forming project team, preparing imp.
documents
 business case, stakeholder register, management
strategy, project charter, and kick off-meeting.
 Project management Process Groups progress
from initiating activities to planning activities,
executing activities, monitoring and controlling
activities, and closing activities

 A process is a series of actions directed towards a

particular result

5
 Initiating processes
◦ include actions to define & authorize new projects & project
phases
 Develop project charter
 Identify stakeholders & kick-off meeting
 Planning processes
◦ include devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure
that the project meets its scope, time, and cost goals as well as
organizational needs

 Executing processes
◦ include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the
project plans and produce the deliverables of the project or
phase.

◦ A deliverable is a product or service produced or provided as

part of a project

6
 Monitoring and controlling processes
◦ measure progress toward achieving project goals
◦ monitor deviation from plans, and take corrective action
to match progress with plans and customer expectations
◦
 Closing processes
◦ include formalizing acceptance of the project or phase
and bringing it to an orderly end

7
Source: Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)– Sixth Edition (2017).
8
 The level of activity and length of each process
group varies for every project

◦ Normally, executing tasks require the most resources and

time, followed by planning tasks

◦ Monitoring and controlling processes are done throughout

the project’s life span

◦ Initiating and closing tasks are usually the shortest (at the
beginning and end of a project or phase, respectively), and
they require the least amount of resources and time

◦ However, every project is unique, so there can be exceptions

◦ A phase is a distinct stage in project development, and most

projects have distinct phases
9
Process Group Alpha PM Average PM Alpha Difference (%)

Initiating 2% 1% 100% more

Planning 21% 11% 91% more

Executing 69% 82% 16% less

Monitoring & Controlling 5% 4% 25% more

Closing 3% 2% 50% more

Total 100% 100%

10
Source: Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)– 11
 A predictive life cycle, also called plan-driven, is
used when the requirements can be well defined
at the beginning of a project.

 An adaptive life cycle is used when requirements

are not well defined up front. Adaptive approaches
can be iterative, incremental, or agile.

 A hybrid or combination of approaches can be

used when the nature of different deliverables
calls for different approaches.
12
Source: Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)– Sixth Edition (2017).
13
 You can map the five process group into the ten
project management knowledge areas

 Based on the PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition (2017),

there are 49 total processes in project management

 Figure 3-2 provides a big-picture view of the

process groups and knowledge areas

14
 The PMBOK® Guide is a standard that describes
best practices for what should be done to manage a
project

 A methodology describes how things should be

done, and different organizations often have different
ways of doing things

 Successful organizations develop and follow a

customized, formal project management process

15
Source: Project Management Institute,
Inc., A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK Guide) – Sixth Edition
(2017).

16
 PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2):
Originally developed for IT projects, PRINCE2 was
released in 1996 by the U.K. Office of Government
Commerce – is used in over 50 countries. 8 process
groups* & 45 separate sub-processes

 Rational Unified Process (RUP) framework:

iterative software development process that focuses
on team productivity and delivers software best
practices to all team members

17
 Six Sigma:
It is used to improve quality and processes by
closely understanding customers need.
◦ Improving & reinventing business processes.

Six Sigma target for perfection is the achievement of

no more than 3.4 defects, errors, or mistakes per
million opportunities

18
 Many software development projects use agile
methods, meaning they use an iterative workflow and
incremental delivery of software in short iterations

 Popular agile approaches/tools/techniques include:

◦ Scrum, extreme programming, feature driven development,
and lean software development.

 In 2011, PMI introduced a new certification called Agile

Certified Practitioner (ACP)*

19
 Definition of agile:
◦ characterized by the division of tasks into short
phases of work and frequent reassessment and
adaptation of plans

 Early software development projects used a waterfall

approach, where requirements were defined in detail
before any software was written
◦ As the rate of change of business and technology increased,
this approach became unrealistic for many projects

20
 Scrum is the leading agile development technique for
completing projects with a complex, innovative scope
of work

 The term was coined in 1986 in a Harvard Business

Review
 study that compared high-performing, cross-functional
teams to the scrum formation used by rugby teams

21
 Without top management commitment, many
projects will fail

 Some projects have a senior manager called a

champion who acts as a key proponent for a project

22
 Provide adequate resources

 Approve unique project needs in a timely manner

 Encourage cooperation from people in other parts of

the organization and deal with political issues

 Mentor and coach them on leadership issues

 Develop and enforce organizational standards

 Support a project management office (PMO)

23
 A project management office (PMO) is an
organizational entity created to assist project
managers in achieving project goals

24
 Collect, organize, and integrate project data for the
entire organization
 Research, develop, and share best practices in
project management
 Develop and maintain templates, tools, standards,
and methodologies
 Develop or coordinate training in various project
management topics
 Develop and provide a formal career path for project
managers
25
Source: PM Solutions, “The State of the PMO 2014” (2014)
 Itis very important to follow best
practices while initiating projects,
◦ especially to avoid major scope problems.
◦ Senior management must take an active
role in following these best practices:
 Keep the scope realistic
 Involve users from the start
 Use off-the-shelf hardware and software
whenever possible
 Follow good project management processes

27
* Develop:
 Deliverable(s)
 Phase(s)
 Methodology
of
“The Project Management Course”
Senior management work together to: Project managers lead efforts to:

• Determine scope, time, and cost goals • Identify and understand project

• Identify the project sponsor stakeholders

• Select the project manager • Create the project charter &

Assumption Log
• Develop a business case for the project
• Hold a kick-off meeting
• Review processes/expectations

• Determine if the project should be divided into two or

more smaller projects
29
 It is good practice to lay the groundwork for a project before it
officially starts
 After a project is approved, senior managers should meet to
accomplish the following tasks:
◦ Determine the scope, schedule (time), and cost goals for the
project

◦ Identify the project sponsor

◦ Select the project manager

◦ Meet with the project manager to review the processes and

expectations for managing the project

◦ Determine if the project should be divided into two or more smaller

projects (like the Just-In-Time Training Project was) because it is
easier to manage smaller projects than larger ones
30
Scope Goals

• Investigate and document the training taken in the last

two years by all internal employees.

• Determine what courses were taken, the cost of all

training,

• Survey employees: to get their input on what training

they believe they’ll need in the next two years, how
they’d like to take the training

31
• Determine the scope, time, and cost goals for the
development and implementation of the Just-In-Time
Training Phase II project.
Time Goals: Three months

Cost Goals: $50,000

33
Approach/Assumptions:

 All of the costs would be for internal labor.

 All managers and employees would receive

information about this study project

 The team would also provide detailed monthly reports

and presentations to a steering committee.

 The final deliverables would include a one-hour final

presentation

 Comprehensive project report documenting all of the

information and recommendations.
 A business case is a document that provides
financial justification for investing in a project

 It evaluates:
◦ the benefit,
◦ Cost,
◦ risk of alternative options,
◦ establishes: rationality for the preferred solution.

35
 strategic case – the background of the project or
program and why it is needed;

 options appraisal – what options have been considered

and which has been chosen (not forgetting the ‘do
nothing’ option);

 expected benefits – the benefits that will arise from the

work
 commercial aspects – the costs, investment
appraisal and funding arrangements

 risk – the major risks and their impact on the

business case

 timescales – a summary of the delivery of outputs

 ◦ Introduction/Background
◦ Business Objective
◦ Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement
◦ Critical Assumptions and Constraints
◦ Analysis of Options and Recommendation
◦ Preliminary Project Requirements
◦ Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis
◦ Schedule Estimate
◦ Potential Risks
◦ Exhibits

 See Figure 3-7 in the text for a sample (pp. 90-92)

 ** Proposed by Author ~ Subject to change
 Identifying project stakeholders

 Creating the project charter

 Creating the assumption log

 Holding a kick-off meeting

42
Knowledge area Initiating process Outputs

Project integration Develop project charter Project charter

management
Assumption log

Project stakeholder Identify stakeholders Stakeholder register

management
Change requests

Project management plan

updates

Project documents
updates

43
 Project stakeholders are the people involved in or
affected by project activities
◦ Internal project stakeholders generally include the project
sponsor, project team, support staff, and internal
customers for the project.
◦ Other internal stakeholders include top management,
other functional managers, and other project managers

◦ External project stakeholders include the project’s

customers (if they are external to the organization),
competitors, suppliers, and other external groups that are
potentially involved in or affected by the project, such as
government officials and concerned citizens

44
 A stakeholder register is a document that includes
details related to the identified project stakeholders -
usually available to many people. It should not
include sensitive information

 A stakeholder analysis is a technique for analyzing

information to determine which stakeholders’
interests to focus on and how to increase
stakeholder support throughout the project

45
Name Position Internal/ Project Contact Information

External Role

Mike VP of HR Internal Project [email protected]

Sundby champion

Lucy Training Internal Project [email protected]

Camerena Director sponsor

Ron Ryan Senior HR Internal Led the [email protected]

staff Phase I
member project

46
 Unaware: Unaware of the project and its potential
impacts on them
 Resistant: Aware of the project yet resistant to
change

 Neutral: Aware of the project yet neither supportive

nor resistant
 Supportive: Aware of the project and supportive of
change

 Leading: Aware of the and actively engaged in

helping it succeed
49
 A project charter is a document that formally
recognizes the existence of a project and provides a
summary of the project’s objectives and management
 It authorizes the project manager to use
organizational resources to complete the project
 Ideally, the project manager will play a major role in
developing the project charter
 Instead of project charters, some organizations initiate
projects using a simple letter of agreement or formal
contracts
 A crucial part of the project charter is the sign-off
section
50
 The project’s title and date of authorization
 The project manager’s name and contact information
 A summary schedule or timeline, including the planned
start and finish dates

 A summary of the project’s estimated cost and budget

allocation

 A brief description of the project objectives, including the

business need or other justification for authorizing the
project
 Project success criteria, including project approval
requirements and who signs off on the project
51
 A summary of the planned approach for
managing the project, which should describe
stakeholder needs and expectations,

 important assumptions and constraints

 A roles and responsibilities matrix

 A sign-off section for signatures of key project

stakeholders

 A comments section in which stakeholders can

provide important comments related to the
project
52
Project Title: Just-In-Time Training Project
Project Start Date: July 1 Projected Finish Date: June 30 (one year
later)
Budget Information: The firm has allocated $1,000,000 for this project. Approximately
half of these costs will be for internal labor, while the other half will be for outsourced
labor and training programs.
Project Manager: Kristin Maur, (610) 752-4896, [email protected]
Project Objectives: Develop a new training program that provides just-in-time training
to employees on key topics, including supplier management, negotiating skills, project
management, and software applications (spreadsheets and Web development).
Develop an approach for measuring productivity improvements from this approach to
training on an annual basis.
Success Criteria: This project will be successful if it reduces training cost per employee
by 10% or $100/employee/year. It should also be completed on time, be run
professionally, and meet all of the requirements. The project sponsor will fill out a
customer acceptance/project completion form at the end of the project and give the
project at least a 7 out of 10 overall rating.

53
54
 An assumption log is a document used to record and track
assumptions and constraints throughout the project life
cycle.

 Aids in communicating information

◦ to key stakeholders
◦ & avoids potential confusion.

 Most projects include several assumptions that affect the

scope, time, cost, risk, and other knowledge areas.

 It is important to document and validate these assumptions.

56
ID Assumption Categor Owner Due Status Actions
Description y Date
108 Supplier Time Kristin Sep. Closed Scheduled
management 1 first
training should be
completed first
122 Employees will Human Lucy Nov. Open Meet with
take some of the resourc 1 dept. heads
training during es to discuss
non-work hours
57
 Experienced project managers know that it is crucial to get
projects off to a great start

 A kick-off meeting is a meeting held at the beginning of a

project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the
goals of the project, and discuss future plans

 Often used to get support for a project and clarify roles and
responsibilities

 The project champion should speak first and introduce the

project sponsor and project manager

 Often a fair amount of work is done to prepare for the

meeting. Best if it can be held face-to-face
58
 Just-In-Time Training Project
Kick-off Meeting
July 16
Meeting Objective: Get the project off to an effective start by introducing key
stakeholders, reviewing project goals, and discussing future plans
Agenda:
•Introductions of attendees
•Review of the project background
•Review of project-related documents (i.e., business case, project charter, assumptions log)
•Discussion of project organizational structure
•Discussion of project scope, time, and cost goals
•Discussion of other important topics
•List of action items from meeting
Action Item Assigned To Due Date

Date and time of next meeting:

59
 The five project management process groups are
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and
controlling, and closing. These processes occur at
varying levels of intensity throughout each phase of
a project, and specific outcomes are produced as a
result of each process
 Mapping the main activities of each project
management process group into the ten project
management knowledge areas provides a big
picture of what activities are involved in project
management

60
 Global Construction’s Just-In-Time Training
project demonstrates the process of initiating a
project. After a project is approved, senior
managers often meet to perform several pre-
initiating tasks
 The main tasks normally involved in project
initiation are the following:
◦ Identifying and stakeholders
◦ Creating the project charter and assumptions log
◦ Holding a kick-off meeting

61