CHAPTER 1 ⮚ Planning is the most important step in

the process and most complicated.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
⮚ Planning involves assessing 3 key
elements:
Learning Outcomes

⮚ Define project management

⮚ Breaking down the process

⮚ Case studies: small and large-scale

⮚ Review of tools for project

⮚ TIME – deadline, milestones,
management
allocation of work between team
⮚ Applying project management to members and business as usual.
your work
⮚ COST – the project budget,
DEFINED….
additional/unexpected costs, staff
Project Management is the time, comparable value.
application of processes, methods, knowledge,
skills and experience to achieve the project
objectives. ⮚ SCOPE – directly affected by time and
- The Association of Project Management cost, and vice versa.

Project Management typically involves: TIME, COST and ROLES – clearly defined roles
⮚ A short-term project are required to move a project through stages:
▪ Project Manager
⮚ A specific outcome
▪ Product Owner
⮚ Resources – human and capital
▪ Team Members
THE PROCESS ▪ Stakeholders
1. Define goal/outcome
2. Plan ▪ Users
⮚ Time
3. IMPLEMENTATION
⮚ Cost
⮚ Strategy
⮚ Scope
⮚ Milestones
3. Implement
4. Evaluate ⮚ Resource Allocation

1. DEFINE ⮚ Adjustments

⮚ The outcome/goals(s) typically ⮚ Documentation

predetermined, and initiates and
⮚ Communication
drives the project.
2. PLAN
4. EVALUATION
 ⮚ Result ❖ Promoting a cross-level and
cross-functional collaboration
⮚ Process
❖ Creating productive and lively work
⮚ Budget
environment
⮚ Lessons Learned ❖ Trusting your employees

⮚ Documentation
SUPERIOR COMMUNICATION SKILL

CHAPTER 2 ❖ A good manager is your classic

communication expert. Promoting a
QUALITIES OF A PROJECT work environment where everyone
feels values and heard takes excellent
MANAGER communication skills and practice.
❖ Frequent and effective
Effective Manager
communication through multiple
❖ Effective managers are always good channels (in-person, email, phone,
voice over IP) strengthens your ties
and delegations
with your employees to encourage
❖ They can distribute tasks to their trust and limit conflict.
team as well as ensuring that their
own time is well used for LEADING WITH TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY
management issues and important
❖ Whenever possible, update your team
tasks.
on anything from small
❖ Employees that feel trusted are better
successes/concerns to large restricting
placed to achieve their potential and possibilities so that they are aware
are given incentive to ensure that they what’s going on at all times.
perform well.
❖ Even if the issue at hand does not
❖ It is important to build mutual trust
pertain directly to them, it helps to
between line managers and team assure that they are an integral part of
members, as this will enable the company and that their support
delegation to happen more and understanding is valued.
effectively.
SUPPORTING YOUR EMPLOYEES WITH CLEAR
SKILLS OF AN EFFECTIVE MANAGER DIRECTION AND REMOVING THEIR ROADBLOCKS FOR
❖ Superior communication skills THEM

❖ Leading with transparency and ❖ You are on their side and they need to
honesty feel that all times.

❖ Supporting your employees with ❖ Then help them succeed with all the
clear direction and removing their (reasonable) requests for technology
road blocks for them or time that they need.

❖ Embracing technology
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY
❖ An expert in the field
 ❖ A good manager always keeps an eye ❖ Even if it’s more personal than
out of technology that will promote business-related, do not ignore the
the productivity of the team. emotions of your employees
❖ Through some employees may be ❖ Doing so will create unnecessary and
resistant to change, the bottom line is possibly harmful distance between
that technology may be able to take you and the employee, eroding the
care of the more tedious aspects of trust in your relationship and
their job responsibly, which frees up compromising productivity in the
time to be more strategic in their workplace.
thinking
❖ When approached with a situation, be
sure to stay calm and use the rules of
MOTIVATING WITH POSITIVE FEEDBACK AND
effective communication to resolve
RECOGNITION the issue-listen, question, facilitate
❖ You can never praise someone too and direct

much! If an employee is doing a great ❖ Allow your employee to address their

job, be sure to recognize it privately emotions and issues so you can help
and I the general office space so that them move beyond it with an
he or she feels appreciated. effective solution and get back to
❖ At the same time, if there’s an productivity

employee that needs some

PROMOTING CROSS-LEVEL AND CROSS-FUNCTIONAL
improvement, let them know that you
are aware of the situation and that ❖ Many companies have their teams
you’re there to help through
“working in silos”, where they only
constructive criticism. Never criticize
immerse themselves in their process
in public.
without greater understanding of
what’s happening in the company as a
EXPERT IN THE FIELD whole.
❖ Being a leader means also means that ❖ Encourage employees to spend some
you need to have answers to some, if time sharing with their other
not all, of the questions. departments or implement a
❖ A good manager is an authority in mentorship program.

the industry and understands each ❖ On a recreational-level, cross-team

role of the company lunches or retreats do wonders for
❖ Consider some training sessions for employees getting to know each
other.
your team that allow you to share
some new strategies and refresh on
CREATING A PRODUCTIVE AND LIVELY WORK
methods to keep your team learning
from you. ENVIRONMENT

❖ Team spirit is wonderful thing. Make

MEDIATING WITH PRODUCTIVITY AND CALMNESS
sure to set aside time for your
❖ Unfortunately, many managers report employees to get to know each other
that a large portion of their time goes personally, such as small office
toward conflict resolution and celebrations for birthdays, etc.
mediating between employees and ❖ At meeting, create team challenges to
clients.
get their competitive juices
 going-nothing bonds a team like goals, budget, timeline, and deliverables of a
contest project, and it’s essential for keeping a project
on track.
❖ Or have an employee set up a humor
board where employees can
Creating Project Management Plan
contribute jokes or funny pictures

1. Collect requirements from key

stakeholders
TRUSTING YOUR EMPLOYEES
Once you’ve created a project charter and
❖ Micromanaging, unless specifically identified key project stakeholders; it’s
requested by your employee, is essential to gather requirements. You need
rarely a good thing input to generate output. The planning process
starts with collecting requirements from
❖ After you’ve clearly laid the tasks stakeholders. Once you have this information,
and expectations, trust them to do the you will be able to define the scope of the
best job they can. project and determine exactly what you need
to deliver to your stakeholders.
❖ You are their leader and to acquire
their trust, you must lead by 2. Define the scope of the project
example.
What is it the team needs to produce or deliver
“A good manager is a man who isn’t worried and what problems are the stakeholders trying
about his own career but rather the careers of to solve? Then, work with your stakeholders to
those who work for him” – H.S.M. Burns develop a comprehensive description of the
project and the product deliverables in the
form of a project scope statement. You must
have a clear understanding of the boundaries
of the project.
CHAPTER 3
3. Create a work breakdown structure
DEVELOPING PROJECT
Breakdown the project’s scope into smaller,
MANAGEMENT PLAN more manageable deliverables groups of
related tasks, also known as “work packages”.
This will allows you to assign resources to
Developing Project Management Plan different parts of the project based on the skills
Many professionals think of a Project needed. The work breakdown structure
Management Plan as Gantt chart or a facilitates planning and coordination, which
Schedule. Professionals who carry this are two important functions of project
misconception into the PMP certification management.
exam are the least likely ones to pass the
exam. As you will see in this article, a Project 4. Define project activities
Management Plan is a document that defines
how a project is executed, monitored, and Break down work packages into a list of
controlled; it is much more than a schedule project activities. Consider this an action plan.
chart. It can help to ask what are the activities that
must be performed to create the deliverables
A project management plan is a of the project.
formal document that defines how a project is
going to be carried out. It outlines the scope,
 5. Sequence project activities status reports within project management
software applications.
Almost everything happens in a sequence, but
the trick is to do as many things in parallel as 10. Develop all subsidiary plans
possible-if you have the resources to do so.
One of the key reasons for adopting formal Developing a comprehensive and realistic
project management methodologies is to project plan requires time and effort. However,
reduce time-to-market. In dynamic and planning can make your life easier during the
hyper-competitive industries, the ability to execution phase of the project by preventing
reduce cycle time is a competitive advantage. nasty surprises and misunderstandings.

6. Estimate activity duration, costs, and Most project plans need to incorporate the
following subsidiary plans:
resources
Scope Resource Stakeholder
Management Management Engagement
The cost, duration and resources required to Schedule Communication Requirement
complete the project activities depend on the Management Management Management
scope of the project. Proper estimating is Cost Risk Change
important for any project, as it helps determine Management Management Management
if the plan is viable, set expectations, and keep Quality Procurement Configuration
costs under control. Management Management Management

7. Assign resources to work packages 11. Document everything

and activities according to skills and
Document a project plan that outlines the
interests scope, schedule, and cost of the project.
Typically, plans should cover cost
Resources include not only labor but also management, quality management, resource
materials, equipment, space, and technology. management, communication management,
After identifying which resources you’ll need, risk management, procurement processes, as
Alexis suggest identifying the skill level well as ongoing stakeholder engagement (i.e.,
needed for each activity. how to continually engage stakeholders
through the lifecycle of the project.)
8. Build in contingencies
12. Build a knowledge base
A plan without contingency is a bad plan.
Projects rarely go as planned, so you need to Some organizations have a learning culture
build in backup plans. The contingencies can where project managers are expected to
be determined by looking at historical data to document and share their plans. This can be a
identify risks that occurred on similar projects valuable way to learn from the mistakes and
in the past. successes of others. In other companies where
this historical knowledge isn’t documented,
9. Create a performance measurement this could be more challenging, and it may be
baseline necessary to reach out directly to other project
managers to gain insights.
Develop an integrated scope-schedule-cost

CHAPTER 4
baseline or the project work, which will serve
as a control tool for your project. Then,
compare the execution of the project to your
baseline to measure and manage performance.
These baselines can be established through
 Develop a Mission, ❖ WHY?
Vision, Goals, and ❖ HOW?
Objectives for the
Project Allows you to discern the
information needed to better understand,
encompass, clarify, structure, frame a
Learning Objectives: situation; as this way of thinking allows you to
explore all the dimensions from different
● To define mission, vision, and perspectives
objectives
This tool is very popular amongst
● To understand the importance of
journalists whilst also being used and applied
developing a mission, vision, and
to different contexts.
objectives in project management
● To define and assess project risks
Allows you to guide all your team
members and to gather all the factual elements
Defining the Problem needed for a complete and objective
understanding.
● Every project solves a problem of
some kind, but people are inclined to Mission and Vision Statement
skip over the definition of the
problem.
MISSION
● From the perspective of an ● message to the rest of the world about
organization, the problem may be that what you intend to accomplish with
you are not focusing on what you your project.
want to achieve and how you will
achieve it. ● statement needs to express your
purpose without overwhelming the
Project Problem reader with obscure or overly detailed
information.
● The group or individual understand
and can prioritize the current ● Not the place for a history of the
challenges that they require to company or the reason for the project
improve.
VISION
● A project is a plan of work that
● description or declaration of what an
ideally gets you to the desired
organization/project team wants to
outcome.
obtain or accomplish upon the
completion of a project.
● It is when there are obstacles that
make it difficult to reach the goal that
● used as a very general road map for
one has a problem
projects, pinpointing where it should
be heading and what the ultimate goal
The Questioning Method and objectives are.

● is it to motivate, engage and inspire

❖ WHO? the project team working on the
project, as well as the projects
❖ WHAT? different stakeholders.

❖ WHERE?
Developing Project Objectives
❖ WHEN?
● Project objectives are what you plan
to achieve by the end of your project.
 This might include deliverables and
⮚ Having a clear end date or
assets, or more intangible objectives
like increasing productivity or time frame defined helps
motivation. everybody involved as it lets
them know when they need
● It is important because they offer a to prioritize this objective.
measurable threshold to monitor a
project's progress and then determine Assessing Project Risks
whether the project was a success. Once you have established your
objectives, you can develop plans for how to
● According to Dysart (2023), project achieve them. Unfortunately, the best plans
objectives are the concrete, practical, sometimes don’t work. One safeguard in
measurable tasks you need to managing projects is to think about the risks
complete in order to achieve your ahead that could sink the job. This can be done
business goals. for critical objectives and for other parts of the
plan.
Objective must be SMART
Risks are anything that can
potentially disrupt your project or your team.
The key to a great project objective is
Since every project is unique, no two projects
clarity; the best way to achieve it is with the
are likely to have the same risks.
SMART framework, an acronym that stands
for:
Risk Analysis vs. Risk Identification vs. Risk
o Specific Management
⮚ Ensure your objective is
clearly defined. Narrow the RISK ANALYSIS
scope of your objective until Risk analysis is the process that
it has a very tangible and figures out how likely that a risk will arise in a
specific outcome. project. It studies uncertainty and how it
would impact the project in terms of schedule,
o Measurable quality and costs if in fact it was to show up.
Two ways to analyze risk is quantitative and
⮚ Ensure you can quantify the qualitative. But it’s important to know that risk
objective; after all, you analysis is not an exact science, it’s more like
won't know when the project an art.
objective has been met if it's
not measurable. RISK IDENTIFICATION
Risk identification is also a process,
but in this case, it lists all the potential project
o Attainable risks and what their characteristics would be.
If this sounds like a risk register, that’s
⮚ Ensure you have the because your findings are collected there. This
resources required to information will then be used for your risk
accomplish the objective analysis. Though this process starts at the
you’re setting forth. beginning of the project, it’s an iterative
process and continues throughout the project
o Realistic life cycle.

⮚ This one is really important.

RISK MANAGEMENT
Don't set objectives that Finally, risk management is the
can't be achieved within the overall process that project managers use to
constraints of your minimize and manage risk. It includes risk
organization. Make sure identification, risk assessment, risk response
your objective is practical. development, and risk response control.

● Time limited
BENEFITS OF RISK ANALYSIS
 ● process of prioritizing risks for
▪ Avoid Potential Litigation
further analysis or action

▪ Address Regulatory Issues ● determining each risk’s likelihood or

probability of occurring, as well as
rating its impact on the project
▪ Comply with New Legislation
● likelihood scale used is commonly
ranked from zero to one (0-1)
▪ Reduce Exposure
● impact scale is measured from one to
five (1-5: 5 = most impact)
▪ Minimize Impact
● beneficial because not only do you
Project managers who have some experience reduce uncertainty in the project, but
with risk management in projects are a great you also focus mostly on high-impact
risks, for which you can plan out
resource. We culled some advice from them, appropriate mitigation responses
such as:
Quantitative Risk Analysis
● There’s no lack of information on risk This risk analysis focuses on a
statistical technique to understanding financial
● Much of that information is complex uncertainty or risk in a project or business
venture.
● Most industries have best practices
● a statistical analysis of the effect of
● Many companies have framework
those identified risks on the overall
project
● Risk analysis is done in extremes
● helps team leaders to make decisions
RISK MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES with reduced uncertainty, and
supports the process of controlling
● Identifying Risks risks

● Determining Probability ● counts the possible outcomes for the

project and figures out the probability
● Evaluating Impact of still meeting project objectives

● Planning Responses
● helps with decision-making,
● Documenting and Tracking especially when there is uncertainty,
and creates cost, schedule or scope
● Communicating Risks targets that are realistic

DETERMINING THE IMPACT

HOW TO EVALUATE PROJECT RISKS

The process of evaluating project risk ● Activity Resource Estimates

begins in the planning stages, but it must
continue through every stage of the project. ⮚ Theses provide information
that help the project team in
Qualitative Risk Analysis assessing the nature and
This risk analysis risk analysis number of material, HR,
involves identifying threats (or opportunities), tools, or supplies that is
how likely they are to happen, and the required to finish a
potential impacts if they do. particular project.
● Activity Duration Estimates

⮚ These are approximations of

how much time a project
task will take, which can be
in the form of different time
periods, such as hours, days,
weeks or months, and
usually refer to work or
business periods. CHAPTER 5
● Schedule
CREATING PROJECT RISK
⮚ This serve as a timetable AND COMMUNICATION
that organizes tasks, PLAN
resources and due dates in
an ideal sequence so that a
project can be completed on RISK is anything that could potentially impact
time. your project’s timeline, performance or
budget. Risks are potentialities, and in a
project management context, if they become
● Cost Estimates & Budget
realities, they then become classified as
“issues” that must be addressed.
⮚ Cost Estimates refer to the
predicted quantity, cost, and Risk management is the process of identifying,
price of the resources categorizing, prioritizing and planning for
required by the scope of a risks before they become issues.
project. Budget is the total
projected costs needed to On large-scale projects, risk management
complete a project over a strategies might include extensive detailed
defined period of time. planning for each risk to ensure mitigation
strategies are in place if issues arise.
● Quality
For smaller projects, risk management might
mean a simple, prioritized list of high, medium
⮚ It is the the totality of and low priority risks.
characteristics of an entity
that bear on its ability to Project risk management is the process of
satisfy stated or implied identifying, analyzing and responding to any
needs. risk that arises over the life cycle of a project
to help the project remain on track and meet
▪ Procurements its goal.

THE SIX-STEP PROCESS FOR A PROJECT RISK PLAN

⮚ These pertain to the act of
obtaining goods, supplies, It is a common and practical
and/or services necessary for approach to establishing the project risk plan.
the execution of the project.
Step 1 : Make a list

Making a list of potential risks to the

project should not be an analysis but a formal
brainstorming session, when all ideas are
captured. You should take a holistic approach
to establishing the list, as all types of risks will
need to be identified and dealt with
accordingly.
 full impact of the occurrence with little value
Steps 2 and 3 : Determine the Probability of added by implementing the contingency.
Risk Occurrence and Negative Impact
Point at which the risk becomes
enough of a reality that the project manager
These two steps allow you to needs to trigger the contingency.
prioritize all identified threats to the project
and help you determine how much time, The trigger point is a best practice for
effort, staff, and money should be devoted to project managers that will improve the
preventing or mitigating each. efficacy of the entire plan.

ESTABLISHING RESERVES

The most comprehensive risk plan can be

compromised if you realize that you do not
have the time or means to take appropriate
action. Establishing reserves enables you to
leverage the plan to its fullest potential.

The best-laid plans are impotent without the

time and/or budget to allow for effective
Step 4 : Prevent or Mitigate the risk implementation.

Some risks can be prevented; others Contingency Reserves

can only be mitigated. Earthquakes or the ● are designated amounts of time
retirement of an important stakeholder, for and/or budget to account for risks to
instance cannot be prevented. the project that have been identified
and actively accepted
If a risk has been identified and you
have the ability to prevent its occurrence, do ● They are created to cover known
so. risks to the project.

For those risks that cannot be Management reserves

prevented, an attempt should be made to
● are designated amounts of time
lessen the impact they should occur.
and/or budget included in your plan
to account for risks to the project that
Steps 5 : Consider Contingencies cannot be predicted.

Contingencies represent the specific ● are created to cover unknown risks to

actions that will be taken if the risk occurs. the project.

If the risk becomes reality, what will MANAGING MULTIPROJECT RISKS

do?
● Many, if not most, project managers
Contingencies are directly linked to
find themselves leading more than
the prioritization factors introduced in Step 2
one project. The multiproject
and 3.
manager confronts unique issues not
normally encountered when
Step 6 : Establish the Trigger Point managing a single project. In the
multiproject world, many projects
The trigger point is often the most overlap or experience direct
important element of the project risk plan. It is dependencies with other projects,
a judgment call meant to maximize the value similar to those in a typical network
of the predetermined contingency by diagram.
implementing it at the optimal time. Trigger
too soon, and you will probably spend time, Two perspectives are required here
effort or money for no good reason. Trigger
too late, and you may end up experiencing the
 First, you must focus on the
individual project and the associated risks for
each.

Then, you must assess your entire

portfolio and determine the nature of the
relationship of these projects.

● Your portfolio is the sum of all

projects under your purview and
these projects must all be properly
integrated and working toward the
completion of a single deliverable.

● In the portfolio environment, you

must identify where the projects
coincide or overlap with regard to Once the threats have been plotted onto the
any project work. risk matrix, an H-M-L prioritization can be
applied where the highest-priority risks are
● Many projects will have direct positioned toward the upper right corner and
predecessor– successor lower priority ones toward the lower left. You
relationships (one must be can then color code individual risks as they
completed before the next can begin) apply to each project. In the fog of the
in the program world. portfolio or program management world, this
COORDINATION POINTS can prove to be a very effective approach.

In either case, the areas where the projects

touch are called coordination points. You need
to identify these points, after which a standard
multiproject risk plan can be created. It is
important to emphasize that the Six-Step focus
here must be on the coordination points
exclusively.

In reality, you focus on creating a risk plan for

each project individually to manage
intraproject risks and then turn your attention RISK REGISTER
to the coordination points and perform the
same process to manage interproject risks. The risk register is a useful tool in managing
The portfolio or program risk plan is meant to actions taken regarding accepted risks to the
supplement and enhance the individual risk project, as shown below.
plan in the multiproject environment.
The risk register, the last ingredient of the
RISK MATRIX project risk plan, is a living, breathing
dynamic tool that can help you to track risk
A useful tool when managing many risks status as your project matures through the life
across projects is the standard risk matrix. The cycle.
risk matrix will help you plot your risks in
quadrants according to probability and The risk register also helps you identify
negative impact. ownership of contingency implementation,
outcomes of actions taken, and active and
inactive risks.
 ● Finally, consider the duration of the
project and the project environment.

All projects require a sound communication

plan, but not all projects will have the same
types of communication or the same methods
for distributing the information. The
communication plan documents the types of
information needs the stakeholders have, when
the information should be distributed, and how
THE COMMUNICATION PLAN the information will be delivered.

The types of information you will

Communication management is vital for
communicate typically include project status,
project success, constituting 90% of a project
project scope statements and updates, project
manager's role.
baseline information, risks, action items,
performance measures, project acceptance,
The process includes analyzing stakeholders'
and so on. It's important that the information
communication requirements to avoid
needs of the stakeholders be determined as
information overload. Various methods like
early in the planning phase of the project
reports, emails, meetings, and online tools are
management life cycle as possible.
employed, considering factors like timing and
technology.

A robust communication plan documents

what information is needed, when to distribute TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
it, and how. Stakeholder needs guide project
planning, ensuring effective and timely Completing a complex project
information delivery. successfully requires good communication
among team members. If those team members
The communications planning process work in the same building, they can arrange
concerns defining the types of information you regular meetings, simply stop by each other’s
will deliver, who will receive it, the format office space to get a quick answer, or even
for communicating it, and the timing of its discuss a project informally at other office
release and distribution. functions.

THE FIRST STEP... Many projects are performed by

teams that interact primarily through
electronic communication and are, therefore,
Communications Requirements Analysis
called virtual teams. To avoid
Figuring out what kind of
miscommunication that can harm trust and to
communication your stakeholders need from
include team members in a project culture.
the project so they can make good decisions.
The project team needs a plan for
Communications technology has a major
communicating reliably and in a timely
impact on how you keep people in the loop.
manner.
Methods of communicating can take many
forms, such as written reports, conversations,
This planning begins with
email, formal status reports, meetings, online
understanding two major categories of
databases, online schedules, and project
communication.
websites.
SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS
Factors

● The timing of the information Synchronous communication involves

exchange or need for updates is the real-time, simultaneous interactions among
first factor. individuals or groups. This direct form of
communication allows instant exchange of
● Staff experience with the technology information and enables immediate responses.
is another factor.
One key characteristic is the immediacy of
engagement, where participants are actively Modern communication technologies make it
involved at the same time, fostering quick possible to assemble project teams from
decision-making and instant clarification of anywhere in the world. Most people work
queries. This real-time nature is especially during daylight hours, which can make
beneficial for discussions, collaborative tasks, synchronous meetings difficult if the
and situations that require prompt feedback. participants are in different time zones.
While synchronous communication enhances However, it can be an advantage in some
responsiveness and reduces delays, it may circumstances; for example, if something must
pose challenges related to scheduling, as be done by the start of business tomorrow,
participants need to coordinate their team members in Asia can work on the
availability. Additionally, it relies on the problem during their normal work hours while
availability of suitable technology and a team members in North America get some
reliable network for effective implementation. sleep.
Synchronous communication facilitates live,
immediate interactions, making it well-suited ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION
for dynamic discussions and collaborative
activities but requiring careful coordination of Many types of communication do not
participants' schedules. require that the parties be present at the same
time. This type of communication is
EXAMPLE OF SYNCHRONOUSCOMMUNICATIONS asynchronous communication.

Live meeting MAIL AND PACKAGE DELIVERY

● Gathering of team members at the
same location
Many companies prefer the final
contracts are personally signed by an
authorized representative of each party to the
Conference call agreement.
● A telephone call in which several
people participate If several signatures are required, this
can take weeks to get all the signatures if the
Audio conference contracts are transferred by a postal service. If
● Like a conference call, but conducted the process is holding up the start of the
online using software like Skype subject, you can use an overnight delivery
service to minimize the time spent spent
Computer-assisted conference transferring the documents.
● Audio conference with a connection
between computers that can display a FAX
document or spreadsheet that can be
edited by both parties Fax machines have been around for a long
time and are still trusted for their ability to
Video conference transmit documents accurately. In many
● Similar to an audio conference but countries, a fax of a signed contract is legal,
with live video of the participants. but a computer-scanned image is not.
Some laptop computers have built-in
cameras to facilitate video EMAIL
conferencing.
Electronic Mail (email) is widely used to
IM (instant messaging) coordinate projects and to communicate
● Exchange of text or voice messages between team members. It has several
using pop-up windows on the valuable characteristics for project
participants’ computer screens management:

Texting
● Exchange of text messages between ▪ Information can be sent to a list of
mobile phones, pagers, or personal team members.
digital assistants (PDAs)—devices
▪ Messages can be saved to document
that hold a calendar, a contact list, a
task list, and other support programs the process in case of a
 misunderstanding or
miscommunication. COMMUNICATION PLAN
▪ Files can be attached and distributed.
A communication plan template is a document
that outlines the strategies and objectives for
PROJECT BLOG internal and external communication within an
organization.
A blog is an online journal that can
be private, shared by invitation, or made 1. Identify your stakeholders (to whom)
available to the world. many decisions in
project management are made with incomplete 2. Identify stakeholder expectations
knowledge, and reflecting on previous (why)
decisions to develop this decision-making skill
is important to growth as a project manager. 3. Identify communication necessary to
satisfy stakeholder expectations and
REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION (RSS) keep them informed (what)

Some projects are directly affected by 4. Identify time-frame and/or frequency

external factors such as political elections of communication messages (when)
economic trends, corporate mergers,
technological or scientific breakthroughs, or 5. Identify how the message will be
weather. To keep informed about thes factors, communicated(the stakeholder’s
you can subscribe to online news sources. preferred method) (how)

A technology that facilitates the 6. Identify who will communicate each

process of subscribing to online news sources. message (who)

Web pages with RSS news feeds have 7. Document items templates, formats,
labeled links. or documents the project must use for
communicating.
ASSESSING NEW COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

New technologies for communicating CHAPTER 6

electronically appear with increasing
frequency. Using a new technology that is USING A WBS
unfamiliar to the team increases the
technology complexity, which can cause Learning Objectives:
delays and increase costs. To decide if a new ● To define work-breakdown structure
technology should be included in a ● To identify the guidelines for
communications plan, seek answers to the developing the WPS
following questions: ● To identify the uses of WBS
● To identify various suggestions for
● Does the new communication effective estimating
technology provide a competitive ● To define project procurement
advantage for the project by reducing management
cost, saving time, or preventing
mistakes?
WORK-BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
● Does the project team have the
● A work-breakdown structure
expertise to learn the new technology
(WBS) in project management and
quickly?
systems engineering, is a
deliverable-oriented breakdown of a
● Does the company offer support such
project into smaller components.
as a help desk and equipment service
for new communication technology?
● A work-breakdown structure is a
key project deliverable that organizes
● What is the cost of training and
the team’s work into manageable
implementation in terms of time as
sections.
well as money
 ● Work-breakdown structure element 4. DECOMPOSE (BREAKDOWN) ELEMENTS
may be a product, data, service, or
any combination thereof.
⮚ Begin the process of
● A WBS also provides the necessary breaking the Level 1
framework for detailed cost deliverables into unique
estimating and control along with lower Level deliverables.
providing guidance for schedule This “breaking down”
development and control. technique is called
Decomposition.
HOW TO MAKE A WORK-BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
⮚ Continue breaking down the
A good Work-Breakdown
work until the work covered
Structure is created using an iterative process
in each Element is managed
by following these steps and meeting these
by a single individual or
guidelines:
organization. Ensure that all
Elements are mutually
1. GATHER CRITICAL DOCUMENTS exclusive.

⮚ Gather critical project ⮚ Ask the question, would any

documents. additional decomposition
make the project more
⮚ Identify content containing manageable? If the answer is
“no”, the WBS is done.
project deliverables, such as
the Project Charter, Scope
Statement and Project 5. CREATE WBS DICTIONARY
Management Plan (PMP)
subsidiary plans. ⮚ Define the content of the
WBS Dictionary. The WBS
Dictionary is a narrative
description of the work
covered in each Element in
2. IDENTIFY KEY TEAM MEMBERS the WBS. The lowest Level
Elements in the WBS are
⮚ Identify the appropriate called Work Packages.
project team members.
⮚ Create the WBS Dictionary
⮚ Analyze the documents and descriptions at the Work
Package Level with detail
identify the deliverables.
enough to ensure that 100%
of the project scope is
3. DEFINE LEVEL 1 ELEMENTS covered. The descriptions
should include information
⮚ Define the Level 1 such as, boundaries,
milestones, risks, owner,
Elements. Level 1 Elements costs, etc.
are summary deliverable
descriptions that must
capture 100% of the project 6. CREATE GANTT CHART SCHEDULE
scope.
⮚ Decompose the Work
⮚ Verify 100% of scope is Packages to activities as
captured. This requirement appropriate.
is commonly referred to as
the 100% Rule. ⮚ Export or enter the Work
Breakdown Structure into a
 Gantt chart for further
scheduling and project ● If the individual supplying the
tracking. estimate owns it, it is likely to be
more accurate.
USES OF THE WBS
HUMAN PRODUCTVITY
● To show the scope of the job

● To assign responsibilities

Estimating Time, Costs, and Resources

How long it will take?

● An estimate can be made only by

starting with the assumption that a
certain resource will be assigned. TIME/COST/RESOURCE TRADEOFF
● Parkinson’s Law state that work
expands to fill the time allowed.

Suggestions for Effective Estimating

● Historical Data

● Level of Detail

● Ownership of Estimate

● Human Productivity
The figure demonstrates what
● Time/Cost/Resource Tradeoff typically results when an individual is working
on multiple tasks.
HISTORICAL DATA
INEFFICIENCIES when there are more than one
▪ Considered the best source for project individual doing a task
estimates o additional communications
requirements
▪ Sample questions: o possible conflicts
o logical break points
1. How long did this task take to
complete last time? DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATES

2. How much did this assembly ● Distribution adds knowledge &

cost? common sense to the estimating
process.
▪ Learn from the past. ● Worst-case assumptions = high
estimates

● Best-case assumptions = likely set

LEVEL OF DETAIL your project up for failure

● The smaller the unit of the work, the THREE-POINT ESTIMATES TECHNIQUE
more accurate your estimate is likely
to be. ● Used to identify the level of
uncertainty in an estimate using three
OWNERSHIP OF THE ESTIMATE sets of assumptions
 project from outside the performing
Three sets of Assumptions organization

● Optimistic 4 PRIMARY PROCESSES

● Pessimistic Plan Procurement Management:

● Most likely ● outlines how procurement processes

will be managed throughout the
THREE-POINT ESTIMATES TECHNIQUE project. It includes defining the
procurement requirements,
identifying potential suppliers,
determining the procurement
methods, establishing evaluation
criteria, and outlining the contract
administration procedures.

Conduct Procurement:

● involves obtaining seller responses,

selecting a seller, and awarding a
● Used to identify the level of contract. It includes preparing
uncertainty in an estimate using three procurement documents, issuing
sets of assumptions. requests for proposals (RFPs) or
requests for quotations (RFQs),
Program Evaluation and Review Technique evaluating seller proposals,
● Is a variation of three-point negotiating contract terms, and
estimating that contains a weighing making the final selection.
factor
Control Procurement:
● was developed in 1957
● focuses on managing procurements
PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE relationships and monitoring contract
performance. It involves ensuring
(PERT) that sellers meet their contractual
obligations, resolving disputes,
managing changes to the contract,
and maintaining communication with
suppliers to address any issues that
arise.

Close Procurement:

REMEMBER ● involves completing all procurements

activities and finalizing the contracts.
● Estimates are predictions It includes verifying that all
deliverables have been received,
● They are projections into the future ensuring that all payments have been
that are inherently uncertain made, obtaining formal acceptance of
the work from the seller, and closing
● Use your subject matter experts out the contracts.

● Adjust

Project Procurement Management

Acquiring goods and services for a

 1. Request for Information
2. Request for Quotations
3. Request for Proposal

When procuring goods and services

from suppliers and vendors, project managers
must ask three questions:

o What must be procured?

o When is it needed?
o How will it be acquired?

General request guidelines include the

following:

● Request for Information (RFI)

● Request for Quote (RFQ)
● Request for Proposal (RFP)
● Purchase Order (PO)
Firm Fixed Price
Cost Plus Reimbursement
Time and Material

ASSESSMENT
WHAT IS CONSIDERED AS THE BEST SOURE OF ESTIMATE?
- Historical Data

IT IS A DELIVERABLE BREAKDOWN OF A PROJECT INTO SMALLER

COMPONENTS
- Work Breakdown Structure

What are the uses of the WBS?

1. To show the scope of the job
2. To assign responsibilities

What are the four primary processes of project procurement?

1. Plan Procurement
2. Conduct Procurement
3. Control Procurement
4. Close Procurement

RFI, RFQ, RFP stands for?