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1. PJM5900 Week 3 Presentation

1.1 Introduction to Project Execution, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing

Slide Text:

Introduction to Project Execution, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing

Week 3 Lesson:

Overview of the execution, monitoring & controlling, and closing phases of the project

lifecycle.

1.2 Topic Overview

Slide Text: This lesson will provide you with a brief overview of the final three phases of the project lifecycle: execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

Transcript: Hi, this week, we're going to be looking at the three final phases of the project life cycle. We're going to be looking at execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Now remember, we're just doing a brief overview of these and as we go through the class we're going to be digging much deeper into the topics that we're only going to be touching on very lightly during this week. So again if you're not quite seeing the depth that you're hoping for, we're not quite there yet. It's coming. We're just trying to build if you will, the structure under which all the other details of the class are going to be put within. So I hope that you enjoy the lesson and it begins to give you an idea of why these phases are so important. And how understanding them from the big picture side allows us to better understand how to execute projects successfully. Thanks.

1.3 Project Execution Phase

Image Description:

5 phases of project management are visually represented by 4 separate boxes separately labeled “Initiation, Planning, Execution, and Closing”, and one large arrow labeled “Monitoring and Controlling” present behind these 4 phases. Connected to the execution phase box, 5 descriptor boxes appear beneath it: “Direct & manage project execution” , “Perform quality assurance” , “Acquire, develop, and manage project team”, “Distribute information”, “Manage stakeholders”, and “Conduct procurements”.

Transcript:

During project execution, there are some specific activities that we undertake as part of that execution process. Of course, the biggest one is directing and managing project execution. That's us simply implementing the plan that we've developed during the planning phase to produce the deliverables of the project. But there are some other activities this it's important for us to note that go on, and it is the responsibility ultimately of the project manager to ensure those activities take place during the execution phase. The first one is performing quality assurance. That's making sure that the right quality standards have been set so that when we go to quality control, we know that the project deliverables are matching those quality standards. We also look to acquire, develop and manage the project team. Now during the initiation phase and the planning phase, it's likely that a number of team members have already been added. But we also add team members during the execution phase. These could be core team members, or they could not. They could simply be resources that we rely on for executing of the

project. Communication is key during this phase. The project manager is ensuring that the right information is being distributed according to the communications plan. And a big part of the project manager's time is spent managing stakeholders' expectations. That's making sure that they understand, as is appropriate to each of those stakeholders, how the project is progressing, and making sure they have the information they need and that we're managing them successfully for the ultimate goal of the successful delivery of the project. And then finally, we're conducting procurements. We're gathering those goods and items that we need-- resources, if you will-- to produce the work of the project.

1.4 Project Execution Overview

Slide Text:

Main objective is to produce project deliverables. Most money & time spent during this phase.

To facilitate this, you will need to be:

 working with others

 dealing with uncertainty in the moment

 strong soft skills are needed

 problem solving is critical for success

 remain agile and ready to adapt

Transcript:

The main goal of the execution phase of the project is obviously producing the deliverable or deliverables of the project. But in order to facilitate that, it doesn't just require a strong grasp of the project plan in those deliverables. But it requires the ability to skillfully execute the production of those deliverables. And to do that, project managers need some other skills than just simply knowing how to build a schedule and knowing how to organize workers. It's important that those skillful project managers, for them to succeed during the execution phase, they need to have good team-building skills and how to work well with others, strong communication skills. They need to understand how to problem solve on the fly oftentimes. Because what we put down on paper oftentimes isn't the reality that we face in the execution phase of the project. Maybe there's a stakeholder that we missed. Maybe there's a requirement that's dropped on us at the last minute. And a good project manager understands how to identify those things as quickly as possible and then to problem solve them in an effective way, coordinating with all the different areas of the project. So strong soft skills are needed-- the ability to adapt and be flexible. But at the same time, to continually try to steer the course of that execution back to the project plan or to update the plan when that becomes necessary. So execution isn't just about doing the plan. But it's about having the skills to be able to execute that plan in an effective way. And that really is something that we develop both by being aware of it and by watching others do it in developing that skill set over time and being aware of the challenges that we will often face during the execution phase of the project, which is the next topic that we want to look at.

1.5 Project Execution Challenges

Slide Text:

Execution Challenges:

Lack of project support

Unclear scope

Unrealistic time estimates

Incompetent or unmotivated staff

Poor communications

Transcript:

The execution phase of the project creates its own sort of challenges for the project manager, but there's a number of challenges that seem to crop up on a number of projects that a project manager needs to be aware of so that he or she can plan to effectively deal with those challenges. The first one that I think of is the lack of project support. Oftentimes, projects don't have clear support-- particularly sometimes from different lines of businesses in large companies. So as you need resources from those different areas of your organization, it may be difficult to get those resources, which can prohibit you effectively executing the project as you had intended. Also, many projects falter from not having a clear scope during the execution phase. We rush so quickly through the initiation and the planning phase that, when we hit the execution phase and as we begin that work, new questions begin to arise that, if we had taken more time to deal with on the front side-- during the

initiation and planning phase-- would have helped us to better understand the scope of work. And this goes right along with unrealistic time estimates. Oftentimes, we're saddled with time estimates that aren't really achievable given maybe the scope of work or the amount of resources we have, and that really doesn't come out until the execution phase when those status reports begin getting sent it on work and we begin seeing that we're falling behind the schedule. We also can suffer from an incompetent or unmotivated team members, people that we're working with on the project. But probably one of the most common challenges that we face during the execution phase is poor communications-- that people don't have the right information at the right time to make the right decisions related to the work of the project. And this is really a place that a project manager can have a lot of influence in ensuring that good communications is going out and is supporting the execution of those projects. Now, there are many other challenges that one might face, but these are some of the most common that we see during the execution phase of the project.

1.6 Monitoring & Controlling Phase

Image Description:

5 phases of project management are visually represented by 4 separate boxes separately labeled “Initiation, Planning, Execution, and Closing”, and one large arrow labeled “Monitoring and Controlling” present behind these 4 phases. Connected to the “Monitoring and Controlling” phase arrow, 8 descriptor boxes appear to its right:

“Perform integrated change control” , “Verify & control scope” , “Control schedule”, “Control costs”, “Perform quality control”, “Report performance”, “Administer procurements” and “Monitor & control risks”.

Transcript:

We now want to turn our attention to the monitoring and controlling phase of the project. Now this phase, even though we're covering it after the execution phase, it really does run concurrently with the planning and the execution phase, as you may recall. Now there are specific activities that we undertake in an attempt to monitor and control the progress that we're making on the work of the project. Now there's a number of specific processes, such as performing integrated change control, verifying and controlling the scope, seeking to monitor and control the schedule, the project cost. We're looking at performing quality control to ensure the deliverables we're producing meet those quality standards. We're producing reports. We're doing all these different things. But really what it comes down to is, we're asking the question of how the actual compares to the planned. And when the actual varies from the planned we ask the question of how do we update the project plan to account for this, or how do we make changes to our project plan to correct this, or, in some ways, to capitalize on that? Oftentimes in projects, variations are positive, such as reduced costs from a vendor. Maybe we figure out a new way to do something that we thought we would have to do differently. So we're monitoring and controlling, not just for the bad things that can m but also for the positive things that can happen. And it's important for a project manager to keep that in mind, because not all change is bad. But it's bad if we don't recognize the change and capture it and ensure that we recognize that we are varying from what we planned to do.

1.7 Monitoring & Controlling Summary

Slide Text:

Main objective is to ensure that deliverables are being produced as planned.

 Compare actual with planned

 Update project plan

 Adapt as need while maintaining integrity of project

Transcript:

The importance of the monitoring and controlling phase shouldn't be overlooked, because it is one of the most important phases of the project. Now think of it this way. If we don't do the work that happens during the monitoring and controlling phase of the project, it's sort of like us going on a road trip, taking a look at the map upfront whenever we leave our house to head to some new place, and then just hoping that we remember, and never checking to see if we're actually going the right direction. Now I remember a number of times, when I was going to college in Florida, many years ago, that I would go down through Atlanta. And there's a point at which the Interstates merge there, Interstate 75 and 85. And then a little bit south of the city, they veer off in different directions. Very little notice is given to make sure you make that right on Interstate 85, which is the highway that I would take. If I never really paid attention, or didn't look and monitor my progress, then I may take the wrong Interstate, which I did a couple times, early on in making that drive. So the point is, is that during the monitoring and controlling phase of the project, we're going back and checking our map. We're looking at how far we've progressed down that

plan, and then we're checking it against that plan to ensure that we're going in the right path to produce those deliverables of the project. Now oftentimes, the path may not be right. Sometimes we may have planned misstep. Well, that's the point of the monitoring and controlling phase, because it allows us to recognize that, and then take those corrective steps necessary, to ensure that we get back on the path to producing those deliverables as efficiently and as effectively as possible. So don't overlook the importance of this phase, because it is critical to ensuring that we get to that ultimate, final destination, which is Project Success, and handing off those deliverables to our client.

1.8 Monitoring & Controlling Challenges

Slide Text:

Monitoring & Controlling Challenges: Poor collection of information Lack of change control process Ability to predict project change impacts Communicating challenges and changes to stakeholders timely and effectively

Transcript:

The monitoring and controlling phase of the project has its challenges as well. And one of the biggest ones has to be collecting bad information and then using that information to report on progress. Often times, people are overly optimistic, if you will, when reporting their progress on work, because they want to be approved of. They want to give good information. They don't want to give bad information. So we've

got to ensure that we're getting realistic information about the progress of the project. Otherwise, the information we report on is not going to be accurate. Another challenge that often happens is that companies many times have poor change control processes, or really no change control processes at all, so that whenever we recognize a variance, we don't have a way for ensuring that we properly identify, understand, and then implement changes based on that variances so that the project plan's updated and that the right information is given for those executing the work of the project. So it's important that we have a good change control process for the monitoring and control process to use for updating the work of the project Another problem that sort of [? plays ?] with that is oftentimes, it's difficult to predict the changes or the impact of changes to the project. We may change something early on, but oftentimes it's difficult to predict what that's going to look like one month, two months, or three months into the project. So that's another challenge that we face as project managers is oftentimes, we can create unintended consequences with the change that we implement to the project. But probably one of the most challenging aspects of the monitoring and controlling phase deals with simply communication challenges. And that is ensuring that when variances are identified or changes need to be made, ensuring that that information gets to the right stakeholders in a timely and an effective way so that that new information can be acted on. And really, the project manager has to ensure that processes are in place to make sure this happens. That's why a good communications plan coupled with a good change control process is so important to overcoming the challenges that are often found within the project monitoring and controlling phase.

1.9 Project Closing Phase

Image Description:

5 phases of project management are visually represented by 4 separate boxes separately labeled “Initiation, Planning, Execution, and Closing”, and one large arrow labeled “Monitoring and Controlling” present behind these 4 phases. Connected to the “Controlling” phase box, 4 descriptor boxes appear to its right: “Deliver the final product”, “Evaluate project performance” , “Close out vendor contracts”, and “Perform lessons learned”.

Transcript:

The closing phase of the project is often an exciting time. It's a time when many times, especially on long projects, that we can get something akin to senioritis, that when we're at our senior or final year of college, that we just can't wait to graduate, because we're at the point to where we're going to be delivering that final product to the client. And we're excited about finishing up and moving on to the next project. So that is one of the big pieces of this, obviously, is delivering that final product. But there are some other things that really take place during the closing phase that's important for us to think about. Another one is evaluating project performance, us looking back at how we've performed and ensuring that accurate information is being collected so that that can inform our lessons learned. We want to make sure that we evaluate project performance carefully so that we capture those lessons for future projects. We also take the time to close out those vendor contracts. And that oftentimes we do, in larger companies, in concert with the procurements department to ensure that vendors have delivered to us those things which they were supposed to and that they've been appropriately paid, and that all aspects of that contract have been finalized. And then finally, as I mentioned before, we do perform lessons learned at this point. That should happen both in terms of working with the deliverables or producing the deliverables of the project, so we perform lessons learned about how the project went. And I also think it's important for us to do a lessons learned with our core project team. What did you learn about working together with one another? Where could you improve working together? Doing those types of more internal lessons learned will help us, moving forward, to ensure that we're as successful as possible in future projects.

1.10 Project Closing Challenges

Slide Text:

Closing Challenges:

Gaining acceptance of final deliverable(s)

Capturing lessons learned

Ensuring a strong finish

Transcript:

Thankfully, when we get to the end of the project, there's fewer challenges that we hope we have to deal with. And I would say one of the biggest challenges that we face is gaining final acceptance of the project deliverables. Now, this doesn't have to be the case, but oftentimes it is. Now, if we've done the right kind of work during the execution phase of the project and we've been sort of communicating with our clients, ensuring they know how the project is progressing, and getting their incremental feedback, then this can be simple as a handoff. But when we're revealing something at the end that the clients only saw in some ways during the planning phase conceptually and now they're seeing the final product, oftentimes if we've not been careful, there can be challenges in gaining acceptance because the conceptual understanding may vary from the reality that we're handing off to the clients. So although this is a challenge that we face during the closing phase, it's something that we can avoid by executing well and working with and communicating with our client as we progress through the project. Another challenge can often be capturing lessons learned. Because as you're closing the project and people are being released from the project and reassigned to other projects,

they may not have the time to do those lessons learned, or they may be reassigned to different locations. So really, once you begin approaching the closing phase of the project, I recommend performing those lessons learned, while as much of the team is still present before they've been reassigned. Otherwise, it can be a challenge capturing those lessons learned. And then finally, a challenge is ensuring a strong finish. As I mentioned in the last slide, project team members and project managers for that matter are not immune to a case of seniorities, if you will-- wanting to move from this project that they're closing out to the next assignment. Because oftentimes, at this point we're ready for something different to do. So we want to make sure that we as a project manager ensure a strong finish, that we work with people to ensure they're putting their best effort forward as we complete the project. So these are some of the challenges that we'll face. There are others that you may face that'll be unique to the project, but these are really the ones that we see, that I've seen most often in projects.

1.11 Summary and next lesson

Transcript:

This week, we've taken a look at three phases of the project life cycle, execution, monitoring and controlling, and the closing phase. And we've only taken really the briefest overview of these, because now, we're going to move next week into looking specifically at the different knowledge areas that you find within the Project

Management Body of Knowledge. So what we've overviewed during these weeks at a very high level, the 50,000 foot view, if you will. We're going to be delving in more specifically in the next nine weeks as we look at each of the knowledge areas in some detail. And we're going to be looking at not just the processes in a theoretical sense, but we're going to be looking very practically at how you apply these processes to real world projects so that you're seeing that practical application, which is so critical for us to be able to execute projects successfully. So I look forward to hearing from you and for you to delve more deeply into this area in the next nine weeks. Thanks.