End of Semester paper

PJM6000

Project Management Practices

Week 6

Deb Cote, MS, Professor Al Grusby, MBA, PMP®

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Review Last Week ➢ Change management

➢ Integrated Change Control, Change Request Form

➢ Project execution

➢ Project monitoring and controlling

➢ Pareto Principle

➢ Leading vs. Lagging Indicators

➢ Baselines

➢ Earned Value Management (EVM)

➢ Team development

➢ Issues management

➢ Ethics

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Lecture Overview

❑Project closure

❑Aspects of the closing phase

❑Closing an unsuccessful project

❑Lessons Learned

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Project Management Processes

Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring and Controlling Closing

Develop Project Charter Develop Project Management Plan Direct and Manage Project Work Manage Project Knowledge

Monitor and Control Project Work Perform Integrated Change Control

Close Project or Phase

Plan Scope Management Collect Requirements Define Scope Create WBS

Validate Scope Control Scope

Plan Schedule Mgmt. Define Activities Sequence Activities Estimate Activity Resources Estimate Activity Durations Develop Schedule

Control Schedule

Plan Cost Mgmt. Estimate Costs Determine Budget

Control Costs

Plan Quality Management Manage Quality Control Quality

Plan Resource Management Estimate Activity Resources

Acquire Resources Develop Project Team Manage Project Team

Control Resources

Plan Communications Manage Communications Monitor Communications

Plan Risk Management Implement Risk Responses Control Risks

ID Stakeholders Plan Procurement Conduct Procurements Control Procurements

Plan Stakeholder Mgmt. Manage Stakeholder Engagement Control Stakeholder Engagement

• Client / Sponsor processes

• Deliverables processes

• Stakeholder processes

• Project plan / file processes

• Project Team processes

Aspects of the Closing Phase

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PMI Initiation Planning Execution, Monitoring, & Controlling Closure

• Deliverables review

• Final acceptance

• Sign off to accept project as complete and deliverables as acceptable

• Project feedback

Project Closure – Client/Sponsor

• Final inspections / review

• Hand off or exchange process

• Document acceptance

Project Closure – Deliverables

• Contract closeout

• Accounts payable

• Performance reviews

• Waivers

• Close procurements

Project Closure - Stakeholders

• Final updates to project file

• Document lesson learned

• Create project summary

• Archive file

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Project Closure – Project Plan/File

• Team evaluations

• Re-assignments

• Team lessons learned

• Celebrate success - Take opportunity to thank those that contributed (even if not a successful project)

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Project Closure – Project Team

Team Re-assignments

• Have new assignments planned before the project ends

• Some team members may be re-assigned before the end of the project

• Where do folks go?

– May follow the product to Operations

– Go on to other projects

– Start new project with derivative products (Program)

– End of contract

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Types of Project Closure • Normal

– Completed normally

– Transferred to Operations

• Premature

– Pressure to get to market may drive releasing a product before it is ready

– May have a window of opportunity that is closing

• Perpetual

– Never ending project

– Focus on making it better instead of getting something out to the market

12Project Management: The Managerial Process, Larson, Gray

Types of Project Closure

• Failed

– Easy to close down

– Many times not the fault of the project team

– Should understand/communicate the reason

• Changed Priority

– Business priorities change

– Some project put on hold or simply cancelled.

13Project Management: The Managerial Process, Larson, Gray

• What makes a project unsuccessful?

• Internal projects

– Work through issues with sponsor

• External projects

– Consult with company’s attorney

– Communicate carefully

– Cancel all work

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Closing an Unsuccessful Project

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▪ Confirm operational

handoff

▪ Complete contracts

and administration

▪ Perform lessons

learned

▪ Release resources

▪ Celebrate success

Project Closure – Reminders

Class Exercise – Project Closure

• You are completing an 18 month project building a new 10-story building in downtown NY. The building opens in 4 weeks and your team will be dissolved.

• Answer the following:

– What are some steps you, as the project manager, can take to reduce the anxiety of your team as you approach the end of the project?

– Why is this important to think about with respect to this project?

• Think about your answer individually (10 minutes)

• Get together in your groups and agree on a plan (10 minutes)

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At the most basic level, project lessons

learned are the tangible results of an executed

project review, taking the project experience and

breaking it down into actionable conclusions

about what went right, what went wrong, and

what could be done better.

Lessons Learned

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 Exploit successes

 Prevent repeating errors

 Teach important lessons

Avoid re-inventing the wheel

 Share intellectual capital

 Uncover training needs

 Improve processes

 Increase customer satisfaction

 Discuss challenges without pressure of deadline

Lessons Learned Benefits

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I don’t want to admit my mistakes

People will just blame each other

The same errors are repeated every project;

nothing changesIt takes too much time

The project is done; I just

want to move on

We don’t have a knowledge base to share

lessons

Lessons Learned Excuses

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Short Projects Long Projects

All Projects

Closure Stage Stage Closure

Stage Stage Stage Stage Closure

Lessons Learned Timing

❑ Involve all relevant stakeholders

❑ Explain process to participants

❑ Emphasize no blaming

❑ Ongoing document/store

❑ Include all experiences

❑ Solicit final feedback

❑ Act quickly

❑ Identify lessons

❑ Archive lessons

❑ Make accessible

❑ Disseminate lessons

❑ Reuse lessons 21

Lessons Learned Guidelines

1. Collect

2. Analyze

3. Document

4. Communicate

5. Incorporate 22

Lessons Learned Approach

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Lessons Learned

Log

Survey

1-on-1s

Sticky

Notes

Flip

Charts

Dedicated Team Meeting

Collect

Questions to ask

• What went well (Accomplishments/Wins)?

– What has the project Produced, Created, or Achieved.

• What could have gone better (Challenges)?

– What has the project NOT produced, created, achieved that was expected or needed?

– Project shortcomings

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Analyze

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Document

MANY organizations perform lessons learned, but FEW use them.

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SHARE!

Communicate

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Incorporate

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We didn’t have enough resources.

• Common feeling

• Doesn’t blame, but -

• What resources – Analysts, programmers, business experts?

• How could this be avoided next time?

Jack never attended our team meetings. That’s not fair!

• Shouldn’t call out one person; instead, suggest attendance didn’t seem mandatory

• Instead of focusing on the behavior, should say what happened, or didn’t happen, as a result?

The interface rocks!

• Is this a lesson, or just an observation?

• Did the team do something to improve or create a great interface?

Good or bad? When team members say –

Lessons Learned Examples

Class Exercise – Lessons Learned • Hurricane Maria -

– In September 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico leaving in it’s wake death and massive destruction.

– Even today, many things on the island are not back to normal including, power outages, availability of clean water and food, shelter, communications, etc.

• Based on what you know of this disaster and efforts to bring relief to the citizens of Puerto Rico perform Lessons Learned:

– What went well (Accomplishments/Wins)?

– What could have gone better (Challenges)?

• Analyze the root cause.

• Think about your answer individually (10 minutes)

• Get together in your groups and agree on 2 or 3 Lessons Learned to discuss with the class (10 minutes)

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Release Resources

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Project Recognition and Celebration

Lecture Review

✓ Project closure

✓ Aspects of the closing phase

✓ Closing an unsuccessful project

✓ Lessons Learned

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What’s Next • Reading Assignments

• Videos: Curriculum Maps (make sure to watch these!)

• Week 6 Secondary Discussion Dost due by Saturday 11:59pm

• TWO written assignments:

– Curriculum map due by Thursday, 11:59pm • Can do it all in a spreadsheet.

– Closure/Lessons Learned paper due by Saturday at 11:59pm

• IMPORTANT: Plan Ahead. No assignments accepted after Saturday so can grade by deadline

Thank you for a great semester! 34