MCPPP#8

MGT 6304, Managing Complex Projects 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

4. Create project schedule recovery scenarios using project crashing techniques. 4.1 Evaluate potential concerns that a project team may have after a change in project intensity. 4.2 Recommend steps a project manager can take to keep a project team functioning despite

challenges.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

4.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 9 Chapter 10, pp. 492–493 Chapter 11 Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation

4.2

Unit Lesson Chapter 9 Chapter 10, pp. 492–493 Chapter 11 Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation

Required Unit Resources Chapter 9: Project Teams Chapter 10: Managing Decentralized Projects, pp. 492–493 Chapter 11: Assessing Project Progress

Unit Lesson

Project Teams: Macro, Micro, and Multiple Project managers and individuals do not carry out the work of the project; it is the project team that produces the project deliverables. The project team also works together with the project manager to create plans, identify and manage risks, and monitor and control the project. It is not uncommon for companies to run multiple projects at one time, with some projects being very large and others with only three to five people. With so many things going on at once, senior management has many issues to consider. For example:

1. Project management skills: Who is to be assigned as project manager for each of these project-led initiatives? How can consistency in the operation of projects be ensured?

2. Resources: Where do our resources originate? How do we know that we have enough resources to carry out all that has been chartered?

3. Budget: Can we afford all the projects we have chartered? Are the projects in which we have invested the best use of our money?

4. Organization: What role does the functional organization play given the presence of so many projects?

5. Decisions: Who is responsible for making important business decisions regarding project milestones? Who decides what project gets chartered, rejected, or canceled?

UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE

Recovery and the Project Team

MGT 6304, Managing Complex Projects 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

These questions can weigh heavily on executives, and it is for this reason that many organizations formally establish the management of project management governance into an organizational unit known as the project management office or project office (PMO).

The Project Office: Phase 1 Firms that have reached a critical mass of projects within their organization tend to form a project office organization. It is often the case that the PMO begins small. For example, with many projects ongoing, one of the first issues that arises is that of consistency. One project may charter a project with little formal documentation, another may compile a complete binder of documents, and a third project may populate a simple spreadsheet. Also, new project managers may be unfamiliar with how the organization operates, such as starting a project, getting resources assigned, and building a schedule. The PMO at this early stage provides templates for all projects to use. This offers two clear benefits. First, every project can follow the same practices. This makes project formation and management potentially more efficient as project teams no longer must spend time having to figure out what to do. Also, when it comes time for a project to report progress, each team will use the same documentation and therefore tend to report status and provide updates in the same way. Second, inexperienced project managers who need guidance can get started by following along and populating templates. Since project templates are developed by those with experience, the template is a means for capturing and preserving that know-how. Because of this, templates may be thought of as a rudimentary form of knowledge management.

The Project Office: Phase 2 Once the use of project templates is established, the next phase in the growth and evolution of the PMO is the development, documentation, and advancement of project management process. However, organizations take the framework and integrate it into the unique culture and operation of the company. Consider, for example, processes that govern the acquisition of project team members. These processes assume that additional organizational process assets exist that explain how resources are tracked, how approval is given to assign a resource to a project, how the performance of project team members is assessed, and finally, what happens to assigned resources once a project has ended. These processes unique to the organization are owned by the PMO. Further, they are communicated, taught, and shared with all departments and suppliers, as well as continuously improved and optimized over time. The PMO in this phase of operation is focused on process maturity; the results of this work become the set of business processes for getting work done in the organization.

The Project Office: Phase 3 When a PMO has been in place for some time, the processes are functioning well, and the organization is maturing in terms of process discipline, it is not uncommon for the PMO to take a stronger role in the management and operation of the project management practices of the company. The PMO in its most mature phase becomes one of the functional groups of the organization where not only process and know- how reside, but also skilled professionals who lead projects. In much the same way that information technology (IT) work is assigned to engineers within the IT department and accounting work is assigned to accountants from the accounting or finance department, all projects are led by employees permanently based within the project office. When the organization has a need for a project manager, that manager is sourced from the PMO. The project office, therefore, centralizes skills, know-how, processes, and documentation supporting all projects. Further, the project office provides consolidated progress reporting on all projects within the organization. Executives typically rely on a dashboard view showing a 10,000-foot level comprehensive status of the complete project portfolio. Alternatively, functional departments can acquire detailed drill-down data on progress, issues, and financial information on any project.

Governance and the Project Approval Committee While the PMO plays a central role in managing the project management processes within the firm, the governance of all project and portfolio business typically falls to a committee of executives. This group of

MGT 6304, Managing Complex Projects 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

executives, often referred to as a project approval committee or PAC include the most senior functional manager across the firm including the head of the PMO. The PAC meets when projects are chartered, when projects are reviewed at key milestones, and when the overall portfolio of project investments is evaluated. The representative of the PMO is a key player on this team as he or she provides information on project status, the data on organizational resources and skillsets, and recommendations on process and project management policy.

The PMO and Project Intervention

A common practice is for project teams to appear before the PAC at the initiation of projects and at key business decision-point milestones in the project lifecycle. It is at each of the milestones where the PAC decides where the project continues to be a go, no-go, or redirected for further information. The scheduled milestones are planned and form part of the project schedule. However, there are times when the project experiences a significant disruption to the previously agreed upon scope, schedule, and budget constraints. This may occur when the client makes a major change in project requirements, a mistake was made in project execution, significant new work is uncovered, or a major budget problem arises. When situations such as these occur, the project team is required to call an ad hoc session of the PAC to present the issues and recommendations. The PAC formally hears the issues, and like a standard project milestone may issue a go, no-go, or redirect for more information. In the case of a go decision, the project scope, schedule, and budget are adjusted accordingly to fit the new circumstances. In the case of a redirect decision, the PAC in this circumstance may step in using the PMO to lead a project intervention. This makes sense because the PMO is the repository of project expertise. A PMO-led intervention will likely begin with an audit of the project including an interview with the key players on the project team. Next, the PMO will lead replanning activities. The replan effort works much like the beginning of any project plan. The scope is evaluated, considering the additional work required in the recovery effort. This additional work is often identified along with the project crashing activity performed to attempt to bring in the project schedule as well as to attempt to complete additional scope without project delay. The activities required to produce the work are identified and costed out. Then, work packages or administrative project work orders are developed to assign the work of project recovery. The complete recovery package is prepared and presented to the PAC for review and approval. If approved, the PMO will often be assigned as a sponsor of the recovery effort and will be monitoring progress, performing frequent analysis of status, and providing recommendations and consultative support. The project intervention is a classic example of how project crashing, while risky and expensive, is a key aspect of project intervention and recovery. When an organization includes the resident expertise of the PMO that can assist, consult with the team and closely monitor, the risk of project crashing, while never completely eliminated, is often mitigated. When a project team recognizes that they are not alone and are surrounded by process, expertise, and structural support to the effort, they are more likely to stay positive and motivated even when the project gets off the track.