415 W7 Benchmark cost and earned value management

3-4eProject Execution

Executing the project involves taking the necessary actions to complete the activities in the project plan. The products of the project are created during project execution, and it usually takes the most resources to accomplish this process.  Table 3-11  lists the knowledge areas, executing processes, and outputs of project execution from the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition.

Table 3-11

Executing processes and outputs

Knowledge Area	Executing Process	Outputs
Project Integration Management	Direct and manage project work	Deliverables Work performance data Issue log Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Organizational process assets updates
	Manage project knowledge	Lessons-learned register Project management plan updates Organizational process assets updates
Project Quality Management	Manage quality	Quality report Test and evaluation documents Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates
Project Resource Management	Acquire resources	Physical resource assignments Project team assignments Resource calendars Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Enterprise environmental factors updates Organizational process assets updates Team performance assessments
	Develop team	Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Enterprise environmental factors updates Organizational process assets updates
	Manage team	Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Enterprise environmental factors updates
Project Communications Management	Manage communications	Project communications Project management plan updates Project documents updates Organizational process assets updates
Project Risk Management	Implement risk responses	Change requests Project documents updates
Project Procurement Management	Conduct procurements	Selected sellers Agreements Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Organizational process assets updates
Project Stakeholder Management	Manage stakeholder engagement	Change requests Project management plan updates Project documents updates Organizational process assets updates

Source: PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition, 2017.

Many project sponsors and customers focus on deliverables related to providing the products, services, or results desired from the project. However, it is equally important to document change requests and update planning documents as part of execution. Templates related to this process group are listed later in this chapter.

Erica knew that providing strong leadership and using good communication skills were crucial to good project execution. For this relatively small project, she was able to work closely with all the team members to make sure they were producing the desired work results. She also used her networking skills to get input from other people in the firm and from external sources at no additional cost to the project. She made sure that everyone who would use the resulting intranet application understood what the team was producing as part of the project and how the intranet application would help them in the future.

Erica also knew that working efficiently was critical for successful execution, regardless of the size of the project. Therefore, she used resources throughout the company when they were available. For example, she used the firm’s formal change request form, even though it had primarily been used for external projects. The firm also had contract specialists and templates for several procurement documents that the project team members would use for the portions of the project it planned to outsource.

Erica kept in mind that Joe, the CEO and project sponsor, liked to see work performance data through milestone reports. He also wanted Erica to alert him to any potential issues or problems. Erica met with most of her project team members often, and she talked to Joe about once a week to review progress on completing milestones and to discuss any other project issues. Although Erica could have used project management software to create milestone reports, she used word-processing software instead because this project was small and she could more easily manipulate the report format.  Table 3-12  shows a sample of a milestone report for the project management intranet site project that Erica reviewed with Joe in mid-June.

Table 3-12

Milestone report as of June 17

Milestone	Date	Status	Responsible	Issues/Comments
Initiating Stakeholders identified	May 2	Completed	Erica and Joe
Project charter signed	May 10	Completed	Erica
Project kick-off meeting held	May 13	Completed	Erica	Went very well
Planning Team contract signed	May 13	Completed	Erica
Scope statement completed	May 27	Completed	Erica
WBS completed	May 31	Completed	Erica
List of prioritized risks completed	June 3	Completed	Erica	Reviewed with sponsor and team
Schedule and cost baseline completed	June 13	Completed	Erica
Executing Survey and analysis completed	June 28		Erica	Poor response so far!
Intranet site design completed	July 26		Kevin
Project benefits measurement completed	August 9		Erica
User inputs collected	August 9		Jessie
Articles completed	August 23		Jessie
Templates and tools completed	September 6		Erica
Ask the Expert completed	September 6		Michael
User Requests feature completed	September 6		Cindy
Links completed	September 13		Kevin
Intranet site construction completed	October 4		Kevin
Intranet site testing completed	October 18		Cindy
Intranet site promotion completed	October 25		Erica
Intranet site roll-out completed	October 25		Kevin
Monitoring and Controlling Progress reports	Every Friday		All
Closing
Final project presentation completed	October 27		Erica
Sponsor sign-off on project completed	October 27		Joe
Final project report completed	October 28		Erica
Lessons-learned reports submitted	November 1		All

Human resource issues often occur during project execution, especially conflicts. At several of the team meetings, Erica could see that Michael seemed to be bored and often left the room to make phone calls to clients. She talked to Michael about the situation, and she discovered that Michael was supportive of the project, but he knew he could only spend a minimal amount of time on it. He was much more productive outside of meetings, so Erica agreed to have Michael attend a minimal number of project team meetings. She could see that Michael was contributing to the team by the feedback he provided and his leadership on the Ask the Expert feature for the intranet site. Erica adjusted her communication style to meet his specific needs.

Another problem occurred when Cindy was contacting potential suppliers for software to help with the Ask the Expert and User Requests features. Kevin wanted to write all of the software for the project himself, but Cindy knew it made better business sense to purchase these new software capabilities from a reliable source. Cindy had to convince Kevin that it was worth buying some software from other sources.

Cindy also discovered that their estimate of $10,000 was only about half the amount they needed for software services. She discussed the problem with Erica, explaining the need for some custom development no matter which supplier they chose. Erica agreed that they should go with an outside source, and she asked their sponsor to approve the additional funds. Joe agreed, but he stressed the importance of still having the system pay for itself within a year.

Even near the beginning of the project, Erica had tapped Joe for help when the team received a low response rate to their survey and requests for user inputs. Joe sent an e-mail to all of JWD Consulting’s consultants describing the importance of the project. He also offered five extra vacation days to the person who provided the best examples of how they used tools and templates to manage their projects. Erica then received informative input from the consultants. Having effective communication skills and strong top management support are essential to good project execution.

Best Practice

One way to learn about best practices in project management is by studying recipients of PMI’s Project of the Year award. The Quartier International de Montréal (QIM), Montreal’s international district, was a 66-acre urban revitalization project in the heart of downtown Montreal. This $90 million, five-year project turned a once unpopular area into a thriving section of the city with a booming real estate market, and has generated $770 million in related construction. Clement Demers, PMP®, was the director general for the QIM project. He said the team “took a unique project execution approach by dividing work into packages that allowed for smaller-scale testing of management techniques and contract awards. Benefiting from experience gained in each stage, managers could then adjust future work segments and management styles accordingly.”

Other strategies that helped the team succeed included the following:

· The team identified champions in each stakeholder group to help inspire others to achieve project goals.

· The team’s communications plan included a website dedicated to public concerns.

· There were two-day reviews at the beginning of each project phase to discuss problems and develop solutions to prevent conflict.

· Financial investors were asked for input to increase their stake in the project.

· The team recognized the value of hiring high-quality experts, such as architects, engineers, lawyers, and urban planners. They paid all professionals a fixed price for their services and paid their fees quickly.

· Another Canadian firm won the Project of the Year award in 2014. The CA $1.3 billion AP60 Phase 1 Project produced an upgraded aluminum smelting facility in Jonquiere, Quebec. In 2013, the Adelaide desalination project in Adelaide, Australia, won the award. This project, which supplies water during times of drought, was completed early and within 1 percent of its AU$1.4 billion budget. The 2017 award went to the U.S. firm Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC for their work on the Hanford Double Shell Tank AY-102 Recovery Project. The project involved removing and transferring nuclear waste to a double-shell tank for safe storage. The project closed ahead of scheduled and over 8 percent under budget. See PMI’s website for more information on award criteria and winners.