project management report
jiafeng1
a200sam_wk_4_slides_term2.pptxEssential Skills for the Project Manager
A200SAM – Week 4
Review of last week
Project roles
Organisational structure
Any questions?
Pre-planning
Reminder: project lifecycle
Example of a project lifecycle:
Initiation and definition
Planning
Execution and control
Closure
Initiation and definition
Project identification
Scoping
Requirements
Stakeholders
Critical Success Factors
Objectives
Work Breakdown Structure
Project team
Scoping
“The process of establishing and agreeing with all the stakeholders what the project will involve and where its boundaries are”
Gardiner (2005)
Why you are doing the project (business need)
Strategic fit (eg preceded or followed by other projects)
Expectations of main stakeholders
Resources and budget available – people, equipment, financial parameters
Main deliverables/activities
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSFs)
"The limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization. They are the few key areas where things must go right for the business to flourish. If results in these areas are not adequate, the organization's efforts for the period will be less than desired.“
John F Rockart, MIT Sloan Management School
Example: Farm Fresh Produce
Mission statement
"To become the number one produce store in Main Street by selling the highest quality, freshest farm produce, from farm to customer in under 24 hours on 75% of our range and with 98% customer satisfaction.“
From www.mindtools.com
Strategic objectives
The strategic objectives of Farm Fresh are to:
Gain market share locally of 25%.
Achieve fresh supplies of "farm to customer" in 24 hours for 75% of products.
Sustain a customer satisfaction rate of 98%.
Expand product range to attract more customers.
Have sufficient store space to accommodate the range of products that customers want.
TWO CSFs FOR FARM FRESH PRODUCE
Gain market share locally of 25%
Attract new customers
Achieve fresh supplies of “farm to customer” in 24 hours for 75% of products
Sustain successful relationships with local suppliers
First steps in the Planning Process
Key factors in planning projects
Scheduling
Timescales
Resources
Task dependencies
Cost
Budget setting
Allocation
Quality
Work breakdown structure
What is a work breakdown structure?
“a logical, hierarchical tree of all the tasks needed to complete a project”
Lock (2007), p165
A WBS organises tasks into a logical sequence, allowing them to be planned in time and allocated to people
WBS – diagrammatic view
WBS – task list view
Project activity
Project brief:
To build a new chicken house and run for Beryl and Gladys
Budget:
£500
Timescale:
4 weeks
Project sponsor:
Anmoal Thethi
Activity – 20 mins
A. Scoping - 5 mins
Focus on:
Requirements
Objectives
B. Work Breakdown Structure - 15 mins
- produce a WBS in diagrammatic view
- you may find using post-it notes helpful
Allocating time to activities
Once a WBS is agreed, time can be allocated to each stage/task.
How do we estimate time?
Using historical data
Based upon past experience
Time the activity
Trial run
Impact of learning
Using a probabilistic method
With uncertainty/no experience
e.g. Weighted Average technique
Weighted average technique
Based upon three estimates of duration for the activity:
Most optimistic (a)
Most likely (m)
Most pessimistic (b)
Weighted average = a + 4m + b
6
Example
a = 24 hrs (most optimistic)
m = 48 hrs (most likely)
b = 96 hrs (most pessimistic)
WA = 24 + (4x48) + 96 = 52 hrs
6
Test the weighted average technique
Choose three tasks from your WBS for constructing the new chicken house and run
For each task, agree as a group how long you think the task will take based upon your collective experience (historical data)
Next test a weighted average approach on both tasks
Basic gantt chart
MS project gantt chart
Task dependencies
Four simple questions
What can be done now?
What must you have done before that?
What can be done at the same time?
What must follow what you do now?
Activity: Identifying dependencies
Do you have task dependencies in your chicken house project?
Give each task an ID (1, 2, 3... or A, B, C...)
Identify whether each task is a predecessor for another task
Note down the ID and the relationship (FF, FS, SS, SF)
Predecessors in ms project
Predecessor task links in ms project
MS project gantt chart
Example of a network diagram
Activity boxes
| Earliest start time | Duration | Earliest finish time |
| Task name and code | ||
| Latest start time | Float | Latest finish time |
Assignment brief
Submission information
Deadline: 5th May 2017, 11:55pm
Submission via Turnitin
Draft Turnitin also available
No paper copy required
Assignment format
The assignment is in two parts:
For Part 1 you are asked to prepare a project report, for the ‘Bank Station Capacity Upgrade’, through critically evaluating the project and drawing on relevant project management theory and framework to present to your company’s board of directors for approval.
Part 2 asks you to research and reflect upon the technical and management skills required to manage projects successfully?
The coursework should be submitted as one document comprising the two questions
Please use 1.5 or double-line spacing and (preferably) Calibri/12 font
Word count and mark allocation
Part 1 – 1500 words and 80% of the marks
Part 2 – 500 words and 20% of the marks
There is a 10% word limit tolerance. Maximum/Minimum Range: 1800 to 2200 words in total
Please include the number of words used in your report on the front page of your report
Word limit excludes reference list, diagrams and appendices
Submitted as a single document, submitted to Turnitin
Assignment – Part 1
Drawing on relevant project management theory, you should critically evaluate the project, focussing your report on two of the following areas of project management, you should ensure that your report is underpinned by reference to relevant project management theory presented in academic and professional publications:
Stakeholder Management
Risk Management
Project Planning
Process for recording lessons learned
Assignment - Part 2 (500 words)
‘Using your research on project management as a starting point, reflect upon the technical and management skills required for the role of a project manager to manage the project. What technical and management skills do you think a project manager should have and how effectively they can integrate it to manage the project successfully?’
Remember to draw on project management research to support your answer.
Points to remember
All analysis and recommendations should be supported by reference to academic and professional publications
Your report should demonstrate project management theory throughout
CU Harvard referencing must be used
You must ensure you are not plagiarising other published works
Appendices should only be used to support information within the report
Assessment criteria
Note the split of marks across the 6 assessment criteria
Any questions?
Preparation for next week
Pert
PERT = Project Evaluation and Review Technique
Useful introduction to PERT:
http:// tinyurl.com/pert-toolkit
Produced by Manchester Metropolitan University Business Improvement Team
Network diagram
Try building a network diagram for the chicken house project or making a cup of tea
Refer to these slides, your reading and the MMU guide (see previous slide)
We will review the technique in two weeks’ time
Reading
Week 6 - Project planning: tools and techniques
Suggested reading
Pick a selection from the following:
Newton (2009) – chapter 6
Pinto (2013) - chapters 5 and 9
Lock (2007) – chapters 3, 5, 12 and 16
Gardiner (2005) – chapter 9
