Sharpen your team s skills in project management

Nature release Other titles in this series Sharpen your skills in motivating people to perform Trevor Rentley 007 709072 Sharpen your team's skills in effective selling Trevor Bentley 007 709279 I Sharpen your team's skills in developing strategy Susan Clayton 007 709281 Sharpen your team's skills in creativity Trevor Bentley 007 709282 Sharpen your team's skills in coaching Tony Voss 007 709278 Sharpen your team's skills in supervision Susan Clayton 007 709280 Sharpen your team's skills in people skills Di Kamp 007 709276 Sharpen your team's skills in time management Jane M a n 007 709275 SHAR Published by McGRAW-HILL Publishing Company Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 2QL, England Telephone: 01628 502500 Fax: 01628 770224 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Harris, Jean Sharpen your team's slulls in project management Industrial project management Work groups I Title 658.4'04 ISBN 0-07-709140-X Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Hams, Jean Sharpen your team's skills in project management /Jean Harris p crn - (Sharpen your team's skills) Includes index ISBN 0-07-709140-X (pbk : alk paper) Work groups-Training of Industrial project management I Title 11 Series HD66.H3745 1997 658.3'1 4 ~ 96-41876 CP Copyright 01997 McGraw-Hill International UK Limited All rights reserved Although this publication remains subject to copyright, permission is granted Free of charge to photocopy the pages for instructional purposes which are required by each participant attending the training workshop This may be done by the individual purchaser only Under no circumstance will any reproduction of the designated materials or any portion thereof be either sold or distributed on a commercial basis Except a? expressly provided above, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publishcr 2345 CUP 9987 Typeset by BookEns Ltd, Royston, Herts Printed and bound in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge Printed on permanent paper in compliance with I S Standard 9706 Series preface About the editorial panel About the author Using this book and helping people to learn Key learning points Purpose of t h s book The role of the manager Using thc book Helping people to learn Session - Exercises for yourself Summary What's in it for me? Key learning points Project failures Learning from the past What is a project? Why manage a project? Managing for success What are the benefits? Session - Exercises for yourself Summary What is a project manager? Key learning points What is project management? Project managers What is a good project manager? What does the manager manage? Session - Exercises with your team Summary The project team Key learning points CONTENTS The human side of projects The project manager The project team Building the team Training necds Accountability Communication Competencies Session - Exercises with your team Summary The project management triangle learning points Quality Cost Time Why a triangle? Session - Exercise with your team Summary Why plan ahead? Key learning points Does it require a plan? How wiU it help? ~e~ Quality Cost Time What is the project plan? Objectives and strategies Planning structure Project phases Project constraints Session - Exercises with your team Summary Producing a project plan 1: Time Key learning points Prii~ciplesof planning Key steps of planning Networks PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) Bar chits and Gantt charts Session - Exercises with your team Summary Producing a project plan 2: Resources Key learning points CONTENTS 80 81 84 Resources Manpower planning Resource planning in Session - Exercise 87 Producing a project pl Key learning points 88 90 90 91 92 93 94 Estimating for inflation 96 98 Time-phased budgets 100 102 102 102 103 103 104 105 Planning to aid control Aids to control 111 112 1:Time 115 119 119 121 123 128 Resources Key learning points 130 130 vii CONTENTS Why control resources? Shared resources Effects of resources on quality, cost and time Resource smoothing Ovcrcorning resource problems Session 12 - Exercises with your team Summary 13 Techniques for monitoring and control 3: Costs Key learning point Why monitor costs? Accountability Should budgets be altered? Effects of cost on quality and time Cost escalation What if the controls don't work Session 13 - Exercises with your team Summary 14 The computer in project management Key learning points Introduction Potential uses of computer software Planning your project Planning time 'What if s' and project changes Project plans Costs Other charts and reports Summarizing and combining projects Monitoring and control Selecting a software package Checklist Establishing software needs Session 14 - Exercise with your team Summary Further useful information Index the performance of your support materials These improve the knowledge This series of books focuses on team by providing a range of materials can be used in a and skills of your team Creating high three key elements: k The skills (competencies) of our people The way these skills are appli d The support your people rec ive from you in applying their skills SKILL DEVELOPMENT The books in this series will of a range of skills on a provide information which will be by paying attention to materials for the development basis Each book will chunks (lessons), learning of your team: Training sessions Learning groups Open learning Experiential learning TRAINING SESSIONS These can be run by bringing them step by step through the During these sessions you can with you and the materials by materials to their current people together and guiding including the exercises people to interact and relating the provide you SERIES PREFACE with the detailed information you need to present the subject to your team LEARNING GROUPS This approach involves dividing your team into small groups of two, three or four people and having a brief session with each group, in which you introduce them to the materials Each group then works through the materials and meets with you &om time to time to assess progress and receive your guidance OPEN LEARNING This approach invites your people to use the materials at their own speed and in their own way This is a form of individual learning which can be managed by regular meetings bctween you and your team as individuals or in a group The process is started by introducing the materials to your team and agreeing some 'learning outcomcs' to be achieved EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING This calls for you to invite your team to examine the materials using the exercises as a focus, and then to get them to relate what they are learning directly to real-life situations in the workplace This experience of the learning is then shared and discussed by the team as a whole The books in thc series have been designed to enable these four approaches to be used, as wcll as other ways that you might think are more appropriate to your team's specific needs APPLYlNG SKlLBS Time spent developing skills can be wasted ifpeople not have the opportunity to practise them It is important that you consider this aspect of performance before embarking on a particular programme It is useful if you are able clearly to identify opportunities for practising s l d s and discuss these with your team Providing opportunities for practising and further developing competency is part and parccl of the whole approach of this series RRBVlbBlN6 SUPPORT Once people have acquired a ncw skill and have been provided with opportunities to apply it, they still need your support and coaching while they are experimenting with using the skill The opening SHARPEN YOUR TEAM'S SKILLS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT could look at the results of a delay in certain activities, or of adding additional activities to the project For example, if you are running a project which is time critical you can establish which tasks are on the critical path You can then look at the results of a delay in certain activities This could help in your planning as you will be able to see if you need to build in contingencies, or allow extra budget to pull in more resources at key times Using thesc 'what if scenarios can lead to much more accurate planning, as well as saving an enonnous amount of time while you are running the project and can help with contingency planning or deciding on changes caused by problems during the progress of the project PROJECT PLANS Figurcs 14.1 and 14.2 show typical examples of the type of plan a computer program will produce They are the Gantt chart and PERT chart for the same project These printouts vary !?om software to software, but the principal information will be similar With many programs you can customize your charts to print out in specific styles to suit your nceds COSTS Computer project management programs also have the ability to include cost information You can enter costs against resources either on a daily or hourly rate or on a 'per use' basis This information will then be included in the calculations when the time for each resource is allocated and can be updated as the project progresses Some programs have the ability to pull in information !?om other programs, so you could combine a spreadsheet !?om one program with your project plan on another This depends on the compatibility of information and ifyou are likely to require this you should enquire about it when assessing packages for your needs OTHER CHARTS AND REPORTS As well as the Gantt and PERT charts shown in Figures 14.1 and 14.2, computer software can produce other information as project reports This can take the form of notes to the plan which you have CL Ln wl FIGURE 14.1: Computer generated Gantt chart Deliver materials 29/05/95 16/06/95 List materials Start build Order materials Brian Dig foundations 25/05/95 07/06/95 I I Note: The darker boxes and arrows show the critical path; the double box is a milestone FIGURE 14.2: Computer g r m U PERT char8 Prep ingredients mortar Brian 14 THE COMPUTER IN PROJECT MANAGEMIiNT typed in yourself, but could also show manpower or resource utilization, work required for specific resources or cost information All of these are derived automatically &om the data you put in at the initial planning stage and the progress information you should enter at regular intervals during the progress of the project Some examples of how completed work is shown are given in Figures 14.3 and 14.4 Different software packages may produce different reports When selecting a package find out what reports it produces and compare these with a list of your requirements SUMMARIZING AND COMBINING PROJECTS In complex projects with many activities it is often convenient to summarize the activity packages for some purposes, but expand into more details for other requirements A computer package will normally allow you to this Most packages will allow you to bring together dsere t projects, this is particularly usell where you are sharing on or more resources between projects By combining the project$ into one large one you can easily see where resources are over or under utilized r MONITORING AND CONTROL Make your plan control the pmject using the computer to update information on a regular basis Once you have put in all the planning data you can then use your plan to control the project You wiU need to monitor the progress whether you are using a computer or not, but with the computer you can update the information on a regular basis and any recalculation of costs and times will be done for you But you must remember to put in all the relevant data or the recalculations will not be accurate SELECTING A SOFTWARE PACKAGE There are so many good packages available on the market now that it is difficult to know how to begin selecting one You may wish to take the advice ofyour company systems or IT specialists if these are available But even if you can call on specialist advice it is worth considering what your needs are first - that way you wiU not get Note: Completed work is shown by a dark line within the bar FIGURE 14.3: Gantt chart showing completed work Deliver materials /' materials 5/95 2510 29/05/95 16/06/95 Start build er materials 25/05/95 2910 Dig foundations ~ Note: Completed work is shown by the boxes crossed through FIGURE 14.4: PERT chart showing completed work Prep ingredients mortar SHARPEN YOUR TEAhTS SKILLS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT blinded with jargon or talked into buying and using an unsuitable product There are various stages which should be considered when selecting a package for use on a particular project or project type These are listed below: Identify the key requirements Identify any other desirable attributes Consider the likely maximum size of your project Compare your requirements with the package specification Test out a sample project on the 'bestfit' package If everything is satisfictory - purchase the package T o help you set out your criteria (points and above) I list below a variety of criteria which might be required for a program It is a starting point for you to check soflware against, but it is not exhaustive and you may wish to add your own criteria CHECKLIST Speed of operation Disk space required and loading medium (disk or CD) Accessibility of all reporting and charting facilities Windows or DOS version required Method of data entry, does it suit your requirements? Ease of editing and updating Ability to handle multiple projects Capability of scheduling common resources across multiple projects What displays and reports will it produce? 10 Quality of the printouts 11 Ability to monitor progress 12 Effectiveness of manual and other documentation 13 Training and support available 14 Overall ease of use 15 Compatibility with other software 16 Upgrades available for future changes and their likely cost ESTABLISHING SOFTWARE NEEDS If YOU not already have a software package or are buying one with a particular project in mind, you will need to establish what the exact requirements of the package are for your particular needs This will help you to identifjr the most suitable package 14 Take into account the abilities and needs of the project and the team W THE COMPUTER IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT As well as the ability of the package to what you want, the project manager should also take into account the abilities and needs of the project and the team For example, who will have to use the package? Are they comfortable with computers? Who will need to interpret the charts and reports? Do they need help in this? SESSlON 'I4 TEAM - EXERCISE WITH YOUR OVERVIEW The purpose of the exercise is to help you establish the criteria for your software needs Ifyou already have a package you are using and happy with, you may choose to omit this session If you have a package but are not sure if it is meeting your needs then it will be worthwhile going through this exercise EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS You will require a flip chart PREPARATION One the left-hand side of your chart, write up a copy of the checklist given in this chapter Leave the other side blank for comments METHOD Discussion TIME About 20-30 minutes, plus some follow up Exercise 4.1 Steps Tell the team that you are considering the software needs of your projects Decide whether you are going to carry this out with one particular project in mind or consider all the general software needs of the likely projects your team may have to undertake in the foreseeable future Consider each of the criteria in the checklist Note of each one: SHARPEN YOUR TEAM'S SKILLS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT - If it is relevant to our projects Exactly what it means to our team's needs Are there any other criteria to add, if so note these Task someone with producing the agreed checklist as a handout for all team members Ask all team members to go away and collect information on any software packages they know of or can find out about (The advertisements in Project magazine are useful, as will be discussion with other project managers and software users.) Ask them to get as much information as possible to compare with your checklist Set a date and agree to meet back to share this information Meet back and share the information Decide which is the most likely package Arrange a demonstration of the one or two your think are most likely to be suitable - USES OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE Cornputers can only help project management when they are given accurate and up to date information This means that the project manager first needs to know the techniques for good project planning and control without computer assistance Once the accurate information is input the computer program can assist the project manager in a number of ways: Producing Gantt or PERT charts Gom basic data Producing a number of different charts and reports horn the same data showing resource allocation and over usage Calculating complex figures quickly and accurately When one item is updated, updating all connected or affected items Trying 'what if scenarios quickly and simply ESTABLISHING SOFTWARE NEEDS To acquire a program which will work well for you, you will need to establish your needs This can be done by answering the following questions: What does it cost? What training and ongoing support is available? Can it be updated if a new version is brought out? Is it compatible with any other software we have? 14 THE COMPUTER IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Has my computer got enough memory to run it? Can it handle enough different activities and resources for my needs? Can it handle enough different projects for my needs? Can it combine projects and resources ifrequired? Can the data be entered in the way I prefer? Is it logical, user fiiendly and easy to learn? Can the project be edited and updated easily? Does it produce all the reports I need? Can it use existing printers or will I need a new one? What is the quality of the printouts? ~ U R T H E USEFUL R INFORMATION The Association for Project Management 85 Oxford Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HPl 2DX United Kingdom Tel: 01494 400900 Internet (NB This is the name of an organization, not the international computer communications system) The International Project Management Association Zurich Switzerland Accountability, 24,28,36,41,84,97,107, 109,139,143,149 , 120,121,142 Controlling, 13,20,21,79, 96,97,101, 120;121;126;127;128;129' Activity pac!ages, 64,65,83,95,96,139, 157 Advanced Passenger Train (APT), 144 Association for Project Management (APM), xv, 164 Authority, 23,24,28,30,31,36,40,50, 139 113,115,119,121,130,138, 139.149.151,153 cost naps, ~ 9ioi , Criticd path, 24,63,68,69,72,73,76, 77, 78.123.124 153.154 Critically, 123,124 Definition,9,12,14, 18,19,51,57,91, 105 Dependencies,65,71,153 Downw 50 Bar charts,70,71,81 Baseline, 108 BCCI, 13 ~enefit(s), 2,9,13,14,15,16,18,60, 68, Earliest start, 66,67,68,75,76,78,97 70,78,80,85, 93,102,112,117, Egyptian Pyram~ds,20 Escalation,95,107,139,142,143,144,148, 144,146,149,151,152 1A Brunel, 20,22 Budgeting, 20,21,88,89,96,100,139 Cash flow, 15,89,92,96,98,100, 105,139, Fail,9,10,12,15,16,23,144 140 141,148 Failure(?.),9,10,11, 12,14,15,16, 17.23, Change control, 96,102,111,112,115, 26,46,47,49,62,90,91,92,121 Feasibility, 50,51,57,94,125 117,120,132,142 Change request, 115,116 Feedback, 111, 113,115 Chunkinp,64,65 Fixed price, 91,92 Chunks,64,65,78 Funds, 23,91,93,119,140,149 Communicanon(s).20,27,29.31,32,37, 39.41.56.58.86.87.106.107 Games, 119,120,123 i2i,iis,i26,'i25,i33.i34,i3j Gantt, 68,70,71,72,79,81,82,83,84, Communication skills, 32 152,154,155,157,158,162 Competencies,38 @/no go, 144 Computer(s),21,30,51, 63,68, 69,72,79, Group, 6,25,26,27,30,31,32,33,34,37, 81.94.95,100,108,126,150, 151,152,154,155,156,157, 161.162.163 Computer pr&am(s), 30,68,69,72,154, 162 Concorde, 10,11,90, 138,142 Constraints 45.48.53.57., 58 .61 79 92 95,i31,152 Contingenoi(~es),46,90,92,94,95,96, 101,112,117,123,124,129, 131,134,137,139,143,154 Contract(s),54,84,92,95,96,106,143, 144,149 Control cycle, 104,105,115 38,59,65,73,75, 100,113,114, 134,152 High risk, 93,103,123 Histograms, 68 Human, 21,29,30,31,33,40,85,87,151 Intlation, 11,91,92,94,95,96,101,143, 144,149 IT, 151,157,160,162 Key steps, 63,124 Land Rover, 30,31, 36 INDEX Latest finish, 66, 67, 68, 76, 78, 97 Launch, 44, 51 Leadenhip, 36, 107 Legislamon, 95, 111 Locke, 21, 22 Manaping,2,4,9,13, 14,18,19,21,23,30, 36,54, 121, 131 Manpower, 31, 51, 70, 71 79, 80, 81, 82, 83,85.87,96.97,115,132,133 135, 157 Manual(s),2, 51, 104, 160 Matrix 27 30 35 39 40 83 84 Milestonc(s),52, 67,71, 106, 124, 141, 154 Minisny of Defe~~ce (MOD), 95 MOD, 95 Monitor, 28,31,40,49,60,80,83,92, 102, 103, 104, 106, 115, 117, 128, 133, 138, 140,148, 157, 160 Monitoring, 13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 37, 47, 60, 61, 78, 97, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 113, 115, 119, 121, 124, 129, 130, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 143, 145, 146, 148, 149, 151,157 Motivation, 28, 32, 93, 107, 115 Olympic Games, 119, 123 Org;ulization(s),13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 30, 32, 36,38, 56, 61.92, 107, 122, 141, 144 Outcomes, 4, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17, 24, 42, 45, 46.48, 53,54, 55,113,119, 130, 134 137 139 146 - - - ~ , ~rohlem(s)y11, 12, 13, 22,23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 33,36, 37,45,49,57, 62.86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 99, 105, 106, 107, 115, 120, 121, 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 133, 134, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 144, 146, 154 Procedures, 58,78,103,105,106,112,114, 123 142 Process, 13, 23, 33, 34, 40, 49, 55, 60, 63, 73, 76, 85, 86, 103, 104, 111, 121 124 132.151.152 ~rojectcontrol,97,104,105, 108,109,115, 117, 122, 143, 144, 147 Project management, 1, 2, 5, 6,7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19,20,21,28, 29,38, 42, 43, 47, 69, 80, 85, 90, 94, 96, 105, 108, 119, 122, 132, 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 150, 151, 154 162 Project manager, 2, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,31,32, 34.36.37.38.40.45.54.61.87 90: 105, 109,123: 124, 125, i26: 129, 132, 133, 136, 138, 139, 140,141,144,148,150,161,162 Project plan($, 20, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62 63, 68 72 75, 78, 80, 86, Ptarmigan, 110 Past,3,10,11,12,16,17,18,20,28,39,68, 90, 95, 100, 123, 126, 139, 146 PC(S),9, 16,48,49,9n, 107, 123,150, 157 People, 1, 2, 3.4, 16, 20, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30,32,33,40,43, 48.51, 53.59, 64, 68, 70, 74, 75, 83, 87, 91, 122, 125,133,134, 152 Performance, 2, 29, 34, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 93, 102, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111, 117 Performance cnteria, 54 Personnel, 10,30,31.32,40,54,55, 85,87, 119, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 150 PERT, 69, 152, 154, 156, 157, 162 Phases 48.50.51.56.57 61 126 127 133 Quality, 24, 30, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 54, 60, 105, 106, 115, 121, 129, 131, 132, 137, 141, 142, 149, 160, 163 ios, 115, 122 Report, 50, 93, 105 125, 151, 154, 157, 160 161 162 163 125, 129, 140, 160 Resource smoothmg, 133, 134, 135, 137 Rc~pons~b~l~tvf~es) 7, 30, 31, 41 4Q, 53 56, Schcdule(s), 11, 14,43,44, 52, 56, 78, 81, 82,83, 112, 117, 120, 128, 131, 133, 137 Sequence, 52,64, 65,66,68,70,74,76,78, 84 Sequencing, 65, 74 SkiUs,2.7.12.15.20.22~25,26,27,28,30, SST, I1 Stages, 11,34,36,48,52,54,57,60,61, 63, 72 78 85 90 103 104 105 Stonehenge, 20 Strategieq, 4, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 60, 78 95 Structure, 2, 9, 30, 36, 51, 56, 57, 61, 69, Target(s), 45,47, 49, 53.54, 54, 55.60, 91, 93, 104, 106, 108,114, 139 Task, 3, 4, 6, 12, 30.33.38, 49, 59, 63, 82, 121, 132, 139, 147, 162 Team buildillg 34 41 Team mcmbers, 3, 7, 8, 29, 33, 34, 36, u Train, 10, 14, 144 Training, 2, 5, 6, 7, 16, 25, 27, 31, 33, 35, 38, 40, 41, 56, 59, 85, 105, 120, 146, 152, 160, 162 Triangle, 42, 43, 44, 47, 105, 132 Victorian, 19, 20 ... your team' s skills in supervision Susan Clayton 007 709280 Sharpen your team' s skills in people skills Di Kamp 007 709276 Sharpen your team' s skills in time management Jane M a n 007 709275 SHAR... skills in developing strategy Susan Clayton 007 709281 Sharpen your team' s skills in creativity Trevor Bentley 007 709282 Sharpen your team' s skills in coaching Tony Voss 007 709278 Sharpen your. .. Jean Sharpen your team' s skills in project management /Jean Harris p crn - (Sharpen your team' s skills) Includes index ISBN 0-07-709140-X (pbk : alk paper) Work groups-Training of Industrial project