Catégorie : Project management

Determining project risk

Risk represents uncertainty and all the projects are exposed to some degree of risk.

The process of identifying, assessing  and responding to risk is called risk management. It will require ongoing communication with the team and engagement with the stakeholders and continuous monitoring and review.

The risk varies as a result of:

  • the extent and duration of the project
  • the period time between planning and execution
  • level of experience on similar projects
  • maturity of the technology used.

Risk can be multifaceted: technical, financial, commercial, reputational (intangible), etc.

6 steps to plan a major risk in the project:

  1. Understand the context of the project and confirm the objectives
  2. Risk identification
  3. Risk assessment – prioritise the risks by severity (a combination of likelihood and impact)
  4. Risk responses – develop risk response strategies
    1. Accepted
    2. Transfered
    3. Reduced
    4. Avoided
  5. Monitor and review – ongoing process
  6. Communicate

PESTLE.

Project management – Planning

An old adage which is completely true for project management: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Characteristics for planning a project:

  • dilligence
  • investement of time
  • gathering sufficient information in order to have a detailed plan that helps avoid as many mishaps as possible

Scop, schedule and cost – 3 key areas

  1. Scop (what needs to be done to deliver the project)
    • first establish the project objectives
    • the tasks that need to be performed
    • the resource that will be required
    • determine the limitations of the project
    • work breakdown structure = one of the most important project management deliverables.
  2. Scheduling (how you plan to manage your time)
    1. Defining the activities
    2. Scheduling these activities
    3. Estimating the activity resources required (materials, people, equipement)
    4. Estimating the activity duration to complete (amount of work needed to complete individual activities using the estimated resources)
    5. Developing the schedule
  3. Costing the project (control the project costs using a budget). A constraint.
    • estimate the resources required
    • estimate the duration of these activities
    • prepare a cost estimation
    • seek additional budget or trade-off by reducing scope

 

Project management – Initiation

Consider the following questions:

  1. What is a project? What the project requires ?
  2. What is the problem i’m looking to solve?
  3. What do I need? Consider the resources.
  4. What are my options? Multiple way to approach a project. Consider different options.

Good initiation is extremely important for project planning.

Set SpecificMeasurableAlignedRealisticTime bound tags.

Scope is clear and elements of time, costs and quality are understood.

Assure you are given the necessary authority within your organisation.

Assumptions: need to consider them in planning. With no proof of certainty, thus they may or may not eventuate.They affect every day phase of the project management cycle.

Dependencies are relationship between specific tasks.

Constraints: Restrictions or limitations that will affect the performance of a project.

Use creative thinking techniques to generate multiple solutions.

Basics on project management

Project management transcends all industries. A project can be big or small.

To deliver a project successfully, it’s important to start by clearly identifying what the project is, and what its outcomes will be.

Generally, there are four main characteristics of a project, regardless of its size and complexity.

  1. A definite start and end date.
    • a project manager has to complete the project within the specified amount of time
  2. Goal or outcome
    • something is completed or achieved by the end of the project life cycle.
  3. Benefit of value
    • what will the recipient gain from the completed project?
  4. Allocation of resources
    • all projects will, in one way or another, allocate and use resources to achieve their goals or outcomes.

The project management life cycle is a distinct linear process which has four phases:

  1. Initiation – the starting point, sets up the fondation of the project. Project objectives, success criteria, high-level plan.Identify risks, stakeholders and team.
  2. Planning – the primary function – process of developing plans to ensure the achievement of the project objectives. Scope, scheduling and costing.
  3. Execution – completing specific deliverables. Being an effective leader for the team and engage the stakeholders in the execution of the project.
  4. Closure – the final phase. the outcomes are achieved and the benefits of the completed project are experienced by the stakeholders. Obtain feedback from them and from the team.

So: plan, scope, schedule, cost and manage your project from beginning to end. Effectively communicate, manage people and employ leadership skills to successfully deliver.