Managing Small Projects Introduction

1

Managing Small Projects

Peter Tanswell

2

Focus on Project Delivery Apply Best Practices Defining Objectives & Scope Defining Deliverables Project Planning Communication Tracking & Reporting Progress Change Management Risk Management

Managing Small Projects

3

Only produce as much documentation as is required by the project. A simple rule of thumb: if its useful in helping us to deliver the business objectives of the project then produce it

Apply the Best Practices

4

Even on the smallest project there will be objectives which must be achieved.

Define the objectives of the project Satisfy the needs of the stakeholders Define the scope – it forms the boundary of the project Define the stakeholders

Defining Objectives & Scope

5

Define what is going to be produced Your aim – document a detailed enough set of

descriptions of the products to be produced

Define Deliverables

6

Do you need a plan for a small project? Consider the following: planning an expedition to climb Mount Everest or a trip

to climb the skillion at Terrigal There is planning involved for both – time, what to take With a small project, you still need to work out which

activities are required to produce a deliverable, estimate how long the activities will take, how many staff and resources are required and responsibilities of staff

Project Planning

7

Consider the following a small project team comprised of just a project manager and one other person.

The Project Manager will still need to assign tasks and responsibilities to the other person.

Communicate plans via email, hard copy, or better still an informal or formal chat where you discuss the project plan.

If the plan changes – communicate the changes with the project plan

Communication

8

Consider a 2 person project team – the Project Manager and one other person.

The Project Manager will need to know the progress of the activities which the other person is working on.

Tracking and Reporting Progress

9

Even on a small project – changes are likely to occur. Requests for change usually come from stakeholders and it will be your responsibility as a Project Manager to assess the impact of accepting these into the project.

Need to estimate the impact of the change in terms of extra effort and cost.

Never simply accept the change. Need to fully understand what the change is and the impact on time and cost.

Change Management

10

There will be risks – even on a small project. Ensure that you have thought through the potential

risks at the beginning of the project. Monitor the risks, on a weekly basis. Failing to manage risk properly is one of the main

reasons why projects fail

Risk Management

11

Why is project management important and why does it come into play.

It is the project manager's role to make sure that the planning is done -- that the goal and other objectives are known, that the requirements have been enumerated, that the workload is known, that all tasks have been scheduled and assigned, and a contingency plan is in place.

It is the project manager's obligation to communicate required information to every-one that needs it, to monitor and track progress, report on status, and act on variances to correct them

Summary

12

A Work Breakdown Structure is a results-oriented family tree that captures all the work of a project in an organized way. 

It is often portrayed graphically as a hierarchical tree, or, it can also be a tabular list of "element" categories and tasks or the indented task list that appears in your Gantt chart schedule. 

As a very simple example, Figure 1 (next slide) shows a WBS for a hypothetical banquet.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

13

14

Large, complex projects are organized and comprehended by breaking them into progressively smaller pieces until they are a collection of defined "work packages" that may include a number of tasks.  A $1,000,000,000 project is simply a lot of $50,000 projects joined together. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is used to provide the framework for organizing and managing the work.

Psychologists say our brains can normally comprehend around 7-9 items simultaneously.  A project with thousands or even dozens of tasks goes way over our ability to grasp all at once. 

The solution is to divide and conquer.  The WBS helps break thousands of tasks into chunks that we can understand and assimilate.   Preparing and understanding a WBS for your project is a big step towards managing and mastering its inherent complexity. 

Why a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

15

Practice Task Prepare a work breakdown structure for the development of a website.

16

WBS for a System Development Project

17

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. 

It is often portrayed graphically as a hierarchical tree, or, it can also be a tabular list of "element" categories and tasks or the indented task list that appears in your Gantt chart schedule. 

As a very simple example, Figure 1 (next slide) shows a WBS for a hypothetical banquet.

Gantt Chart

18

19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_wGSFavTc 

Gantt Chart

20

Questions