Management of Engineers and Technology

Project ManagementRisk Management

Principle 3: Getting Things Done

Engineers are task oriented Organizations do things via projects

New or altered products Process or infrastructure improvements Adding capacity

Bad things happen Anticipate what might happen Have a plan for dealing with it

Project Management

Organizations accomplish things through projects

First exposure to management High stakes, high visibility Many projects “fail”

Career Progression

Design Engineer Project Engineer Project Manger Engineering Manager General Manager

Project Management:The first step into management

Managing and motivating people Coordinating diverse efforts Working with suppliers and customers Exposure to

Accounting Scheduling Purchasing Contracting

Elements of a Project What are you going to do?

Project objectives Scope of work (WBS)

How much is it going to cost? Budget

When is it going to be done? Schedule

Who is going to do it? Project team, resources

Project Life Cycle

BeginningBeginning MiddleMiddle EndEnd

What is Project Success? Scope completed Within budget On schedule Objectives

achieved

Customer is satisfied

Team is better for the experience

Project process is improved

Project Management

Planning Tracking Controlling

Project Management Software

Good Project is planned and organized Project updates and monitoring Works with other software packages

Bad Cost: purchase, learning curve Focus on software instead of people May not mesh with existing practices

Sources of Project Problems Unclear objectives Sharing of limited resources Forced or inherited budget, schedule Unclear scope/scope creep Contracts and contractors/consultants Interactions and dependencies Poor people skills (communication) Limited authority (matrix)

Recent Developments Critical Chain Project Management

Recognize uncertainty Two-point estimates Internal/external schedules Buffer management

Agile Project Management Projects with high uncertainty Clear goal, ground rules Short-term plan, periodic reviews

Themes

Organizations use projects to get things done

Projects are a great first step into management

Projects are important, visible, risky, and can be rewarding

Planning, communication, flexibility, and people skills are keys

Risk Management

Anticipate risks Determine and minimize causes Predict possible outcomes Have a plan that deals with likely

outcomes

Crisis management Not all risks can be anticipated Crisis management skills are important

FMEA:Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

Use system analysis or WBS Identify components or tasks that

may fail Estimate likelihood of failure Analyze failure modes Have a plan for dealing with as many

failure modes as possible Standard procedures Training of personnel

Crisis Management J & J Extra-Strength Tylenol

Arsenic-laced capsules

Risk minimization (damage control) Immediate recall of affected products Advertising campaign

Risk prevention Tamper-resistant and tamper-obvious

packaging Tamper-proof “caplets” Permanent changes

In A Crisis… Think, but act quickly

and decisively Be positive and calm

Positive attitude Focus on the solution Avoid panic and blame

Follow up How and why did it

happen? Make changes permanent

Summary

Projects and business involve risk Risk can be anticipated, estimated,

and minimized When the inevitable crisis happens.,

effective crisis management can make or break a company or project

Panic, anger, and placing blame are negative reactions to a crisis