Successfully Presenting Your Projects

8/8/2019 Successfully Presenting Your Projects

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Your presentation report is finished.You are ready for the status meetingwith your client.

Or are you?

After creating a presentation report, askyourself:

Does the report explain itself, or

need minimal explanation? Whileyou won’t just say, “Here’s the re-port...see you later,” a professionalpresentation will be easy to readwith clearly defined content.

Can it be interpreted in more than

one way? Generally, a good projectreport will be interpreted objec-tively. Items on the presentationchart should be unambiguous andeasy to read with minimal explana-tion.

Is the report flexible enough to re-

spond to your audience’s questions?

A flexible report can show a projectoverview with the ability to drill-down to the details when needed.Or, if the customer asks, “If Date Xchanges, what will be the impact onDate Y?”, can your report show theimpact on dependencies?

Can you distinguish between pro-

jects, phases and tasks? An in-dented outline, as well as text stylesand highlights, clearly separate ar-eas of the project report.

Is your projec t presenta t ion ready for pr ime t ime?

PROJECT REPORTCHECKLIST

The project report is:

Objective

Clear and concise

Easy to interpret

A summary of key

project indicators

Separated into dis-

tinct areas of focus

Be prepared with

detail about alltasks and projects.

SAMPLE REPORT

In this sample report,it’s easy to see at-a-glance how five projects are doing.

The legend clearlyexplains the meaning

of all items on theschedule and providesan excellent overviewof 5 projects.

The “pie indicators” show the % completefor each project andthe stoplights showoverall status.

This schedule is readyfor prime-time!

"When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only

think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the

solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

— Buckminster Fuller, architect, engineer

2008 2009

Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2

Current Plan AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! IN PRODUCTION!

Original (Baseline) Plan CLOSE OR ON SCHEDULE NOT SO GOOD

Feb 20, 2009

"Ready for Prime-Time" Project Report

PROJECT / INITIATIVE % Status

WONDERFUL NEW WIDGET "MONEYMAKER"

28%

GREAT GIZMO "GADFLY" 45%

COOL CONTRAPTION "LIGHTNING"

48%

HOT NEW INVENTION "INTENTIONAL"

36%

LATEST & GREATEST SOFTWARE TOOL

"PAPERLESS" 46%

12/18 9/30

12/5 8/31

1/25 8/30

2/1 7/5

1/8 5/13




Present pro jec ts c lear ly us ing cons is tent sym bology

Project Communication is clearer if consistent symbologyis used for your project presentations. You will spend lesstime explaining the meaning of the symbols on yourschedule and will have more time available to clarify yourproject's progress.

While there is a wide variety of project managementsymbology to choose from, and it's unlikely that all com-panies and government agencies will ever agree to astandard set of symbology, project managers shouldmake an attempt to come up with a standard set of sym-bology to use throughout their organization for the dura-

tion of their project. In a big company, it is a good ideato agree on standard company-wide project symbology sothat executives who attend many project status presenta-tions do not have to be briefed on the significance of thesymbology before each presentation. If a circled red ar-row means "critical milestone" for project A, it should notmean "completed" for project B.

Here are some simple guidelines:

Use simple, intuitive symbol and bar choices

Be consistent in applying the symbology

Use color to distinguish between event types

Clearly define the meaning of each symbol in a legend

Scenario:Customer Presentation

Strategy:Keep it Simple

A legend is used to explainthat the aqua star is a mile-

stone, the blue bar is aSummary Task and the redbar is a normal task.

Mar'10 Apr'10 May'10

22 29 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31

MilestoneSummaryTask

Task

Remodeling Project

Remodeling Project

Job No.: 980045.05

Project Summary

Sawcut & Demo-Structural

Structural Steel-Fab

Framing-Rough

Structural Concrete-Rebar

Roofing Curbs & Patch

Electrical-Rough/FinishOverhead Doors

Inspection-Structural Rebar

Structural Concrete-Pour

Plumbing Rough

MilestoneSummaryTask

Task






Acc epted Standard Symbology

Aerospace and other industriesAccepted Standard Symbology

Headquarter Controlled Milestone Headquarter Controlled Milestone

Major Milestone Major Milestone

Planned Start Milestone Completed Start Milestone

Planned Finish Milestone Completed Finish Milestone

Anticipated Slip (early or late) Completed Slip (early or late)

Span of Activity / Baseline Progress of Activity

Early Start

Late StartEarlyFinish

Backloaded Task

Frontloaded Task

Ramp Up Ramp Down

Deliverable Critical

Cancelled

Slipped

CompletedLaunch

Date

CCriticalDesignReview

PProgramDesignReview






“The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry, and leave us nothing but grief andpain, instead of promised joy!”

The 18th century poet, Robert Burns, got it right when he wrote that well-meant plans will oftenchange.

And your project report needs to display those changes against your original (well meant) plan.So, how can you show both the original plan and the current plan on a single report?

One way is as in the Projects Status Overview below:

Report pr ogress

Current Plan

Original or “Baseline” Plan




Presenting baseline and current progress offers one set of information, but it’s possible to pre-sent even more information concisely.

The schedule below has added:

A status indicator, showing the progress for each project.

The percent of the project currently complete, along with a “pie indicator” for a visual.

Report ing progress (cont inued)

2009

January February March April

Status Completed Task

To be completed Baseline

Projects Status Overview

ProjectPercent

Complete

Project 165%

Project 284%

Project 346%

Project 417%

Project 523%

Current Plan and status

Original or “Baseline” Plan




2009 2010 2011

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Construction Costs $10,606 $4,459Soft Costs $7,640 $6,784

Total Costs $18,245 $11,243

$0

$7,000

$14,000

$21,000ConstructionCosts

Soft Costs

TotalCosts

C um ul at iv eT ot al C os ts $ 18 ,2 45 .1 2 $ 29 ,4 88 .0 7

$0.00

$20,000.00

$40,000.00Cumulative TotalCosts

Preliminary Cash Flow Projection- OPTION 7c(Garage)

SoftCosts*

ConstructionCosts

PhaseTotalCosts

4/3$14,020$11,400Totals $25,420

$1,000$3,450Schematic Design $4,450

$1,500$3,530Design Development $5,030

$2,000$3,200Construction Documents $5,200

$9,000$1,220Permitting $10,220

$500$0Bidding and Negotiation $500

$20$0Construction $20

5/24$3,200$11,655Totals $14,855

$300$3,245Construction Phase 1 $3,545




$1,200$2,200Construction Phase 5 $3,400

4/3

4/3 6/5

5/27 8/19

8/13 12/20

12/2 2/25

2 /2 8 5 /1 5

5/24

5/24

5/24 11/18

11/19 4/17

4 /1 9 6 /1 4

6/15 9/6

9/7

*Soft costs are projected only.

Nobody has to tell a project manager that cost is a key consideration when managing a project.No doubt the project manager dreams about budget vs. actual, cost over-runs and so on.

When presenting a project, executives will often be interested in key cost indicators:

Has the project started spending money?

Has the project spent more money than it should be spending?

Report Project Cost s

2009

Jan Feb Mar Apr

Over Budget On Budget Under Budget Status

Completed Task To be completed Baseline

Projects Status Overview

Project

Percent

Complete Cost Budget Variance

Project 165% $55,000 $50,000

Project 284% $75,000 $75,000

Project 346% $30,000 $65,000

Project 417% $8,000 $100,000

Project 523% $10,000 $48,000

Out of Money

Cost OK

2007

July August September

$0

$400

$800

$1,200

$1,600

$2,000

$2,400

$2,800

$3,200

$3,600

$4,000

$4,400

$4,800$5,200

$5,600

$6,000

$6,400

$6,800

$7,200

$7,600

$8,000

EVBACAC

Earned Value Report

Project/Task

ActualCost(AC)

EarnedValue (EV)

Budget(BAC)

Project ABC $3,585 $3,860 $7,100

Task 1 $200 $300 $300

Task 2 $350 $208 $400

Task 3 $175 $250 $250

Task 4 $710 $850 $1,300

Task 5 $500 $618 $725

Task 6 $100 $181 $225

Task 7 $200 $278 $350

Task 8 $1,200 $976 $1,775

Task 9 $150 $198 $550

Task 10 $0 $0 $800

Task 11 $0 $0 $425




Add indicat ors for “at -a-glance” understandi ng

In a report that contains extensive data, how can action-items bequickly highlighted and addressed?

Indicator symbols are a great method for determined, at-a-glance,which project items need attention.

Here are a few tips on using indicator symbols:

Use distinct shapes and colors to clearly separate one indicator

from another

Rely on the indicator’s shape, not color, when printing to black &

white

Clearly define the indicators in a legend

Use logical symbols, such as check-marks for completed activi-

ties

Display “pie fills” to show percent complete.

2008 2009

Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2

Current Plan AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! IN PRODUCTION!

Original (Baseline) Plan CLOSE OR ON SCHEDULE NOT SO GOOD

Feb 20, 2009

"Ready for Prime-Time" Pro ject Report

PROJECT / INITIATIVE % Status

WONDERFUL NEW WIDGET "MONEYMAKER"

28%

GREAT GIZMO "GADFLY" 45%

COOL CONTRAPTION "LIGHTNING"

48%

HOT NEW INVENTION "INTENTIONAL"

36%

LATEST & GREATEST SOFTWARE TOOL

"PAPERLESS" 46%

12/18 9/30

12/5 8/31

1/25 8/30

2/1 7/5

1/8 5/13




Present Earned Value

“Earned value is the objective measure of work completed.” Tell that to a lay audience andyou’ll get blank stares.

Show them a graph of earned value as it compares to cost and budget, and you’ll get a betterresponse. In the line graph example below for Contract Review, earned value (blue line) ismore than the budgeted cost (black), which is more than the actual cost (red)...which meansthis contract is in great shape!

For additional detail, the numbers that drive the graph are available in columns.Need to see the tasks or phases which drive those values? Just drill-down to a more detailedlevel. Thus, be prepared to present to a spectrum of needs, from a single snap-shot to thesmallest details.

2007

July August September

$0

$400

$800

$1,200$1,600

$2,000

$2,400

$2,800

$3,200

$3,600

$4,000

$4,400

$4,800

$5,200

$5,600

$6,000

$6,400

$6,800

$7,200

$7,600

$8,000

EVBACAC

Earned Value Report

Project /

TaskActual

Cost (AC)

Earned

Value (EV)

Budget

(BAC)

Project ABC $3,585 $3,860 $7,100

Task 1 $200 $300 $300

Task 2 $350 $208 $400

Task 3 $175 $250 $250

Task 4 $710 $850 $1,300

Task 5 $500 $618 $725

Task 6 $100 $181 $225

Task 7 $200 $278 $350

Task 8 $1,200 $976 $1,775

Task 9 $150 $198 $550

Task 10 $0 $0 $800

Task 11 $0 $0 $425

For information on

presenting earned

value, download KI-DASA Software’s freee-book Successfully

Presenting EarnedValue. Visit

www.kidasa.com/ebook/evm.html










Create Presentat ion Reports for Mic rosof t Off ice Project

KIDASA Software’s Milestones Pro-

fessional offers a direct interface toMicrosoft Project, making it easy to

generate presentation report for-mats beyond the standard formats

offered by Microsoft Project.




Mi les tones Profess iona l so f tw are f rom KIDASA Sof tw are

When you manage and schedule projects you need software that is powerful, fastand easy to use; project management software that lets you organize your project,

sell your ideas, streamline your work and track results.

Presentation reports

Combine cost and schedule

Manage large projects

Create reports for Microsoft Office Project

Calculate Earned Value

Distribute schedules via print, e-mail, Internet, more!

Present schedules interactively using “full screen” mode, complete with drill

down. Make changes during your presentation.