Lesson 19: Project Close Out

Rather than writing a BLOG on Close Out, here are a few good websites dealing with the subject:

• Wiki Books
• Lorman Education 
• Max's Website 
• American Institute of Architects

Lesson 18: The Schedule Bar Chart and Responsibility Matrix

The Schedule Bar Chart provides a perspective of the activities/tasks of the project on a time line, and could indicate the relationships and critical path as well as slack per activity.

The Responsibility Matrix provides a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities, based on the WBS. This is done at activity level and provides an overview of who will be responsible and support task/activity execution.

Click here below to obtain an overview of how the Schedule Bar Chart is Created and related to that, how roles and responsibilities are assigned with the aid of the Responsibility Matrix:

Focus on CPM and Resp Matrix

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Lesson 17c: The Network Logic Diagram Practical

Click here for a practical example of how to create the Network Logic Diagram and calculate the Critical Path:

The Network Diagram and Critical Path

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Lesson 17b: The General Rules for the Network Logic Diagram

By now the general principle for creating a Network Diagram should be clear. There are however additional rules for creating this sequence of activities. These are outlined below:

• Networks typically flow from left to right
• An activity cannot begin until all of its preceding activities are complete (the most basic relationship is the so called "Finish to Start" relationship)
• Arrows indicate precedence and flow
• Looping is not allowed- a Network Diagram is not a process flow
• Conditional statements are not allowed
• Use distinct start and finish tasks - start with one task, finish with one task (the general rule is, if you do not have a logical start and finish task, then create one)

The next blog will take the case example and create a coherent Network Diagra upon which the Critical Path calculation lessons will be based.

Lesson 17a: The Network Diagram

In this series of lessons the Network Logic Diagram will be discussed, and animation slides provided to show how this important project management tool is created. First however, here is an overview of the Network Logic Diagram:

• Just a quick reminder that the WBS, is a decomposition of the final deliverable, to sub-deliverables to activities/tasks. This constitutes the scope of work to be done and deviations from this should mandated properly to prevent scope creep
• Whereas the WBS tells us what work needs to be done to generate deliverables, the Network Diagram tells is what activities should be finished before other activities can start
• Remember that two things can basically determine what should be finished before something else can start i.e. the nature of the tasks we are busy with (in which case we refer to it as a logical or technical constraint) and other other factors, where our in our own discretion we decide that something must finish before something else should start (for example we want to ensure resources are utilized optimally)
• Also remember that the Network Diagram is a relationship diagram. We create relationships between tasks, and thereby indicate which tasks are the predecessors of one or more tasks. We also refer to these relationships as dependencies, because by creating the relationships we construct a coherent network where each task is somehow dependent on tasks preceding and following in the total network

CLICK AND PLAY FLASH ANIMATION FOR VISUAL EXPLANATION:

Read more: http://www.whitehatandroid.com/2009/10/flash-blogger-embedd-upload-swf.html#ixzz0kmoPYpJv
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Lesson 16: Completed WBS

This BLOG includes an example of the WBS as per the case study outlined in Lesson 12. The WBS was created in MS Visio, then also in Mind Manager. Links are provided to download the original files for use on a creative commons basis. if you click on the picture included in this BLOG it will enlarge and enable you to see the detail of the WBS.

Here are the links to the relevant files (note you have to register - free) to download the files:

• Click here for Mind Manager version of the WBS

If you do not have the software to open the files here are links to download free viewers:

• Mind Manager Viewer

Lesson 14: The Work Breakdown Stucture (WBS)

Building on the previous lessons and taking the case study as departure point it is possible to move further and do detailed scoping for the project. Although the exercises in the previous lessons did not require full development of the Project Charter, let us assume that we have been able to define the final deliverable and high level deliverable's of our aircraft assembly project as follows:

Final deliverable:

Assembled Airbus, ready for its first airworthy inspection prior to first test flight (from here on we will just refer to this deliverable as - "Assembled Airbus")

High Level Deliverable's:

To keep it very high level and not complicate our case study, our high level deliverable s will be very general. However, remember that the high level deliverable should be such that it produces the final deliverable:

• Assembly plant secured
• Workforce appointments completed
• Component delivery check-in completed
• Sub-component assembly completed
• Interior fitted
• Final assembly completed
• Handover of aircraft completed
  

With the above clarified (albeit at a very high and general level) the next phase of the project can be embarked upon. In this next phase (the Planning Phase of the project) one of the first tasks would be to define the scope of work. This is achieved by developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Per definition the WBS has two main elements:

• A hierarchical outline (map) that identifies the products (deliverable's) and work elements involved in the project
• This map defines the relationship of the final deliverable to its sub deliverables' and in turn, their relationships to work packages (collection of elements related to work that must be done)
  

Lesson 12: Charter Case Study

In order to exercise our skills in defining the project let's use a practical case study (admittedly a bit superficial, but done for the purposes of teaching). Embedded in this BLOG is a time lapsed video that provides an overview of how an Airbus A380 gets assembled. Let us further assume that we are the team responsible for the assembly, but only the assembly. To make sure it is a project, also regard this as the first prototype that will be tested. Doing this at a very, very high level (after all few of us are aeronautical engineers) the client put the following conditions to our involvement:

• We are only responsible for assembly  and  branding (major components - fuselage; wings; landing gear; navigation equipment, interior and painting)
• We are assemblers not engineers, definitely not design engineers
• The assembly plant will be provided, but not the support staff, who you need to appoint and manage them
  
• Final quality check prior to first test flight will be done by external contractor

Now watch the video and move on to the next lesson and answer the multiple choice questions.

Lesson 11: The Project Charter

This BLOG essentially starts the skills building part of this whole series. From this point onwards focus will be on developing skills to master the techniques required to complete each phase of the project cycle. As such this first BLOG in the series deals with the initiation phase and provides a detailed overview of what elements the Project Charter will address. Reflect back on Lesson 9, where the project phases were discussed. In this regard it was highlighted that the Initiation Phase is where the project is defined, the main tangible output being the Project Charter. Let's look at how the detail of the project Charter enables clarification and definition of the core elements of the project:

STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT CHARTER (DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE HERE)

Lesson 9: The Project Cycle In More Detail

While Lesson's 1 to 6 provided an overview of the basic definitions and core concepts related to project management this BLOG provides insight into the core techniques that need to be mastered in each phase of the project cycle. This BLOG also answers the question - from a management perspective, what do we do in each phase of the project cycle? he paragraphs that follow highlight this in more detail:

Initiation Phase:

In the initiation phase the main task is to define the project. The aim is to ensure that we have the basis for what needs to be done in the other phases of the project cycle. The tangible output of this phase is the so called project charter. It is the charter that, once approved, provides a mandate to officially start - thus, following approval of the charter we have a project...

The outputs of this phase include the charter, clarity about the problem, the final and high level deliverable s as well as other aspects that forms part of the basic definition of the project - important in this regard to identify the key stakeholders as early as possible

Planning Phase:

The bulk of the work of scoping out the project, sequencing, scheduling and budgeting takes place in this phase of the project. There are also very specific techniques that need to be mastered here, notably how to create a work breakdown structure (WBS), a network logical diagram, calculate a critical path (CPM) , as well as developing the schedule bar chart and budget.

The main outputs of this phase are clarity about the technical/functional specification (albeit not strictly a project management output), the scope of work (in the form of the work breakdown structure, the network logic diagram, the schedule bar chart and the budget.

Implementation Phase:

In the implementation phase the project manager essentially drives execution, manage changes to the scope (change control), and make sure that the expectations of the stakeholders are aligned with the benefits the final deliverable will produce. Remember your success as project manager depends on your ability to manage expectations!

The main outputs of this phase include:

• Tracking status - this includes tracking the schedule, managing action items (actions too small for the schedule but often gets scheduled items done) and issues (problems that could escalate)
• Reporting status - this includes reporting on the above but also providing evaluations/interpretations to the client and recommending strategies and actions
• Driving execution - this includes keeping an active pulse on the status, making status visible, taking corrective action and keeping the customer "in the loop" (the last forms a huge part of expectations management)

Close Out Phase:

The close out phase is where the project team makes sure that an independent audit is conducted, the client system is capable to sustain the benefits derived by the final deliverable, debriefing, project accounting and redeployment of team members are done. The main outputs here would be the final payments, commissioning, and a close out report signed off by major stakeholders