Project Management Chapter 1

Front 1

Why study project management (PM)?

Back 1

IT Projects have a terrible track record (What Went Wrong? in textbook)
CHAOS 1995: only 1/6 of IT projects were successful, over 1/3 were canceled before completion
PwC: half of all projects fail, 2.5% consistently good at doing their projects

Front 2

What is a project?

Back 2

temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result
operations are different! = work done to sustain the business
projects end
large or small projects = size and time have nothing to do with it

Front 3

Attributes of a project:

Back 3

unique purpose
temporary
requires resources (humans, materials, etc), from various areas = this is why there is a cost to a project
should have a primary customer or sponsor (should have someone to satisfy)
project sponsor = usually provides the direction and funding for the project
involves uncertainty - you don’t know for certain that things are going to cost what you expect, you don’t know that the resources are going to be available in time, with the right skills, etc
is developed using progressive elaboration - over the lifespan of a project you learn more and more about the project (about the resources and what they can do, the time, etc.)

Front 4

Examples of IT Projects:

Back 4

to create a smartphone app and sells it online = once it is sold the project is over

Front 5

Project Managers:

Back 5

works with project sponsors, project team, and other people to meet project goals
strive to meet the triple constraint by balancing project scope, time, and cost goals
Ten Most Importance Skills and Competencies for Project Managers = in notes

Front 6

Program:

Back 6

group of related projects managed in a coordinated way - a collection of projects
Program Managers = oversee programs and often act as bosses for project managers

Front 7

Triple Constraint of Project Management:

Back 7

successful project management means meeting all three goals:
scope
time
cost
and satisfying the project’s sponsor

Front 8

What is project management?

Back 8

the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques project activities to meet project requirements

Front 9

10 Project Management Knowledge Areas:

Back 9

knowledge areas = describe the key competencies that project managers must develop (the textbook has an entire chapter on each area)
project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource(mostly the most expensive cost), communications(have to have the right info in the right hands at the right time), risk(way of understanding the probability of an occurrence of something good or bad and combining that with the expected result if some risk event occurred), procurement(significant cost component in stuff you buy - make sure you have the right vendor what basis are you going to pay the vendor), and stakeholder management(manage each individual stakeholder in a manner that is suited to their importance, personality, and contribution to the project)

Front 10

Project Management Framework (picture in textbook):

Back 10

how each knowledge area fits into the project
understanding of all of them have to be integrated into a unified whole

Front 11

Advantages of Using Formal Project Management:

Back 11

in notes

Front 12

Project Management Software:

Back 12

hundreds of projects to assist
three main categories of tools:
low-end tools - <$200
mid range tools - $200-600
high end tools - enterprise project management per-user basis

Front 13

What Went Right? Improved Project Performance:

Back 13

CHAOS show improvements in IT projects in the past decade
successful IT projects have doubled - from 16 to 37% in 2010
number of failed decreased 1/3
success rates were the highest ever in the most recent CHAOS study

Front 14

Why the Improvements? - reasons vary

Back 14

average cost of a project has been more than cut in half
better tools
better skilled project managers with better management processes
the fact that there are processes is significant in itself

Front 15

Best Practice:

Back 15

an optimal way recognized by industry (the entire industry not just individual company) to achieve a stated goal or objective
Robert Butrick suggest:
assure that your projects are driven by your strategy
engage your stakeholders - make them a part of the project

Front 16

Chapter summary and lessons learned:

Back 16

in notes
other:
project portfolio management = involves organizing and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments
project management profession continues to grow and mature