Project Communication Plan

This plan comprises of:

•What information needs to be collected
and when?

•Who will receive the information?

•What methods will be used to gather
and store information?

•What are the limits, if any, on who has access to certain kinds of information?

•When will the information be communicated?

•How will it be communicated?

Information Needs are:

•Project status reports

•Deliverable issues

•Changes in scope

•Team status meetings

•Gating decisions

•Accepted request changes

•Action items

•Milestone reports

Developing A Communication Plan:

1.Stakeholder analysis

2.Information needs

3.Sources of information

4.Dissemination modes

5.Responsibility and timing

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Responsibility Matrices

•Responsibility Matrix (RM)

–Also called a linear responsibility chart.

–Summarizes the tasks to be accomplished and who is responsible for what on the project.

•Lists project activities and participants.

•Clarifies critical interfaces between units
and individuals that need coordination.

•Provide an means for all participants to view their responsibilities and agree on their assignments.

•Clarifies the extent or type of authority that
can be exercised by each participant.

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Costs

Types of Costs

•Direct Costs

–Costs that are clearly chargeable
to a specific work package.

•Labor, materials, equipment, and other

•Direct (Project) Overhead Costs

–Costs incurred that are directly tied to an identifiable project deliverable or work package.

•Salary, rents, supplies, specialized machinery

•General and Administrative Overhead Costs

–Organization costs indirectly linked to a specific package that are apportioned to the project

•Reasons for Adjusting Estimates

–Interaction costs are hidden in estimates.

–Normal conditions do not apply.

–Things go wrong on projects.

–Changes in project scope and plans.

•Adjusting Estimates

–Time and cost estimates of specific activities are adjusted as the risks, resources, and situation particulars become more clearly defined.

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Apportion Method of Allocating Project Costs Using the Work Breakdown Structure

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Top-Down and Bottom-Up Estimates

•Level of detail is different for
different levels of management.

•Level of detail in the WBS varies
with the complexity of the project.

•Excessive detail is costly.

–Fosters a focus on departmental outcomes

–Creates unproductive paperwork

•Insufficient detail is costly.

–Lack of focus on goals

–Wasted effort on nonessential activities

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Bottom-Up Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs

•Template methods

•Parametric procedures applied to specific tasks

•Range estimates for
the WBS work packages

•Phase estimating: A hybrid

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Top-Down Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs

•Consensus methods

•Ratio methods

•Apportion method

•Function point methods for software and system projects

•Learning curves

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Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Estimating

•Top-Down Estimates

–Are usually are derived from someone who uses experience and/or information to determine the project duration and total cost.

–Are made by top managers who have little knowledge of the processes used to complete the project.

•Bottom-Up Approach

–Can serve as a check on cost elements in the WBS
by rolling up the work packages and associated cost accounts to major deliverables at the work package level.

Estimating Projects: Preferred Approach

•Make rough top-down estimates.

•Develop the WBS/OBS.

•Make bottom-up estimates.

•Develop schedules and budgets.

•Reconcile differences between top-down
and bottom-up estimates

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PERT—Program Evaluation Review Technique

•Assumes each activity duration has a range that statistically follows a beta distribution.

•Uses three time estimates for each activity: optimistic, pessimistic, and a weighted average to represent activity durations.

–Knowing the weighted average and variances for each activity allows the project planner to compute the probability of meeting different project durations.

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Benefits of a Change Control System

1.Inconsequential changes are discouraged
by the formal process.

2.Costs of changes are maintained in a log.

3.Integrity of the WBS and performance measures
is maintained.

4.Allocation and use of budget and management reserve funds are tracked.

5.Responsibility for implementation is clarified.

6.Effect of changes is visible to all parties involved.

7.Implementation of change is monitored.

8.Scope changes will be quickly reflected in baseline and performance measures.

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Risk - Change Control System Process

1.Identify proposed changes.

2.List expected effects of proposed changes
on schedule and budget.

3.Review, evaluate, and approve or disapprove
of changes formally.

4.Negotiate and resolve conflicts of change, condition, and cost.

5.Communicate changes to parties affected.

6.Assign responsibility for implementing change.

7.Adjust master schedule and budget.

8.Track all changes that are to be implemented

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Risk Management Benefits

•A proactive rather than reactive approach.

•Reduces surprises and negative consequences.

•Prepares the project manager to take advantage
of appropriate risks.

•Provides better control over the future.

•Improves chances of reaching project performance objectives within budget and on time.

•Step 1: Risk Identification

–Generate a list of possible risks through brainstorming, problem identification and risk profiling.

•Macro risks first, then specific events

•Step 2: Risk Assessment

–Scenario analysis for event probability and impact

–Risk assessment matrix

–Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

–Probability analysis

•Decision trees, NPV, and PERT

–Semiquantitative scenario analysis

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Impact × Probability × Detection = Risk Value

•Step 3: Risk Response Development

–Mitigating Risk

•Reducing the likelihood an adverse event will occur.

•Reducing impact of adverse event.

–Avoiding Risk

•Changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or condition.

–Transferring Risk

•Paying a premium to pass the risk to another party.

•Requiring Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) provisions.

–Retaining Risk

•Making a conscious decision to accept the risk.

•Contingency Plan

–An alternative plan that will be used if a possible foreseen risk event actually occurs.

–A plan of actions that will reduce or mitigate the negative impact (consequences) of a risk event.

•Risks of Not Having a Contingency Plan

–Having no plan may slow managerial response.

–Decisions made under pressure can be potentially dangerous and costly.

Opportunity Management Tactics

•Exploit

–Seeking to eliminate the uncertainty associated with an opportunity to ensure that it definitely happens.

•Share

–Allocating some or all of the ownership of an opportunity to another party who is best able to capture the opportunity for the benefit of the project.

•Enhance

–Taking action to increase the probability and/or the positive impact of an opportunity.

•Accept

–Being willing to take advantage of an opportunity if it occurs, but not taking action to pursue it.

•Contingency Funds

–Funds to cover project risks—identified and unknown.

•Size of funds reflects overall risk of a project

–Budget reserves

•Are linked to the identified risks of specific work packages.

–Management reserves

•Are large funds to be used to cover major unforeseen risks (e.g., change in project scope) of the total project.

•Time Buffers

–Amounts of time used to compensate for unplanned delays in the project schedule.

•Severe risk, merge, noncritical, and scarce resource activities

•Step 4: Risk Response Control

–Risk control

•Execution of the risk response strategy

•Monitoring of triggering events

•Initiating contingency plans

•Watching for new risks

–Establishing a Change Management System

•Monitoring, tracking, and reporting risk

•Fostering an open organization environment

•Repeating risk identification/assessment exercises

•Assigning and documenting responsibility for managing risk

•Sources of Change

–Project scope changes

–Implementation of contingency plans

–Improvement changes

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Estimating Projects

Estimating Projects 

•Estimating

–The process of forecasting or approximating the time and cost of completing project deliverables.

–The task of balancing expectations of stakeholders and need for control while the project is implemented.

•Types of Estimates

–Top-down (macro) estimates: analogy, group consensus, or mathematical relationships

–Bottom-up (micro) estimates: estimates of elements
of the work breakdown structure

Importance of Estimating Time and Cost-

•To support good decisions.

•To schedule work.

•To determine how long the project should take and its cost.

•To determine whether the project is worth doing.

•To develop cash flow needs.

•To determine how well the project is progressing.

•To develop time-phased budgets and establish the project baseline.

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WBS

* This breakdown groups work packages by type of work within a deliverable and allows assignment of responsibility to an organizational unit. This extra step facilitates a system for monitoring project progress

 •WBS

–Facilitates evaluation of cost, time, and technical performance of the organization on a project.

–Provides management with information appropriate
to each organizational level.

–Helps in the development of the organization breakdown structure (OBS). which assigns project responsibilities to organizational units and individuals

–Helps manage plan, schedule, and budget.

–Defines communication channels and assists
in coordinating the various project elements.

•Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)

–Depicts how the firm is organized to discharge its work responsibility for a project.

•Provides a framework to summarize
organization work unit performance.

•Identifies organization units responsible
for work packages.

•Ties the organizational units
to cost control accounts.

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Managing Risk

Terms to be familiar with -

•Risk–Uncertain or chance events that planning can not overcome or control.

•Risk Management–A proactive attempt to recognize and manage internal events and external threats that affect the likelihood of a project’s success.

•What can go wrong (risk event).

•How to minimize the risk event’s impact (consequences).

•What can be done before an event occurs (anticipation).

•What to do when an event occurs (contingency plans).

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Defining The Project

Step 1:  Defining the Project Scope

•Project Scope

–A definition of the end result or mission of the project—a product or service for the client/customer—in specific, tangible, and measurable terms.

•Purpose of the Scope Statement

–To clearly define the deliverable(s) for the end user.

–To focus the project on successful completion
of its goals.

–To be used by the project owner and participants
as a planning tool and for measuring project success.

Step 2:  Establishing Project Priorities

Step 3:  Creating the Work Breakdown Structure

Step 4:  Integrating the WBS with the Organization

Step 5:  Coding the WBS for the Information System

Project Scope Checklist

1.Project objective

2.Deliverables

3.Milestones

4.Technical requirements

5.Limits and exclusions

6.Reviews with customer

•Scope Statements

–Also called statements of work (SOW)

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Creating a project plan - notes

What is the Project Net Work?

Project network is a network of activities to complete the project.  It is a flowchart of activity that graphically depicts the sequence, inter dependencies and start and finish date of the projects   It also includes the leads, lags, duration of the projects etc.

•Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment.

•Enhances communication among project participants.

•Provides an estimate of the project’s duration.

•Provides a basis for budgeting cash flow.

•Identifies activities that are critical.

•Highlights activities that are “critical” and can not be delayed.

•Help managers get and stay on plan.

What is an Activity?

An activity is part of the project network.  It is an element of project that requires time. 

Merge Activity?

An activity which follows a series of activities.  A series of activities merging into one activity.

–an activity that has two or more preceding activities on which it depends.

Parallel / Concurrent Activities?

Two or more activities occurring at the same time.  

–Activities that can occur independently and, if desired,
not at the same time.

Path ?

A sequence of connected dependent activities.

Critical Path?

A longest path of a project network.  Has no slacks. 

–the longest path through the activity network that allows for the completion of all project-related activities; the shortest expected time in which the entire project can be completed. Delays on the critical path will delay completion of the entire project.

Burst Activity?

Multiple number of activities following one activity.  

–an activity that has more than one activity immediately following it (more than one dependency arrow flowing from it).

Basic Rules to follow in Developing Project Networks?

Each activity will have a unique number.  Numbers will increase as the diagram progresses. No loops.  

1.Networks typically flow from left to right.

2.An activity cannot begin until all preceding connected activities are complete.

3.Arrows indicate precedence and flow
and can cross over each other.

4.Each activity must have a unique identify number that is greater than any of its predecessor activities.

5.Looping is not allowed.

6.Conditional statements are not allowed.

7.Use common start and stop nodes.

ES, EF, ET, LS, SF, SL?

ES:  Early Start

EF:  Early Finish

ET:  Estimated Time Duration for that activity

LS:  Late Start

LF:  Late Finish

SL:  Slack

Forward Pass Computation?

–How soon can the activity start? (early start—ES)

–How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—EF)

–How soon can the project finish? (expected time—ET)

•Add activity times along each path in the network (ES + Duration = EF).

•Carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity where it becomes its early start (ES) unless…

•The next succeeding activity is a merge activity, in which case the largest EF of all preceding activities is selected.

Backward Pass Computation?

–How late can the activity start? (late start—LS)

–How late can the activity finish? (late finish—LF)

–Which activities represent the critical path?

–How long can activity be delayed? (slack or float—SL)

•Subtract activity times along each path in the network (LF - Duration = LS).

•Carry the late start (LS) to the next activity where it becomes its late finish (LF) unless

•The next succeeding activity is a burst activity, in which case the smallest LF of all preceding activities is selected.

Sensitivity?

–The likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated.

–The critical path is the network path(s) that has (have) the least slack in common.

Activities on critical path.

Have no slack

Laddering?

–Activities are broken into segments so the following activity can begin sooner and not delay the work.

Lags?
Use of Lags?

–The minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

•Lengthy activities are broken down to reduce the delay
in the start of successor activities.

•Lags can be used to constrain finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish, or combination relationships.

Hammock activity?

–An activity that spans over a segment of a project.

–Duration of hammock activities is determined
after the network plan is drawn.

–Hammock activities are used to aggregate
sections of the project to facilitate getting
the right amount of detail for specific sections
of a project.

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