PROJECT MANAGEMENT I

II. REQUIREMENTS AND PROJECT CHARTERS

1. LANGUAGE FOR GIVING DIRECTIONS 

A project charter says what the project will be and gives authority for the project.

An SOW is short for Statement of Work, which states the products or services to be delivered.

A project scope statement shows the objectives and limits of the project.

A project management plan shows how the project will be executed and controlled.

NOTES FOR MEETING

Documentation

• Status of contract – signed yet?
• Project charter has been approved but we are waiting for contract signing
• Check with client about any change in requirements
• Progress of SOW – financial department hasn’t completed the detailed report on costs, also check with client that proposed completion dates are OK

Project team

• Check availability for meetings
• Assign members to gather information
• Ask for help in completing project management plan
• Meet on Friday to confirm that all tasks are complete

First, we must check with the client that there are no changes to requirements
After that, we can make amendments to the documentation, if necessary.
Second, we must check that the project charter is ready and the contract is ready to be signed.
Next, we must complete the project management plan.
Finally, we must meet on Friday to check that all tasks are complete.

PM (Project manager):  There’s still a lot of work to do before we get through this stage of the project and implementation can begin. I’ve got a list of tasks we need to complete by our next meeting. First , I need someone to visit the client and make sure that they have no extra requirements or changes.

Tim:  I’ll do that. There might be some engineering changes so it would make sense for me to be there.

PM:  OK, thanks, Tim. And, David, you go with Tim, please. After that , can you bring me up to date with any changes as soon as possible?

David:  Yes, sure.

PM:  Next , I want to make sure that all the documentation is on track for completion and  I’d like one person to be in charge of updating everything throughout the project. Any volunteers?

Karen:  Me. That was one of my roles in our last project.

PM:  Excellent, Karen. Finally , let’s schedule our next meeting for Friday.

bring up to date (with) - вводить в курс дела 
completion - завершение 
throughout - на протяжении 
schedule for - назначить на 


What does the project scope statement say about this?

Once they sign off, implementation can begin.

You can find more information in the project charter.

The SOW is ready for review.

We'll refer to the project management plan.


2. LANGUAGE FOR STATING REQUIREMENTS 


Requirements 

provide computerized control system 
supply automated assembly line (сборочная линия) 
provide all installation services 
pay for project insurance 
provide training 


Constraints

health and safety regulations 
strict time deadlines 
size of floor area in the factory 
restricted finance available 

technical changes
safety approval
plans for the electrical system
a deadline change
a project communication plan

List of tasks for this week

I’d like to see some progress with the revised schedule.

It is essential that we complete all the documentation by the end of the week, and we

 must have it approved by the client as soon as possible.

We will have a visit from their senior engineer next Wednesday, so our priority 

 is that all technical documentsare completed by then.

It is also  crucial  that the whole team is aware of any changes which have been agreed

 to so that they canbe taken into account when we are doing any planning.

Please let me know your availability for meetings this month.

crucial - критичный

Project manager (PM):  We must make sure that all the client’s requirements have been correctly documented. It is essential that we don’t make any mistakes at this stage.

Team member (TM):  I agree. I think we require a little more time to go over everything in detail with the engineers.

PM:  OK. Let me know how much time you’ll need to do that. I think it’s crucial that we complete this stage of the project by the end of the month.

TM:  OK, shall we make that a definite deadline ? That will put pressure on the engineers to get the work done in good time.

PM:  Good idea. Especially as we identified the requested change in the project completion date as one of the key constraints of the project.

TM:  And the other priority at the moment is to improve communication between our team and the client’s team.

PM:  Yes, let’s discuss that while we get coffee.

TM:  Ah yes, another project requirement !

constraint - ограничения 


3. LANGUAGE FOR COLLABORATING

A project manager is responsible for planning and running a project.

A stakeholder is involved in or is affected by a project.

A team leader guides, monitors and leads a team.

A key contact point is the main contact in a company or team.

A consultant provides expert help and advice in a particular area.

A contractor provides independent services or goods.

The project manager is responsible for successful completion of the project.
Tim Eriksson will communicate with the team at Jenkinson’s.
He will also be coordinating with Jonathan Ford.
The contractors are represented by Birgitte Malling.
The consultants will be collaborating with us in the area of safety.
I will be in charge of the smooth running of the project.

Project management: Your questions answered

Question:  What are the best ways to report the status of the project to all the stakeholders? How often should it be done?

Great question about a very important topic! Some companies have project management systems which send automatic reports to selected stakeholders at key points in the project. You should check whether your company has this type of system.

If not, you need to think about the frequency and targeting of your reports. In other words, how often and who to? Remember that it isn’t necessary to send reports to everyone about everything.  External stakeholders may not need daily updates, for example, but some people working on the project inside your company may need these at some points in the project life cycle.

You might decide that weekly updates are the way to go. In my projects this is quite common and I think it is often the ideal frequency. I like team members to send their updates to me, if I’m the project manager, and I consolidate them and send them out to all the people who need this information. Targeting the updates means that they have a good chance of being read. If you send everything to everyone, it’s possible that nobody will read them.

Don’t put too much information in your status reports, by the way. First, ensure that you always use a consistent (согласующийся) project title on all documents. Then, make a short, direct statement about the status of the project and, after that, list key tasks achieved this week. Then have another list which shows key tasks for next week. Last, include a list of any problems or risks to the project.


Project:
Project status:
Key achievements this week:
Key tasks next week:
Risk and significant issues: 


Who's our key contact point at the engineering firm?

You'll need to coordinate with the rest of the team.

This will be a real achievement for the company.

We'll meet with the stakeholders next week.

We'll collaborate with an award-winning designer.


III. WORK BREAKDOWN AND SCHEDULE 


1. LANGUAGE FOR DESCRIBING TASKS 

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Based on the new deadline approved by our stakeholder, we are expected to deliver a finalized design of the automated assembly line within 12 weeks. This puts us on a very tight schedule.

It is essential for us to decide on the WBS as soon as possible.

In our kickoff meeting tomorrow, we’re going to look into the design process , break it down into work packages, and make sure that the activities are manageable . The work packages will then be assigned.

See you all at 4 p.m. in Meeting Room B.

PM (Project manager):  As you’ve been informed, we’re expected to have the design ready in 3 months. So there’s a lot of planning for us to do. How should we break down the design process ?

Tim:  The first work package should be field measurement, of course. After it's completed, structure design can begin.

Karen:  Yes, and after that, we’ll need assembly and operation design.

PM:  Well, based on our previous projects, that might not be a manageable work package for a factory of this size. Maybe we should split them up.

David:  I agree. Operation design should follow assembly design.  Lastly, we also need to design an emergency procedure.

PM:  OK, let’s recap. Looks like we’ve got the design process down to five packages, field measurement, structure, assembly design, operation design, and emergency procedure. Good, let’s move on. Now what are the activitiesinvolved in field measurement?

2. LANGUAGE FOR ASSIGNING TASKS 

write a report
have a meeting with engineers 
set up a time with the factory 
check engineers' availability 
get company production schedule 

Field measurement - Karen needs to contact the factory and should check engineers’ availability before that.

Structure design - Tim will chedule a meeting with our engineers and  should provide a report forour client after the meeting.

Assembly design - David will get the company’s production schedule for the next six months.

Everyone must send an estimation of how long their work packages will take to the project manager.

Tim: Can I talk to you for a second?

PM (Project manager): Sure, Tim. What’s going on?

Tim: You know I need to work on other projects as well at the moment, and looking at my tasks, I’m afraid it’s going to be really hard for me to complete the structure design in four weeks, which is what we need to do.

PM: I understand that your workload is heavy at the moment, but this project is high priority.

Tim: Yes, I understand that. It’s just that I have to go to different sources to collect information for the meeting and the duration estimate, which really takes time. But you know as a resource myself, I am also limited.

PM: I know what you mean.  As project manager, I’m responsible for resource leveling, so I’ll make sure I don’t overwork you. Maybe I can get David to help you for now? He doesn’t have too much going on at the moment.

Tim: That could really help. Thank you.

Resource 

technical lead
senior engineer
assembly line
meeting room

Resource leveling (невелирование)

extend the deadline
assign extra people to a task
change the production schedule



We need to consider our stakeholders.

We need to balance the use of our resources.

The factory should be inspected annually.

The schedule is designed not to overwork employees.


3. LANGUAGE FOR SCHEDULING 

The early start date is the earliest time that an activity can start.

The late finish date is the latest time that an activity can finish.

Float is the total time you can lose in an activity before it causes delay.

A milestone is an event that usually marks the end of a work package or a phase.

Fast tracking means re-arranging some tasks so they can be done at the same time. It is a way to save time.

A critical path is a sequence of activities in a project that take the longest time to complete.

If Jenkinson’s approves the dates for measuring by tomorrow, it can save one week’s time.
The emergency procedure design can’t start if Tim doesn’t finish the structure design.

If the project team made a schedule based on their estimation, they would miss the deadline.

There will be less float in the schedule if emergency procedure design is fast-tracked.

If Jenkinson’s doesn’t allow us to measure the factory, we won't be able to complete the design.

If Tim completes the structure design on time, the assembly design will start on time, too.

If everything followed the schedule, the design would be delivered by the deadline.

If Jenkinson’s hired its own contractor, we wouldn't need to find one ourselves.

The project has a float of two weeks.

The earliest milestone is at the end of Week 2.
The early start date for assembly design is the beginning of Week 5.
The schedule of field measurement overlaps (перекрывать) with the schedule of structure design.

4. MANAGING CONFLICT

1. LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATING PROACTIVELY 

To flag an issue means to point out a problem.

To consider something means to think about something carefully.

To reconsider something means to think carefully about something again.

To pay special attention means to pay more attention than usual.

To discuss something further means to continue a discussion in greater detail and depth.

To regret means to feel sorry for something you did (or did not do).

The PM flagged an issue about some engineers leaving the project.
If they make any changes, then they will miss the deadline.
If the engineering team isn’t complete, then the structure design will be affected.
If there is a delay in Tim’s structure design, then the steps following it will be affected.
The PM would regret finishing the design before the three engineers leave.

Thank you for coming to this special meeting at short notice. I would like to flag an issue about our engineering team. Three of our engineers will be leaving for another project of higher priority next month.

So I think we should reconsider our project schedule. If we don’t make any changes, then there’ll be a very high risk of missing the deadline. We might want to pay special attention to the structure design stage, which really depends on a complete engineering team.

Tim, you might need to have the structure design ready by the middle of next month. I know this is difficult, but we’ll probably regret not finishing it before the three engineers leave. If there is a delay in your design, then the following work packages will be affected, too. I think we need to discuss this further .

I would like to flag an issue.
We should reconsider the schedule as three engineers are leaving.
You might need to pay special attention to the structure design.
We could discuss the resources further after the meeting.
You might want to talk to your engineers. 

2. LANGUAGE FOR PERSUASION 

work overtime

fast track the project

cut unimportant tasks

extend the deadline

recruit extra people

They have talked about the possible delay of Tim’s work package before.
Tim’s work package is not on the critical path.
In past projects, the stakeholders usually agreed to extend the deadline.
The project manager remembered that the deadline has been changed once.
It is company policy that people will receive extra money if they work on the weekends.

If I remember correctly, Jenkinson’s has already changed the technical requirements once.
Based on past experience, a float of two weeks is usually enough.
According to the contract, we are expected to provide training on using the assembly line at Jenkinson’s.
As we have discussed before you might want to complete the task by next Tuesday.

If I remember correctly, Tim has been the technical lead in at least three other projects.

I’ve checked with our engineers. They’ll consider working on the weekends, but they’re worried that the increased workloadwill lead to low productivity.

Even if they work overtime, the running of the design software, which takes a long time, can’t be finished before thethree engineers leave. They can make some changes to the software to save time, but this is likely to  result inmore errors, and they will  end up spending more time to fix them.

It seems that rushing the engineers may cause more problems. I think we need to consider other ways to saveproject time.

Good results now will lead to more budgets in future.

Based on past experience, communication is crucial.

I suggest we recruit a new consultant.

Let's extend the deadline by two days.

If I remember correctly, we start tomorrow.

3. LANGUAGE FOR MANAGING CONFLICT

An alternative is a possible choice. It is needed when there is a resource or schedule conflict that requires a change of plan. For example, as three engineers are leaving the project soon, the engineering team is now asked to work overtime to finish early.

A constraint is a fact that does not allow certain things to happen. For example, the running of the design software takes a long time, so it doesn’t allow the engineers to finish early.

A potential problem is a possible issue that may happen in the future. For example, if the engineers work too much overtime, their productivity may be low.

PM (project manager):  As you know, we are trying to avoid a delay in the structure design. According to Tim, having the engineers work overtime won’t help. So what are our alternatives ?

David:  What if we fast track the assembly design? It can start early using a draft structure design.

PM:  What do you think are some potential problems ?

David:  Well, we may need to make big changes when the final design is ready.

PM:  Let's focus on the structure design stage for now. What else can we do?

Karen:  Why don't we recruit the engineers from that other project? You know, the one they’ve almost finished.

PM:  Good idea, but there’s a constraint . Our budget only allows two more engineers.

Karen:  Well, two should still be helpful.

PM:  OK. And a potential problem is that they know nothing about our project.

Tim:  Training shouldn’t take long. They are very experienced.

PM:  Great! I’ll ask their PM.

To: PM

From: James

Title: Alternatives to save project time 

Hi! I've been thinking about the situation and would like to share my thoughts with you. Why don't we cut some of the low priority tasks in the structure design process? Based on past experience, for example, three drafts are not always necessary. We might want to cut it down to two. This is easy to do and has no constraints. 

There could be a potential problem, though. Cutting one draft might introduce more errors, although not many, I hope. So the engineers would have to be extra careful. 

If you find this useful, we could discuss this further in the meeting.