OPMA 5364 Project Management Part 4 Starting & Planning a Project Topic Outline: Starting & Planning a Project • • • • • • • • • • • • Project launch meeting Identifying necessary activities Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Estimating activity durations Identifying necessary resources Project budgeting Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches Project planning exercise Learning curves Project action plan Responsibility chart Interface map Part 4 - Project Planning 2 Project Launch Meeting PM should first meet with the senior manager who will be responsible for the project. Why? Next, a project launch meeting should be held. What is the purpose of this initial meeting? Who should be invited? What should be the results of this meeting? Part 4 - Project Planning 3 Project Planning Process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Clearly define project objective (scope) Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Estimate time needed for each task Determine resources needed for each task Estimate cost needed for each task Develop project schedule and budget (adjust as needed) Part 4 - Project Planning 4 Project Scope A clear project scope definition provides the guidelines that are used to develop your project plan. Project Scope Checklist: • Project objectives (purpose, due date, budget) • Deliverables (at each major phase of project) • Milestones (significant events in the project) • Technical requirements • Limits and exclusions (who, what, how) • Review with customer (agreement on expectations) Example of project scope statement Part 4 - Project Planning 5 Identifying Necessary Activities • Start by identifying major-level activities or tasks • Then each major task can be broken down into subtasks • Project team members can be responsible for breaking down different major activities • Then each subtask is broken down to lowerlevel tasks, and so on until you have basic workunit levels (work packages) that will be assigned • Result: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Part 4 - Project Planning 6 Mind Maps • Mind maps are a tool to help identify all the necessary activities in a project • It’s a type of brainstorming tool • The mind mapping process can bring out more ideas than simply making a list • It engages the team and generates enthusiasm • It brings out quieter team members • Mind mapping can be fast, compared to an outlining or listing approach Part 4 - Project Planning 7 Mind Map for Project Planning Registration Transportation Promotion 10K run to raise $50K for homeless shelter Route Prizes/recognition Clean-up Refreshments Safety Facilities Part 4 - Project Planning 8 Mind Map for WBS Investigate past events Interview running club members Produce ads TV and radio ads Research Promotion Purchase air time Monitor airings Flyers Print Design Mailings Mail promo Distribute Prepare mailing To schools To sports retailers Acquire address lists Part 4 - Project Planning 9 Work Breakdown Structure • Either shown graphically in a tree structure, or as index numbers listed beside activities • Entire project is Level 0; the major-level activities are Level 1; and so on • Index numbers identify level of the task in the tree structure • WBS # 4.2.5 indicates that the task is at Level 3 (3 decimal places) and is the 5th sub-subtask under the 2nd subtask under the 4th major activity Part 4 - Project Planning 10 WBS Tree Structure Level Carnival Beth 0 1 1 Volunteers Joan 2.1 2 3 Posters Bob 2 Promotion Beth 2.2 Newspaper Beth 3 Games Tom 4 5 Entertain. Jill Rides Kyle 2.3 Tickets Mark 5.1 Grandstand Mark 5.1.1 Stage Alan 5.1.2 Sound Ben Part 4 - Project Planning 6 Food Bob 5.2 Performers Jill 5.1.3 Seating Mark 11 WBS Activity List WBS 1 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 3 4 5 5.1 5.1.1 5.1.2 5.1.3 5.2 6 Activity Carnival Volunteers Promotion Posters Newspaper Tickets Games Rides Entertainment Grandstand Stage Sound Seating Performers Food Part 4 - Project Planning 12 WBS for Promotion Example Level 1 Task Level 2 Tasks Level 3 Tasks 1. Promotion 1.1 Research 1.1.1 Investigate past events 1.1.2 Interview running club members 1.2 TV and radio ads 1.2.1 Produce ads 1.2.2 Purchase air time 1.2.3 Monitor airings 1.3 Mailings 1.3.1 Acquire mailing lists 1.3.2 Prepare mailings 1.3.3 Mail promotional materials 1.4 Flyers 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.4.4 Design flyers Print Distribute to schools Distribute to sports retailers Part 4 - Project Planning 13 Estimating Activity Durations Two Approaches 1. Bottom-up estimate: Ask the person responsible for each low-level task how long they think it will take. This assumes a given amount of resources. 2. Top-down estimate: Based on the project due date, tell the person responsible for each lowlevel task how much time they are allotted to do the task. They must then determine how much resources are needed to meet the deadline. Part 4 - Project Planning 14 Estimating Activity Durations For a given amount of resources, how can you estimate a task duration? • use the expert’s best guess (person doing task) • use past data, if task has been done before • use engineering standards or work standards • dissect task into different elements and estimate time needed for each element The task time estimate should reflect the most likely time needed to do the task. Part 4 - Project Planning 15 Identifying Necessary Resources To complete a task within a given amount of time, what resources will be required? • How many and what types of employees • What facilities • What equipment • What materials and supplies • What services • What information and technologies Part 4 - Project Planning 16 Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Budgets • Top-Down Budgeting: Senior management decides how much they think the project should cost, and that becomes the total project budget. The budget is then divided among the activities. – Advantages and disadvantages? • Bottom-Up Budgeting: Cost estimates for each task are solicited from those responsible for the tasks. These estimates are rolled up for all activities to get the total project budget. – Advantages and disadvantages? Part 4 - Project Planning 17 Estimating Activity Costs • Estimates for both time and cost of activities should be done with same approach, either topdown or bottom-up (or somewhere in between) • Two initial budget estimates may be developed for some projects, a top-down and a bottom-up. Which will most likely be higher? Why? • The project manager must then negotiate with senior management to finalize the budget • Tradeoffs may be necessary between the cost, due date, and the extent and quality of outputs Part 4 - Project Planning 18 Baseline Plan • The finalized budget, time estimates, and resulting project schedule are the basis for the baseline plan. • The baseline plan lays out the target levels of progress and performance at the outset of the project execution phase. • It is the basis for assessing project performance throughout the project • Project tracking utilizes the baseline plan to provide the project manager with a control tool Part 4 - Project Planning 19 Project Planning Exercise Coffee House Implementation Project • Divide into small groups • Your group has decided to form a partnership and open a new coffee house in an old restaurant building in downtown Fort Worth . The project starts now and ends in 12 weeks when the coffee house opens for business. • Assignment: (40 minutes) – Develop a list of necessary activities (use mind map) – Estimate the duration of each activity – Decide what resources are needed for each activity – Estimate the budget to start the new coffee house Part 4 - Project Planning 20 Project Action Plan For each activity, action plan should at least show • Activity name • Time duration estimate • Start date • Immediate predecessor activity • Resources needed Optionally, it might also show finish date, WBS index, cost, slack time, latest finish date, etc. Part 4 - Project Planning 21 Action Plan in Microsoft Project ID Task Name Duration Start Predec. Resourc 1 Proj. approval 0 days 2 Script writing 14 days 3/1/04 3/19/04 1 SW 3 Sched. shoots 17 days 3/1/04 3/24/04 1 C,P,S 4 Script approval 8 days 3/19/04 3/31/04 2 C,P 5 Revise script 5 days 3/31/04 P,SW 6 Shooting 10 days 3/1/04 Finish 3/1/04 4/7/04 4 4/7/04 4/21/04 3,5 P,S,SW 7 Editing 7 days 4/21/04 4/30/04 6 E,ER 8 Final approval 2 days 4/30/04 5/4/04 7 C,P,E 9 Deliver to client 0 days 5/4/04 5/4/04 8 C=client, E=editor, ER=editing room, P=producer, S=secretary, SW=scriptwriter Part 4 - Project Planning 22 Learning Curves • What is the learning phenomenon? • Under what circumstances is worker learning important to consider and plan for? • How does the learning curve phenomenon affect budgeting? • How are task durations estimated when worker learning is relevant? Part 4 - Project Planning 23 Task Times With Learning Time to produce nth unit with 85% learning: Unit# Time 1 43 2 4 8 16 Part 4 - Project Planning 24 Learning Curve Formula Time to produce the nth unit, learning rate LR: Tn = T1(n)r where r = (log LR)/(log 2) or r = (ln LR)/(ln 2) So, the 8th unit with 85% learning & T1=43: r = (ln 0.85)/(ln 2) = T8 = T1(n)r = 43(8)-0.2345 = Part 4 - Project Planning 25 Learning Curve Tables • Time to produce 8th unit: T8 = T1*(unit time factor from table) T8 = • Total time to produce first 8 units: T1-8 = T1*(total time factor from table) T1-8 = Part 4 - Project Planning 26 Example Situation • A firm has a project to produce 21 units of a new part for a customer. • The firm’s typical learning rate is 85%. • The first unit of the part that was produced (the prototype) required 43 hours to make. • Labor cost is $27 per hour. • Pricing policy is 3 times the total labor cost. • How much should customer be charged? Part 4 - Project Planning 27 Learning Curve Tables How much should firm charge for job? T1-21 = What if customer wants 4 additional units? Part 4 - Project Planning 28 Learning Curve Tables T1-25 = T22-25 = T1-25 – T1-21 = price for #22-25 or Do learning curves help justify volume discounts? Part 4 - Project Planning 29 Project Charter (or Project Master Plan) Agreed-upon, legally binding project plan (the final plan) 1. Overview 2. Objectives 3. General approach 4. Contractual aspects 5. Schedules 6. Resources and budgets 7. Personnel 8. Evaluation methods 9. Potential problems Part 4 - Project Planning 30 Project Charter 1. Overview • Intended for senior management • Brief description of project & deliverables • List of major milestones • Likely profitability & competitive impacts 2. Objectives • Purpose of project • More detailed description of deliverables • Could be in the form of a project mission statement Part 4 - Project Planning 31 Project Charter 3. General Approach • Technical and managerial approaches • Relationship with other projects 4. Contractual Aspects • Description of all agreements (client, others) • Reporting requirements, technical specs, delivery dates, penalties, process for changes Part 4 - Project Planning 32 Project Charter 5. Schedules • Outline of all schedules and milestones • Project action plan, WBS 6. Resource Requirements • All capital and operating expenses • Cost monitoring and control procedures Part 4 - Project Planning 33 Project Charter 7. Personnel • What types of personnel are needed and when • Skill requirements, necessary training, security clearances, nondisclosure agreements 8. Evaluation Methods • Descriptions of all procedures and standards for evaluating project—how information will be collected, stored, monitored Part 4 - Project Planning 34 Project Charter 9. Potential Problems • List of potential risks to project progress • Contingency planning may prevent or soften the impacts of some problems Small or routine projects may not need all 9 of these elements in the project charter, but larger projects should have them. Part 4 - Project Planning 35 Responsibility Chart • Often called Linear Responsibility Chart or Responsibility Matrix • Shows who has primary responsibility for each task • Can also show who provides support, who must be notified upon completion, who must give final approval, who is the backup person, etc. • It lets everyone see their roles throughout the project Part 4 - Project Planning 36 Responsibility Chart WBS Activity Beth Joan Bob Carnival P S S P S Mark Tom Kyle Jill S S S Alan Ben 1 Volunteers 2 Promotion 2.1 Posters 2.2 Newspaper 2.3 Tickets 3 Games P S 4 Rides S P 5 Entertainment S S 5.1 Grandstand 5.1.1 Stage P S 5.1.2 Sound S P 5.1.3 Seating P S S 5.2 Performers S 6 Food P P S S P S S S P P S P S P P P = Primary responsibility; S = Support responsibility Part 4 - Project Planning 37 Interface Map • Shows who each person or department must interface with and why • Shows participants how they fit in with other parts of the project • Facilitates coordination • Allows for early identification of potentially troublesome interfaces (personality clashes) • New interface maps can be developed for different phases of the project Part 4 - Project Planning 38 Interface Map Adapted from: Bailetti, Callahan, and DiPietro, Nov. 1994, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management Review Review Program manager Review Technical overview Project schedule Create Use Review contribute Project manager Create Use Use Review Chip schedule Chip manager Process file Create Use Cell library Use Use Create Use Test vectors Use Chip specification Process technology Manufacturing Use Design team Layout Review Use Use Create Cell library group Create Layout specialist Create Chip design High level design Schematic Netlist Use Verification plan Verification vectors Simulation prelayout Part 4 - Project Planning Simulation postlayout 39