Effective Project Management: Strategies and Best Practices
Project Management Fundamentals
Project: A non-recurring set of clearly defined activities to achieve one or more objectives within a defined timeframe.
Project Management: The philosophy that defines the methodology for managing and implementing the computerization of an organization.
Advantages of Project Management
- Order at work, facilitating team production.
- Easy evaluation.
- Greater control and exploitation of resources.
- Defined and formal communication channels.
- Easy work division based on responsibility and capacity.
Disadvantages of Project Management
- Higher setup and maintenance costs.
- Greater resource management efforts.
- Potential loyalty and suspicion issues when involving staff from other departments.
Project management, especially in computerization or automation, involves many factors and resources, often with high budget allocations.
Key Areas of Focus
Project Management Environment
Activities linking the project with the rest of the organization, including ongoing communication with senior management for support.
Overall Project Management
Activities for planning, developing, controlling, and evaluating the project.
Activity Management Team
Focus on achieving higher team productivity.
Project Planning Stages
Definition of Objectives
Defining the end product to identify scope and eliminate false expectations.
Risks of not defining objectives:
- Projects may never end due to added functions and requirements.
- The project may not meet user or customer needs.
Goals should be documented and ratified as a contract.
Selection and Allocation of Team Members and Roles
Involving people directly and indirectly in the project’s development.
Technical Area Roles:
- Implementers: Programmers and designers.
- Experts from the field: Those with domain knowledge.
- Technical Reviewers: Those who review the implementation.
- Consultants: Experts providing support.
Socio-Political Area Roles:
- Team Leader: Leads the working group.
- Facilitator: Manages meetings and takes a holistic view.
- Documenter: Records meetings and maintains project documentation.
- Administrator: Controls project progress.
- Contact: Liaison between the team and the administrator.
- Executive Sponsor: Provides political support within the organization.
Project Risk Assessment
Assessing risks and establishing measures to reduce them.
Estimating and Scheduling Project Activities
Defining the detailed project plan, including activities, resources, time, and sequence.
Gantt Charts:
Simple visual representation of project progress, but difficult to integrate critical resources.
PERT Charts:
Plotting activities through nodes and arrows, identifying the critical path.
Advantages:
- Identifies activity precedence.
- Identifies the critical path.
- Facilitates resource management.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Activities to track progress, performed as scheduled.
Minimum requirements:
- Check if activities occurred as planned.
- Determine reasons for delays.
- Control quality.
Key reports: Work reports, change reports, and general status reports.
Report objectives:
- Avoid overwhelming management with excessive detail.
- Show comparisons and deviations from planned targets.
- Include recommendations for corrective actions.
Documentation should include:
Project Name: Purpose: Description of what will be designed: Time to be held in the project: A definition of what is considered included. A description of what is ‘out’ of the system.
Software Project Development
The software project manager oversees the following stages:
Current Situation analysis and requirements definition, design, implementation, testing, and revision.
Strategies for Project Managers
- Divide and Conquer: Divide large projects into smaller ones, using a top-down approach.
- Spiral Lifecycle: Adapt to changes with mini-project lifecycles.
- Object-Oriented Technology: Use object-oriented programming, analysis, and design.
- Rapid Prototyping Tools: Quickly model and evaluate prototypes.
- Incremental Progress Assessment: Assess, test, and release modules incrementally.
- Teamwork Organization: Maximize synergy between human creativity and technology.
Formal Organization: Organizational Styles
- By Project: Dedicated team from start to finish.
- Functional: Activities by area, relocating people as needed.
- Matrix: Combination of the above, with project managers and functional area administration.
Management Styles
- Participative Management: Members actively participate in all tasks.
- Autocratic Administration: Centralized direction with reduced communication.
- Hierarchical Administration: Project leader oversees administrative and technical activities.
Team Development Stages
Created Stages
- Stage 1: Orientation: Understanding the purpose of the team.
- Stage 2: Develop Trust: Getting to know team members and expectations.
- Stage 3: Clarification of Goals and Functions: Understanding what to do.
- Stage 4: Commitment: Making decisions about structure and resource use.
Maintenance Stages
- Stage 5: Implementation: Defining who does what, where, and when.
- Stage 6: High Performance: Responding intuitively and flexibly.
- Stage 7: Renewal: Rejuvenating the team.
Effective Teamwork Techniques
Techniques to gather information and develop user needs:
- Workshop with the User: Structured meetings involving users.
- Interviews: Collecting accurate and timely information.
Is the organization involved in such changes in attitudes and behaviors of employees who can potentially contribute to the objectives of the organization, have important knowledge, but with an emotional development that prevents or hinders them teamwork?
Yes, professional development programs are important for improving communication and personal skills.
The Role of Project Manager
The new project manager must have a systemic view and proactive ability to anticipate needs.
Alliances as a Working Strategy
Creating partnerships between organizations to lower development costs.
Evaluation and Control of Projects
Monitoring and evaluation must be well-defined at the beginning of the project, with ongoing documentation.
Project management is a complex task, based on clear management of human resources, individual performance, and teamwork. A trained and motivated staff will lead to success.