Project Management Fundamentals
Information Systems
An information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components working together to collect, retrieve, process, store, and distribute information to facilitate planning, control, coordination, analysis, and decision-making in companies and other organizations.
The Five Management Functions
- Plan
- Organize
- Control
- Leading
- Coordinate
Project Management
Project management covers two major problems:
- Effective performance of management functions to achieve results under severe restrictions.
- Administer a system within another, whether permanent or temporary.
Roles of PMI
- Establish a code of ethics
- Establish a code of conduct
- Recommend best practices
Extensions of the Application of PMBOK
- For a specific category of projects
- To answer specific contracts
- Additions are complementary and not substitutive
- How to
- Guidelines and practice
- New inputs, tools, techniques, and outputs
Definition of a Project
- A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
- A temporary endeavor of progressive development.
Project Management
It is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to perform activities and meet the requirements of the project.
The Project Manager
The Project Manager is responsible for the achievement of project objectives.
Managing a Project Includes
- Identify needs
- Establish clear and achievable goals
- Balancing conflicting demands and facing restrictions
- Addressing different concerns and expectations of stakeholders
- Identifying and solving problems
Managing a Project Means
Administering a triple constraint – scope, time, and cost.
Program
A program is a group of related projects, managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits that would not be available if they were managed individually.
Project Office – PMO
An organizational unit that centralizes and coordinates project management under its rule. The PMO focuses on planning, prioritization, and coordinated implementation of projects. PMOs can operate continuously, providing support to management or managing the projects directly.
Life Cycles
Projects can be divided into phases for better control. Together, the phases are known as the life cycle. The life cycle defines the phases that connect the beginning of the project to its end.
Deliverables
The PMBOK defines a deliverable as a tangible or verifiable product of work. Deliverables characterize the evolution of design.
Stakeholders
- They are people and organizations actively involved in a project.
- They are people and organizations whose interests may be affected.
- They influence the goals, results, and progress of projects.
Management Processes
Management processes are divided into five groups:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring and Control
- Closing
The Nine Areas of PMBOK Processes
- Integration
- Scope
- Time
- Cost
- Quality
- HR
- Communication
- Risks
- Acquisitions
Procedures and Good Practices
PMBOK documents the information necessary to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, control, and close a project. PMBOK also identifies project management processes recognized as good practice. The processes identified in the PMBOK apply globally and in any industry.
What Does the Project Charter Include?
- Project
- Sponsor
- Manager
- Client
- Basic Team
- Support Team
- Project Mission
- Assumptions
- Restrictions
- Scope
- Exclusions
- Estimated Term
- Estimated Budget
Project Scope
Work that needs to be done to deliver a product, service, or result.
Product Scope
Features and functions that describe a product, service, or result.
Scope
Subdivision of the major project deliverables into smaller components.
Activity
Tasks that might be used to produce the deliverable.
Procedures for Managing the Project Scope
- Scope Planning: Creation of a management plan that documents the project scope, how the scope will be defined, checked, and tested, and how the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) is created and defined.
- Definition/Statement of Scope: The scope statement shows the product, service, or result set for planning and their byproducts or sub-results.
- Create WBS (Work Breakdown Structure): WBS is a group of components of the project-oriented deliverable. Items with the lowest level of the WBS are known as work packages. WBS is the main result of the decomposition process. WBS is a hierarchical representation of the design work. WBS is an extremely useful tool for project management and therefore highly valued by PMI.
- Scope Verification: Formalizes the acceptance of the deliverables of the project after its completion.
- Scope Control: Specifies how to manage changes in project scope (PDCA).
Time Management
Time management in a project includes the processes, tools, and techniques used to conduct the project on time and within the estimated time.
Time
Effort measured in units of time (hours, days, weeks, etc.).
Term
Distribution of time in a calendar.
Time Management Processes
- Definition of Activity: It is the identification and documentation of work to be done in the work packages.
- Sequencing of Activities: It is the identification and documentation of logical relationships between activities of work packages decomposed from a scope. The logic of sequencing involves dependence relationships between activities.
- Estimated Resources for Activities: It is the determination of the amount of resources needed to implement the activities. Resources are understood as: people, equipment, materials.
- Activity Duration Estimating: It is the process of calculating the duration of activities involving people’s work or maturation processes. The calculation of effort or commitment is relevant to the processes performed by people. The duration of an activity can be affected by risk factors.
- Schedule Development: The process of organizing (distributing) effort measured in a calendar. The distribution of units of time in the schedule should be realistic and formalized. The schedule must be acceptable to team members and stakeholders.
- Schedule Control: Relates to the progress of work and any changes to the schedule (PDCA).