subject: Project Management Integration in Practice from POME by Gautam KOppala [print this page] Project Management Integration in Practice
It underscored the important project management role of coordinating and creating linkages between the various kinds of knowledge, activities, and processesthe role of actually having to integrate all project processes to have an effective project meet its objective.
Project managers have learned through trial and error that project management is really an integrated series of processes and activities. These processes are iteratively applied by skilled project managers to effectively lead a project to its completion. On any given day the project managerwhile planning and managing a projectmust make decisions about needed resources, anticipate problems, and plan their resolution. Trade-offs made between conflicting objectives and the needed alternatives are also detailed within those groups. If the project processes have been properly integrated, the project manager will be tuned to all aspects of the project effort.
The need for integration among the project processes is evident wherever interfaces must be established for the processes to interact.This integration need is evident in a situation such as when a project is assigned a specific delivery date without any regard for the overall product scope. The project manager must identify any risks resulting from this approach and communicate that information to the stakeholders. The stakeholders and the project manager use that information to negotiate a decision on whether the schedule should be extended or to reduce the overall product scope to meet the original schedule. The project manager usually performs many activities concurrently during initiation, including the following:
Members of the project team are assigned to initial activities to analyze the scope and attempt to understand the requirements, as well as any assumptions, constraints, and potential risks.
The project manager, working with appropriate stakeholders, establishes an initial schedule.
Another major effort a project manager performs is setting initial customer expectations. If done effectively, subsequent efforts are facilitated when a consensus decision among the stakeholders must be negotiated on a difficult request. A fine-grained application of this is communicating risk mitigations, including any risks that can't be avoided or resolved.
Companies typically perform a feasibility study after the company is stimulated and becomes aware of a perceived opportunity. The organization uses various methods to make a decision to start a project, while attempting to establish value returned against the projected costs. The company may consider a project for various reasons, such as:
The high cost of fuel requires a more efficient and clean energy source. Analysis would be done to determine is there is a real market demand before the project is considered.
A company does a business process analysis on its billing and receiving system and finds several areas that are costing the company a great deal of money; therefore a new project is established to improve that system.
A company wants to enter the worldwide market and finds they are required to adhere to a new more restrictive standard to even enter the market in Europe or Asia.
A start-up wants to build a new ultra-small implantable medical device to aid patient mobility. A project can be started to research this idea and the impact of adding a hightech manufacturing facility.
The analysis process must also support picking alternative ways of executing the project to meet defined constraints, such as doing the project offshore or purchasing a turn-key system. The result is a Project Charter document and answers at a minimum the following questions4:
What is the relationship among what is being created and stimuli that causes the need?
What are the projected budget limits that will ensure a profit?
Who is the project manager and what is the authority level given for this project?
What is the initial milestone schedule and will it impact the cost
What are the first cut assumptions and constraints identified for the project?
During the upfront effort the project manager produces a preliminary scope document that defines the project and its expected result.5 This document addresses the project's characteristics and boundaries and its resulting products. Document content will vary depending upon the application area and project complexity; i.e., is the project building a terminal extension at an international airport, or is it building an online billing system for a pet supply company? The differences in product complexity and the required coordination efforts are very clear to see in this example. A skilled project manager must be able to identify the nuances in the scope of his/her project and respond appropriately to cover the project objectives; the product requirements; any acceptance criteria; assumptions, constraints, and risks; and any contract specifics, such as a non-negotiable delivery date.
The key tool a project manager uses to manage the project is the project management plan. However, the project manager must first perform all activities required to define, prepare, and integrate the activities in the project management plan. If is it an integrated cohesive plan, it will define all information about how the project will be executed, controlled, and closed. The required contents for a project management plan are fairly standard. It should essentially define what, who, the process, and when (with cost).
The whatthe project objective and deliverables.
The whothe personnel and resources required on the project.
The processthe project life cycle that will be incorporated into the plan. A diagram can be included to indicate needed process interactions.
The when/costthe scheduled due date for each deliverable, including all major milestones.
The project'sproduction and delivery locations.
Last but not least, anycommunication requirements. What is needed to build the stakeholders' support and keep them involved?
The project application area directly affects project execution more than any other project process. Deliverables are produced through the project team's effort as directed by the project manager. Also, during execution the team is acquired and trained if needed. Goods and tools may also be obtained so they can be used during project execution. The project manager manages the team, as the approved changes to the product are received and implemented. While managing all of this, the project manager also manages any technical and organizational interfaces required between the project and the rest of the organization. Documents produced during the project effort are also updated.
Monitoring the project requires the project manager to collect, measure, and analyze information, and to assess measurements to determine trends. Those trends are analyzed and project performance may be modified to reverse those trends. The project manager compares status data to the project management plan to determine whether the project will meet its planned objectives on the specified dates. The project manager also keeps detailed information on any identified risks to ensure the mitigation plans are implemented quickly enough to minimize negative impact to the project.
Change control is a fundamental integration concept, as it touches all project processes. Changes to the project documents and other deliverables are controlled by continually assessing any factors that cause changes and by controlling attempts at adhoc changes. The project manager controls factors around change control by identifying and approving only those changes that need to occur. The project manager does that by ensuring that any changes are completely documented and approved prior to allowing a baseline update.
An automated configuration management system supporting version control is an effective and efficient way to manage changes to project artifacts. An automated system typically supports a high level of security and controls baseline changes. A change control board is typically implemented in many companies to support and enforce integrated change control at the highest level in the company. A corporate configuration policy defines the change control board's responsibilities and the needed interaction with all projects.
How does the project manager know when to start the efforts needed to close a project? A skilled project manager knows that every project process must be properly performed, since each is needed to successfully lead to project completion. The project manager uses the closing processes to establish the integrated procedures to close and transfer a project's deliverables. Administrative and contractual activities must be defined and completed to officially close out a project or a project phase. When the project is closed, documentation and project data must be transferred to the corporate knowledgebase for future reference. The finished product must also be formally accepted by the customer as one of the last closing activities.
These closing procedures also establish the activities required if the project has to be cancelled before it successfully achieves its objectives. If a project is cancelled, there may be penalties or legal ramifications for the company, so project records and data are transferred to the appropriate authorities in the company to resolve those issues.
Concluded Note:
In practice, of course, there is no clear definition of how to integrate project processes, activities, and knowledge. The project manager's role is made both challengingand rewardingby the skill gained while attempting to manage the project to facilitate and monitor efforts for success. In fact, a case can be made that integration is the capstone skill for excellent project managersthe skill that, more than any other, reflects the project management role.
It is also clear that the various activities that the project manager performs are not individual one-time events. Rather, they are overlapping integrated processes which occur at varying levels throughout the project. The project manager must be proficient in the areas; however the project manager's experience really shows when he/she can skillfully integrate those areas to effectively deliver the project's desired results.
GAUTAM KOPPALA,
POME Author
Project Management Integration in Practice from POME by Gautam KOppala
