"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 2

Last tip I covered step 1 - Carefully define the outcome from the project. This time we will look at step 2 - Defining and documenting requirements

The subject of requirements is one of the most discussed items in all of project management. It is also one of of the major causes of project failure. Even on small projects you must elicit the requirements to the point that they can be written down and well understood by everybody involved. There are three generic classes of requirements:

· Functional - This is what the application or final outcome must be able to do. Examples include: The new building must have a ladies' and men's washroom. The web page must allow viewers to submit questions via e-mail.

· Technical  - These are specific requirements that support functional requirements. For example, the webpage must be available to receive on-line orders 24 hours a day or the building must have a 240V service for the air compressor for the shop.

·Time Oriented - These define when key events must occur such as when the new restaurant must be ready to receive food shipments or when the webpage must be ready to handle orders.

The important point is that these requirements must be documented and validated with everybody involved. Technical requirements must be validated with the technical experts.

If you do not write the requirements down you run risk of doing too much work, delivering the wrong items, or missing a critical component. All of which will cost  you time, money, and angst. On small projects requirements can be jotted down on a punch list or written on a white board (Just don't erase it)   for all to see. On larger projects you will want to use a more formal method. Next week we will talk about plans and planning.

"Use checks and balances to manage project risks and issues."

Risk and issue management is by far one of the most important tasks for a project manager. Managing the risks and issues well is a critical success factor in delivering a successful project. To better manage the risks and issues, try setting up a process that employs checks and balances to manage the risk register and issue log. Assign different project team members to "own" the risk register and issue  issue log. This way, you as the Project Manager can utilize these tools outside the duties of maintaining them.  Thus you can look at them fresh each time you review them. Make sure the other team members are also reviewing these regularly and bring up concerns at project meetings

"The five basic steps you must do on a project" - Part 1

Most of our work is in the IT project space. But we all know that projects are performed in almost every business, even small businesses. Take for example a retail store that is relocating to a new space. That move fits the classical definition of a project. In smaller companies, these projects are done by the business owner or whoever might be available. So starting this week, I am going to introduce the five basic things you can do to ensure your project gets done the way you need it to. These tips apply to practically all projects. They are geared to the very basics that ensure success.

Step 1. - Carefully define the outcome from the project. Saying that we need to move to the new building is not enough. You need to determine exactly what the final output or result is. This will form a target that you can continually judge progress against to make sure you are on track. The outcome is your final result and should not be confused with requirements. I'll discuss those next week. An example of an outcome statement could be, " We need to move the entire store to the new Pottsylvania building by May 20th to be ready for the start of tourist season and because our current lease expires on May 31st." This statement establishes the what must happen, the why, and the bad thing that occurs if you miss the date. This helps focus the project on accomplishing those tasks that contribute to the goal and help avoids doing tasks that don't. This may seem too basic but it is a step I have seen skipped on both small and large projects with very disastrous results.

When you do create the outcome statement, I suggest that you write it down and give it to all of the people involved in your project, even vendors. If appropriate, a large poster with the outcome printed on it makes a good visual reminder to everybody involved.

 

A portfolio health analysis (health check) looks at all of the projects in the portfolio to ascertain if they will meet the goals the company established. Using the data gathered from the steps the company can now make adjustments to the portfolio as needed. The portfolio health analysis can be conducted at anytime but should be done at least two times a year. The portfolio analysis needs to look at six factors: Budget, schedule, resources, scope, priority, and strategic fit.

 

The health chack consists of six steps as follows:

 

1) Look at the projects underway, waiting to start, and completed vs what was planned

2) Look at the budget to date vs planned and actual spend to see if the entire

portfolio can be completed within budget

3) Determine if the resource utilization vs. forecast indicates a shortage of resources.

4) Check each project vs proposed scope to ensure there are no significant unapproved changes

5) Make sure that projects are being executed in accordance with the priorities

6) Check that projects aligned with the company strategy are still in alignment

Using the data gathered from the steps the company can now make adjustments to the portfolio as needed

Check out this week's tip on being prepared to handle project portfolio changes at http://bit.ly/c4nANt

Check out this week's tip on using an objective method to select and prioritize projects for the portfolio at http://bit.ly/c4nANt