PMP Study Resources

Lesson Learned

2012-09-18T19:45:00.001+05:30

LESSON LEARNED –

· One critical type of documentation in project management is the development of a lessons learned knowledge base, to take full advantage of the learning opportunities provided by mistakes and poor judgement calls, it is necessary to identify and acknowledge them.

· This means you and your team members need to be comfortable admitting to errors rather than trying to ignore them or “sweep them under the rug”.

· Placing an emphasis on solving the issue rather than placing blame is a good way to encourage transparency in this area.

· It is also important to remember that lessons are also learned from perceptive choices and beneficial actions. These are patterns you will want to repeat in the future, so it is important to make note of them as well.

· Any aspect of the project management process can yield valuable lessons. For example, an unexpected problem may arise that demonstrates a serious oversight in the risk analysis phase. This will add an important data point for consideration in future projects.

Some lessons you might learn include:

That a project’s scope, time, and costs were woefully underestimated
Which vendors to use and which to avoid in the future – and why
Which members of your project team need extra supervision to get things done
Which members of your project team can be given additional responsibilities and opportunities for leadership development
That certain instructions and communication are unclear leading to confusion
That your current tools/equipment/technology aren’t up to the task at hand
That some corporate policies are outdated and decrease the efficiency of project processes

Image courtesy :-http://www.nickmilton.com/2009/05/what-is-lesson-learned.html

Assumptions and Constraints

2012-08-02T18:27:00.000+05:30

Assumptions: -

· in order to move forward, without absolute information, we need to make assumptions. These are assumed to be true but may not be true.

· An assumption is a temporary decision that you make to compensate for the information you do not have yet.

· PMBOK describes assumptions as "factors that, for planning purposes, are considered to be true, real, or certain."

Typical project assumptions:-

· Project staff will be available as & when needed

· Project staff will be experienced with technical and operating environment

· A full time resource will at least work 35 hours a week

· All issues will be resolved in a timely manner

· Statistics used in preparing the estimates are accurate within a given %.

· No outside consultation will be required

· The scope is limited to that described in project charter

· Formal charter and scope change procedures will be followed.

¹ Assumptions are identified in initiating. They are analysed in project planning, and they are reviewed for validity throughout the project.

Constraints = are the factors, that limits the teams options such as limits on resources, budget, schedule and scope.

TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS of PROJECT = Cost, Schedule and Scope

Project Management Triangle/IRON TRIANGLE (called also Triple Constraint) is a model of the constraints of project management. It is a graphic aid where the three attributes show on the corners of the triangle to show opposition.

THE QUADRUPLE Constraints = Same as Triple Constraints + Quality in Middle

¹ If any triangle is changed, then the quality of project suffers.

Photo Courtesy :-
www.innovationtools.com/Articles/ArticleDetails.asp?a=335
http://business901.com/blog1/using-the-theory-of-constrains-in-marketing

Enterprise Environmental Factors Vs. Organisational Process Assets

2012-07-23T17:00:00.002+05:30

	Enterprise Environmental Factors	Organisational process Assets
1.	Internal and External Factors that influence the Project’s Success. ((Only the Systems and not the Data))	Assets (Data) that Belongs to the organisation, involved in the project, which influence the project’s Success. These are date DATA we “OWN” as outcome of processes which we have done before.
2.	E.E.F Means Information about your Company. If Something is and E.E.F then you already know that is 100% likely to happen because it is part of how company is structured.	“WHY RE-INVENT THE WHEEL” Means that if we have same thing available with us, we do not have to remake it again.
3.	E.E.F are Made of 1. Mandatory Work 2. Good Practises 3. Cultural Norms	O.PA is what we Have acquired from doing the things before & we can again use these in our new project.
4.		We use O.P.A to improve management of project and we manage with in constraints and guidelines established by E.E.F
5.	E.E.F are of Three types · Internal Facts /Information · External Facts/Information · Tools & System	O.P.A are of two types · Processes & procedures Corporate knowledge base
6.	INTERNAL FACTORS · Organisational structure & culture · Infrastructure · H.R Administration · Personnel Skills update Performance appraisal updates	Processes & Procedures · Company Policy/ Procedures/guidelines. · Standards of Processes · Templates · How to tailor the Standards
7.	EXTERNAL FACTORS · Govt./industry standards · Commercial Data bases · Market place conditions · Political climate	Corporate Knowledge Base · Project Files · Historic Files of Information · Lesson learned Database · Information within Data Base
8.	Tools & System · Work Authorisation System · PMIS

Photo Courtsy :- 1) http://tapuniversity.com/2009/07/08/organizational-process-assets/
2) http://www.exporthelp.co.za/modules/1_considering_exporting/dom_exp_marketing.html

Phase Gate Process

2012-07-20T13:22:00.000+05:30

Phase–gate process

· Project management technique in which an initiative or project (e.g., new product development, process improvement, business change) is divided into stages (or phases) separated by gates.

· At each gate, the continuation of the process is decided by (typically) a manager or a steering committee.

· The decision is based on the information available at the time, including the business case, risk analysis, and availability of necessary resources (e.g., money, people with correct competencies)

These points are referred to as

Phase exits,
milestones,
Phase gates,
Decision gates,
Stage gates,
Kill points.

Kill Point

· It is this point in time during the execution phase of the project that the stakeholders or the sponsor decide to kill the project (meaning the project no longer exists, and all work on that project should immediately stop).

· Killing a project usually happens when the project is draining more money and time than expected, while at the same time, the resulting product is no longer thought to bring an ROI that will compensate for all the extra work and money.

Photo Courtsy :- PM Corner - Phase Gate Reviews by Christine Hetzel @ http://dii.vermont.gov/DII_Divisions/CIO/Newsletters/Archives/march2010

Organisational Structures

2012-07-17T18:40:00.001+05:30

Projectised

If there are dedicated teams for each of the organisational project, led by a project manager having full control over the project, this is a Projectised organisation.
Team are organised around projects, when a project is done the team is released and the team members move to another project.

Functional

If the project team is a 100% subset of a functional department (e.g., HR, operations, sales, customer service, finance etc.) and is managed by the departmental manager directly, this is a functional organisation.
Project Management decisions need to be cleared with functional managers.
Project Managers are assistants to the functional managers in getting the work done.
Project managers spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks and often only work as Project Manager Part of that time.
All the project work typically happens within a particular department and that department’s Manager is completely in charge of everything.

Matrix

Strong Matrix

If the project manager/expediter has more control over the project than the functional manager, the organisation is strong matrix.

#Team Still Report to both the managers

Balance matrix

If the control is balanced between the project manager/expediter and the functional manager, the organisation is balanced matrix.

Weak Matrix

If the project manager/expediter has less control over the project than the functional manager, the organisation is weak matrix

#Leading the annual performance review of project team members is the Duty of Functional Manager and not of project Manager in Matrix Structure

Project Expediter

The Project Expediter monitors and reports on the status of the project to senior management. This role has no authority.
The Project Expediter acts as a communication coordinator only and cannot enforce any decisions.

Project Coordinator

the Project Coordinator role is similar to expediter, but has some limited, referential authority.
The project coordinator may report to someone higher on the management food chain than the expediter.
The Project Coordinator has some authority to make decisions.

#A project coordinator or Project Coordinator may typically be found in FUNCTIONAL type of an organization or in WEAK MATRIX

#An organization structure that involves various organizational types at various levels is called a Composite structure

Photo Courtsy :- www.cartoonstock.com

Product Life Cycle Vs Project Life Cycle

2012-07-17T17:35:00.003+05:30

S no.	Product Life Cycle	Project Life Cycle
1	Product Life cycle is concerned about, revenue, a Product Generates in its Life Time.	Project Life Cycle talks about Different phases to create a product.
2	Product life cycle is a conceptual map, which just shows the current stage of product at the moment.	Project life cycle is all about action and do steps needed to complete a project with specific targeted results.
3	Product Life cycle has 5 Sequential , non – overlapping phases	Project life cycle has 5 sequential and overlapping phases
4	The Five stages of product life cycle are 1) Development 2) Introduction 3) Growth 4) Maturity & 5) Decline	The Five Stages of Project life cycle are 1) Initiating 2) Planning 3) Execution 4) Monitoring & Controlling 5) Closure
5	Different Projects can be undertaken in the life cycle of a product.	Outcome of the project life cycles are products.
6	Product life cycle = project life cycle + Maintenance & Support function.

¹ Project Scope is the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service or result with specific features and functions.

¹ Product scope contains the Features and functions that characterise a product, service, or result. It means the requirement that relates to product of the project.