PART II - PROJECT & ITS PLANNING

 Project managers who manage a single small project can plan and schedule the project tasks without a formal planning and information system. However, when the project manager must manage several small projects or a large complex project, a threshold is quickly reached in which the project manager can no longer cope with the detail. Therefore a disciplined and structured method is required for selectively collecting information to use through all phases of the project life cycle, to measure performance against the strategic plan of the organization. Following are five generic steps that provide a structured approach for collecting the project information necessary for planning, scheduling and controlling the project. 

Step 1: Defining The Project Scope: 

This sets the stage for developing a project plan. The primary purpose is to define as clearly as possible the deliverables for the end user and to focus project plans. Research clearly shows that poorly defined scope of mission is the most frequently mentioned barrier to the project success. A survey found lack of clear goals as a major problem mentioned by more than 60% of the manager respondents. The scope should be developed under the direction of the project manager and customer. The project manager is responsible for seeing that there is an agreement with the owner on project objectives, deliverables on each stage of the project, technical requirements and so forth. A project scope definition is a document that will be published and used by the project owner and project participants for planning and measuring project success. It is therefore better to develop project scope checklist that could contain some of the following points: 

1-     Project Objectives: The first step of project scope definition is to define the major objectives to meet your customer needs. For example: as a result of extensive market research a computer software company decides to develop a program that automatically translates English into Russian. The project should be completed within three years at a cost not exceeding $1.5 million. Another example could be building of portable, hazardous waste, and thermal treatment system in 13 months at a cost not exceeding $13 million. 

2-     Deliverables: Next thing to do is to define Deliverables, the expected outputs over the life of the project. Deliverables in the early design phase of the project might be the list of specifications. In the second phase deliverables could be software coding and a technical manual. The next phase could be to test prototype. The final phase could be final tests and approved software. Deliverables typically include time, quality and cost estimates. 

3-     Milestones: A milestone is a significant event in a project that occurs at a point in a time. The milestone schedule shows only major segment of the work. It represents the rough-cut estimates of time, cost and resources for the project. The milestone schedule is build using deliverables as a platform to identify major segments of work and an end date, for example, test complete and finished by 1 July of the same year. Milestone should be natural, important, control points in the project. Milestones should be easy for all project participants to recognize.  

4-     Technical requirement: More frequently or not a product or service will have a technical requirements to ensure proper performance. For example, a technical requirement of a personal computer might be to accept 120 AC or 240 AC without any adapters. 

5-     Limits and Exclusions: The limits of scope should be defined. Failure to do so can lead to false expectations and expending recourses and time on the wrong problem. Examples of limits is a house that will be built, but no landscaping or security devices added; software will be provided but no training would be given. 

6-     Review with customers: Completion of the scope checklist ends with a review with the customer, internal or external. The main concern here is the understanding and agreement of expectations. Clear communication is important to avoid claims or misunderstanding.