PMO Playbook Project Management Standard Operating Procedures
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PMO Playbook Table of Contents
The PMO Playbook Project management within the PMO means caring about the details of the project and the relationships with our clients and our team members in both IS&T and across the GSU campus. The project manager's role is to represent the team when talking to the client (internal or external) and to represent the client (internal or external) when talking to the team. To keep the expectations of both the client and team in alignment for the duration of a project we rely upon a formal Governance, Methodology and Standard Operating Procedures for consistent and predictable project management.
Status Meetings
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One of the most valuable tools we use in management is a weekly project status We approach any significant project by weekly project updates.
project meeting. holding
These status meetings help: 1. The new project members develop as a team. 2.
The project manager identify weaknesses early enough to make corrections.
3.
The project manager reinforce key points and provide early coaching.
Project managers should use the status meetings to go beyond simply learning about how the project is progressing as they should already know the status before the meeting. The meeting should be a tool to help the project manager move the project along and coach team members on key issues that can affect deliverables.
Meeting Format Prepare for every project status meeting by checking with each of your key project team members before the meeting. If you’re managing the project correctly, you’re in close contact with team members throughout the week, and there should be no surprises during the project status meeting. Surprises can undermine your ability to manage the project and cause team members to lose confidence in you. •
Advance preparation includes check-in with team for any pressing items for discussion and publish an agenda via e-mail.
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Walk through each of the tasks due to be completed within the next two to four weeks to determine the status of each. A detail walkthrough will always generate questions or provide insight on the project’s pressure points that need to be covered in the status meeting.
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Identify the bottlenecks: Part of your role is to be able to identify the project’s bottlenecks and develop options to eliminate them. Date Modified
Remember that when you clear a bottleneck, other issues will become project’s new bottlenecks.
the
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Prepare a list of key points: Go into the meeting with a list of key points to discuss with the entire team or an individual. Lead by example. Your preparedness transfers over to the team and will reinforce the need for each member to be prepared for status meetings.
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Schedule your status meeting for no longer than one hour. You can host separate sessions for specific issues apart from the entire team meeting. Always be conscious of how you’re spending other people’s time. All team members do not need to be involved in every aspect of the project.
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Set meeting duration expectations at the beginning of a meeting (e.g. "This meeting is scheduled for 30 minutes")
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Lead the discussion in the meeting between client stakeholders and PMO team. Ensure the conversation stays on point and doesn't veer away from important subject matter.
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Keep client stakeholder and PMO dialog focused in a positive direction. Bad mouthing and "under the breath" chatter in meetings or via chat can derail the team's focus from seeing the project through to a successful completion. The Assistant Director has an open door policy if any venting is necessary outside of group and client discussions.
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Roll call: Let everyone know who is in attendance before starting. This is important for remote team members have dialed in and will save you time
who later.
New business issues You may have learned something during the week that affects the project. Share the news early in the meeting to help team members consider the issue as you walk through the project plan status session. Not every issue warrants spending time here, so keep discussions to a minimum. •
Project plan status review: Walk through your project schedule and allow each team member to provide a brief status of assignments due this week and tasks planned for the next two weeks. You want to know whether tasks are on track or if any will miss the projected deadline. You also want to allow the team member to share any special considerations that might affect other tasks or members of the project. Carefully manage this part because some team members will want to pontificate and spend more time than is really needed. Remember, you’re the project manager.
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Critical items: Upon completing the project status review session, summarize the critical items. This lets you reinforce the importance of focus members who have tasks associated with critical issues. It also gives you an opportunity to discuss possible options to help support team members and ensure the tasks are completed on schedule.
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Q&A and discussion time: Always give your project team time to ask questions on issues that were not discussed. This gives you another opportunity to reinforce key points that you have picked up during the week’s activities or that you discovered during the meeting. One of the strongest qualities of successful project managers is the ability to anticipate and know where the “fires” lie when they see “smoke” in project issues.
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Always close the meeting with a and stating next steps that the team client are expected to take. This can brief readout of the key action items part of the notes that will be filed call.
recap and be a that are post-
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Post-meeting activity includes publishing meeting notes into project management tool and follow-up with project team on action items. Meeting notes should be published immediately following completion of the meeting.
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Project managers should not schedule back-to-back meetings with clients in their calendar. Leave a minimum of 30 minutes between meetings, to allow time for publishing agendas, filing notes and following up on action items with team.
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Monthly Project Allocations Most fulltime Project Managers manage several projects. The goal is to keep each PM at no more than 10 projects. The minimum allocation for a client project is 10. The chart below shows the hours to percentages conversion for PMs.
Hours to Percentages Conversion Key 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0.025 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 0.175 0.200 0.225 0.250
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
0.275 0.300 0.325 0.350 0.375 0.400 0.425 0.450 0.475 0.500
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
0.525 0.550 0.575 0.600 0.625 0.650 0.675 0.700 0.725 0.750
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
0.775 0.800 0.825 0.850 0.875 0.900 0.925 0.950 0.975 1.000
PMO Support Model It is important for the project managers to quickly adapt to different project domains: to have a solid technical base, to understand business administration and to quickly catch the specificity of the client. The management style of the Project Manager must also be flexible, in order to allow them and work with diverse people and adapt their management style on different personalities. The procedure for allocating and communicating project managers' allocation our organization follows 4 approaches: Date Modified
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Allocation based on the technical expertise of the Project Manager or complexity of the project
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Allocation based on personal relationships between the team and Project Manager assigned
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the
Allocation based on availability
Levels of Project Managers Project Expeditors or Project Coordinators The project expeditor/coordinator is supervised by the project manager and assists in completing all the tasks necessary to keep a project on track. Here in the PMO; the coordinator may also manage Tower 1 projects. The project coordinator's job consists of checking for problems, monitoring changes in the project, ensuring that the schedule is followed and tracking the status of all tasks to assure the project deliverables will be ready on time and within budget. The project coordinator reports problems to the project manager and performs tasks that the manager assigns.
Project Managers The project manager reports mainly to project stakeholders and executives, and communicates with the project coordinator. The project coordinator, on the other hand, typically reports to the project manager and communicates mostly with the people who do the work on projects, either employees or third-party vendors or partners. Project coordinators oversee the details of a project, while project managers oversee the project at a high level and serve as the liaison for all parties interested in the end result of a project. The project manager provides leadership while the coordinator puts the team and process together for project implementation.
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Senior Project Managers The Senior Project Manager is our most skilled Project Manager. They manage the most mission critical projects with direct oversight by the Assistant Director of Project Management. They are also expected to perform the following tasks. •
Mentor less-senior personnel in aspects of the profession such as leadership, methodology, tools, people skills and navigating politics.
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Evaluate performance by knowing what is expected of a PM and be able to help evaluate performance.
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Have the ability to evaluate the readiness of a project team or organization and then recommend the related training required to ensure the effective application of project management and leadership principles.
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Have the ability to teach many of the skills—both hard and soft—that are required for the successful planning, execution, delivery and support of projects and their products or services.
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Have the ability to either individually assess the health of a project or lead a small team in doing so.
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Turn troubled projects around. Any project manager with satisfactory performance should, for the most part, be able to turn around small and some medium-sized troubled projects. But a senior PM should be able to turn around any-size troubled project in his or her industry.
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Help hire or place project managers by significantly contributing in the interview and selection of new project management hires. Date Modified
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Have a solid grasp of basic and advanced project management principles, along with having experience in successfully applying advancing those principles.
many
and
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A senior PM should understand the business need for each project and make on-going decisions based on what’s best for the organization— even if that means challenging senior stakeholders on critical success factors.
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Be a role model for integrity. Integrity is not optional. However, many project managers are shaky in taking the initiative to ensure a project is always being run effectively and with proper governance. Senior project managers should champion the promotion of integrity in all endeavors.
Levels of PM Support Tower 1 Projects Small projects can be managed by the Project Coordinators.
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Tower 2 Projects Medium Projects are managed by the Project Managers.
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Tower 3 Projects Large or strategic projects are managed by the Sr. Project Managers.
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Eclipse The PMO uses a Project Management Information System called Eclipse. Eclipse is a web application that allows us to manage our entire portfolio of projects and keep them aligned with GSU’s business strategy. It provides real-time visibility, accountability, and a single location for all project information. All staff members within IS&T have access to Eclipse. There are separate user guides for Eclipse based on your role (Project Manager, Functional Manager, and Resource) on the PMO SharePoint site.
PMIS (Eclipse) Maintenance Each PM is responsible for making sure that all information in Eclipse current. This includes the following: •
Periodic reviews of every project in the project management tool (Eclipse) to keep projects well-maintained and current.
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Reviewing projects to prompt clients where feedback is needed, confirm updates and progress is being made by the team, ensure priorities are reflected properly and close out completed items.
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Ensuring all tasks in the project are represented in Eclipse and flag projects for missing tasks.
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Ensuring the list of tasks remains ahead of the development team. Avoid the assumption that the team will manage/enter tasks for themselves. Date Modified
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The sense of timeliness and accountability for tasks will be to the team by the speed at which are created and the level of persistence used to manage them.
reflected tasks
Team Check-Ins Every PM within the PMO should have a basic knowledge of each project in our portfolio. To achieve this goal, we hold 15 minute daily team check-in meetings to review the high level status of each project. During the team check-in we review the following: •
Review each team members' daily priority list each morning.
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Confirm, clarify and adjust priority lists as needed with individuals.
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Ensure priorities are reflected as granular tasks so that demonstrated progress can be measured (be on alert for the use of words like "continue").
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Confirm prior day's priorities were followed and that expected progress was made (overlaps with PMIS Maintenance activities).
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Periodic check-ins are critical to ensure all members of the team remain accountable.
Creating a Project Charter Before any project can get started, the project should be defined. The first step in defining a project is the development of a project charter, generally written by the project sponsor in conjunction with a project manager. Ultimate authorization of the project comes from the sponsor.
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The project charter is the official document formally bringing the project into existence, granting authorization to move forward. This document also grants the authority for the project manager to commit funds and other GSU resources to the project. The project charter should be broad enough that it should not require change during the course of the project, but should detail high-level requirements for the project. Input factors that will assist in writing an effective project charter include a project statement of work (SOW) that details business needs, product scope statement, and a strategic plan.
The Project Statement of Work (SOW) The SOW should include a formal business case detailing the demand for the product, organizational requirements, customer requirements, technological advances that will result from the product, and any legal requirements. Any contracts involved should be included in developing the charter. The charter should also take into consideration enterprise environmental factors such as government or organizational standards, organizational infrastructure limitations and requirements, and marketplace condition and factors. Finally, any organizational assets available from other projects that can be used in the current project should be included. The PMO has created a standard Charter template that should be used for all projects. The most current template is available on the PMO SharePoint site.
Managing Scope Changes Project scope, according to PMBOK, is defined as “The work that must be performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.” The project scope is dependent on the product scope, which is defined as, “the features and functions that characterize a product, service or result.” So, project scope management ensuresDate thatModified
the both the product scope and the scope are monitored and maintained.
project
We use the following tools, templates procedures to manage and control scope:
and project
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The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - The WBS breaks down the project into smaller, more manageable work units known as work packages. The elements of the work packages are defined in the WBS Dictionary.
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Properly defining project deliverables and project plan - The less detailed the definitions the more likely the project is to get off course. A well-defined target is easier to hit and easier to know when it is being missed.
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Properly defining requirements for the project - If resource requirements are not well detailed up front, the project will quickly run into cost and time overages as the project manager scrambles to fill in those missing resources. These should be captured in a well written statement of work and project plan.
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Properly identifying and assessing and accounting for potential risks to the project - Will prevent scope creep and the project getting off schedule and budget. Once these are identified, you should create a risk mitigation strategy for each risk will help to control project scope.
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Properly managing communications - Inadequate communication can also lead to scope creep as team members or stakeholders take it upon themselves to add features and functionality to the project’s product without communicating through the proper channels and getting the proper authorizations. Regularly communicating the progress of the project will also prevent scope creep as team members and stakeholders are kept aware of the status of the project.
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Also, communicating the status of open will also keep scope creep in check members and stakeholders are all roles and responsibilities in addressing these issues.
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issues as team aware of
Identifying the proper controls in the project plan and execution - Will control scope creep. When all team members are aware and utilizing the stated change management process to introduce and manage required changes to the project, surprise changes are reduced or eliminated.
The project’s success or failure rests heavily on controlling the scope of the work to be done. Scope is one of the triple constraint factors of any project and, as we have seen, scope also affects the other factors of cost and time, as well as risk. If you have to make changes to the scope of the project, follow the procedures outlined below to capture the scope changes. 1.
In Eclipse, add an “Issue” and flag it as “Change Requests"
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As the team works on issues and tasks, and as items are requested during status meetings, ask all team members to be on alert for scope changes. When a change request comes in, park it in Eclipse within “Issue” flagged as “Change Request”.
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Gather an estimate for the requested change.
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Discuss with the client in a status meeting or via e-mail, to alert them to the request being a scope change.
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Be sure to provide alternatives/options whenever possible. Date Modified
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If the client wants to proceed with change request(s), bundle into a Change Request document at <location> and submit for client's signature. At a minimum gather client's acknowledgement of change via writing in an e-mail. Verbal approvals of Changes will not suffice, it must be documented as the verbal approvals are subject to selective memory at the end of a project.
7.
Once changes are approved/documented, move the issue out of the Change Requests in the project management system and into the appropriate scheduled milestones in the project for the work to be assigned and completed.
Creating the WBS According to PMBOK, a WBS "is the process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components." The WBS breaks work down into packages that cannot logically or practically be broken down further. Once the work is decomposed into tasks, subtask, and work packages, these activities can then be sequenced and the duration and resource requirement of each work package can be estimated. Each of the steps of the WBS can then be defined and logged into the WBS dictionary, a document that describes each activity in more detail. If an activity is not documented in this phase, then the activity is not considered a part of the project. Creating the WBS allows the project manager to develop a schedule for the project, estimate costs associated with the work packages and the project overall, and determine a budget for the project. With the understanding of the resource requirements, the project manager can also begin to work on a human resources plan to ensure that the right Date Modified people are available and committed when they will be needed on the
project. The human resources plan is a crucial step -- whether the organization is project oriented, broken out by functional responsibilities, or a matrix organization. Planning is an important phase of any project and in future issues we will look at other important pieces of the planning puzzle to ensure a successfully executed project. Each PM uses their own style in creating a WBS. Typically we create the WBS in MS Project in conjunction with creating the Project schedule.
Creating the Schedule There are three primary constraints that can affect the success of any project: • Cost •
Time
•
Scope
Other factors, such as quality, resources, and risk can also impact the project, yet, the three original constraints are still key to the success of the project. It is important to develop a realistic and workable time schedule for the project and then to manage changes to that schedule along the way. These changes are managed through a schedule management plan. The team uses a standard PMO schedule as a basis for all projects. This schedule is created in MS Project 2013. This schedule is also loaded into Eclipse as the default schedule for all projects. Although we use a standard template it is critical for each PM to review the following to tailor each schedule to your project needs. To achieve this goal please adhere to the following: 1.
Determine the team / roles necessary for the project and the overall burn rate. Date Modified
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Break the project down into phases features, and use these major pieces milestones.
3.
Add or modify individual task-based items underneath these milestones in the project management system.
4.
When publishing a project schedule for a client, always remember that clients care about two things: a. When
and as
will it be done?
b. What
specific days will they be needed to do something (e.g. enter content or review a design)? Creating a time schedule for the project begins by: 1.
Developing and defining a list of project activities.
2.
Sequence the activities to determine which have dependencies on others and in which order they will be accomplished.
3.
Each activity should have an estimated duration to complete assigned to it as well as key start dates (project management software will sequence and assign the end dates).
We use Eclipse and MS Project 2013 to create the project schedule. Sequencing the activities correctly is crucial as relationships of activities will have to be kept in mind. There are four sequencing relationship types: •
Finish to Start - The successor can’t start before the predecessor has finished.
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Start to Start - The successor can’t start before the predecessor has started. Date Modified
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Finish to Finish - The successor can’t before the predecessor has finished.
finish
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Start to Finish - The successor can’t before the predecessor has started.
finish
In addition, there are also three types of dependency for activities: •
Mandatory – One activity must be done before another.
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Discretionary – One activity is preferred to begin before another.
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External – Something outside the project must be done before a task in the project (e.g., a license or permit must be obtained, etc.).
Managing Communications Communication management begins with understanding the different types of communication that occur within our organization. There are four basic types of communication: •
Formal Written - The form of written proposals, project plans and charters, and even communication over long distances
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Informal Written -The form of emails, notes taken during a meeting, etc
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Formal Verbal - The form of presentations
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Informal Verbal - The form of conversations
The project manager's first and most important task is to identify all stakeholders on the project and keep current communication flowing to each of them. Communication is crucial to ensuring that all stakeholder's needs have been met and to avoid surprises at key milestones of the project.
Capacity Planning
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Resource Management or Resource Capacity Planning (RCP) is particularly important in IS&T. Without taking the time properly assess and plan out what we have to perform projects in a given is very difficult to properly forecast and schedule projects.
to capacity period, it
Each month the PMO assists the Functional Managers with resource and capacity planning. The templates are located in the PMO SharePoint site.
Requesting a Project All projects are initiated via the Project Intake Form. Once this form is submitted, it is reviewed by the Senior Staff at the Senior Staff Meeting to assess the viability of the project and for initial authorization for staff to time and resource expenditure. (Assessment Phase)
Project Intake Submittal Outcomes: A.
Approved- Project Moves to Assessment Phase, Project Manager is assigned, Submitter is notified to begin Assessment Phase
B.
Rejected- Decision is documented in PMIS
C.
Returned- To Submitter for additional information and resubmitted for Approval
Additional Information 1.1. http://ist.technology.gsu.edu/project-intake-form/ 1.2. Senior Staff/RoadMap Meetings are weekly on Mondays at 9:30am in Commerce 1103. *Once above steps are satisfied move to Assessment Phase* Date Modified
Project Phases within the
PMO
Assessment Phase When the project enters the Assessment Phase a Project Manager is assigned to the project to acquire all information and artifacts that have been defined in the Business Case. The Project Manager will identify and correct any problems prior to starting the project, such as clearly defining: •
Scope
•
Project objectives
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Budget estimation.
The Project Manager should be involved throughout the full project lifecycle. It is the goal of the PMO that the same Project manager who will implement the project is involved in the construction of the project, but due to lack of predictability that can occur when approving the project, it may be difficult to achieve this in practice; During the Assessment Phase, the Project Manager begins drafting the Project Charter. The current Project Charter template is available in the PMO SharePoint. 1.
Key project stakeholders must sign the project charter to acknowledge agreement on the need and intent of the project.
2.
Once the Project Charter is completed, it is presented to the Top Staff during the RoadMap Meeting.
3.
The Project Team attends the RoadMap Meeting to present the signed Charter for formal project approval and project prioritization.
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Project Charter Presentation Outcomes: A.
Approved - Project is prioritized and has completed the First Tollgate Review (Baseline). Project now moves to the Planning Phase
B.
Not Approved - Decision is documented in PMIS
C.
Approved with Provisions - Project Manager / Project Team completes outstanding items and then project is resubmitted for approved
Note: If this is a routine project with no changes to architecture, Project Manager may request a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tollgated ByPassâ&#x20AC;? and request that the project go into production via an RFC (Request for Change) Proper Project Governance and documentation must still be followed to ensure successful project delivery. Proper Testing must still be completed to ensure scope is satisfied. *Once above steps are satisfied move to Planning Phase*
Planning Phase Project Manager creates a central document repository for the project documents and workbook after the project is approved. SharePoint will be the Project Repository with a link in PMIS.
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Project Manager creates and maintains a centrally-held glossary of project terms after the project is approved. •
See Share Point https://mygsu.sharepoint.com/sites/ist/pmo/
•
Documents>Process Improvements>Governance Modeling> PMI Lexicon
•
Each Eclipse Guide has an Appendix with Eclipse Specific Project Language.
Project Manager with assistance from the Project Team creates documentation to define and clarify objectives and guide project execution. The Project Plan should include the following: •
Project Charter
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Governance Plan
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Functional Requirements
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Work Breakdown Structure
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Schedule
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Budget
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Risk Management Plan
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Project Quality Plan
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Communications Plan
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Change Control Procedures
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System Design Specifications (SDS)
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System Design Documents (SDD)
Note: Items above do not necessarily need to be in separate documentation. However, all items listed should be addressed and documented as part of the complete Project Workbook.
Development of the Master Test Plan Draft begins. This test plan makes sure all the requirements are met and the product will function as required. •
The Project Team will submit the Project Test Plan (primarily SDS and SDD) to Senior Staff at the RoadMap Meeting for formal approval to move to Execution Phase.
Project Test Plan Submittal Outcomes: A.
Approved - Project has completed the Second Tollgated Review (Architecture Review) and moves to Execution Phase
B.
Not Approved- Project continues in planning phase until Architecture is approved by Senior Staff.
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C.
Project may be cancelled or on hold - If the architecture is not
placed viable.
Notes: If the Schedule/Budget/Resource is significantly different than what was outlined in the initial Charter, the project should be resubmitted to Senior Staff for Re- Base lining.
Project Work Book The Project Manager keeps a current, published project workbook that spans all project stages in SharePoint. Schedule, Issues, Risks and Status are maintained and updated in PMIS throughout the project life cycle. *Once above steps are satisfied move to Execution Phase*
Execution Phase The Execution Phase includes core and facilitating processes. During this phase the following activities are completed by the Project Team: •
Project Plan Execution - Carrying out the project plan by performing the activities included therein.
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Quality Assurance - Evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.
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Team Development - Developing individual and group skills/competencies to enhance project performance.
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Information Distribution - Making needed information available to Date Modified project stakeholders in a timely manner.
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Solicitation - Obtaining quotations, offers, or proposals as appropriate.
bids,
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Source Selection - Choosing from potential sellers.
among
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Contract Administration - Managing the relationship with the seller.
The Project Manager creates/performs the following: •
Status Reports to address where the project stands at a given point.
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Progress Reports to address what the project team has accomplished to date.
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Integrated Change Control is performed from project inception through completion.
The Testing Team along with the Project Team creates a Master Test Plan that makes sure all the requirements have been met and the product works as required. Any known issues or defects are documented with an Operations Support Plan to fix the issues or place the product into production with the known issues. *Once the Project has completed all the outlined work; it moves into the Testing Phase.*
Testing Phase •
Execution of the Master Test Plan developed by the team during the Execution Phase above.
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Outline Operations Support Plan developed and presented to the customer.
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Receive formal customer sign-off of test results.
The Master Test Plan results are submitted to the Senior Staff for formal Date Modified approval.
Master Test Plan Submittal Outcomes: A.
Approved- Project had completed the Third Tollgated Review (Implementation Review) and moves to Closing Phase.
B.
Not Approved- Defects are resolved and product is re-submitted for final approval.
Note: Current testing done by the Work team. We do not have defined UAT, Client Testing, or Client Acceptance Document.
Closing Phase The project is not truly complete until the end-user has accepted the work and has taken control of it. The goal of this phase is to define a clear end to ensure the scope, budget and schedule were managed properly. The phase should include: 1. Finalization of the previously agreed to deliverables and forwarding to the end-user. 2.
Receipt of formal customer acceptance of the deliverable.
3.
Receipt of final sign-off that the customer has accepted the project.
4.
Documentation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;lessons learnedâ&#x20AC;? for internal use.
Staffing Policies One of the key missions of IS&T is to attract, develop, and retain talented/ capable technology professionals; The Project Management Office supports the goals, mission, vision and aspirations of IS&T. We achieve this goal by recruiting and retaining qualified individuals in our department.
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Cross Training and Mentoring Programs Every 6 months the PMO offers a comprehensive Project Management Mentoring Program. Any individual who has an interest in learning Project Management can participate in the program. Selected members will spend 4 Hours each week in the PMO getting trained on the basics of project management and shadowing Sr. Project Managers as Project Expeditors on some of our small projects. Each Team Member Will Act as a Project Expediter on 1 Project from your Department. •
The role of the project expediter is to facilitate communications.
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The project expediter is often seen as a mini-version of the project coordinator, handling only the communication part.
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Team members will be responsible for communicating the status of the project to the project manager and assist as needed in completing weekly status reports and attend weekly or bi-weekly project meetings.
Time Allocated For Trainees The 4 hours would break down into 10% of their 160 monthly hoursDate Modified (4 hours a week * 4 weeks= 16/160=.10).
Break down of Hours for Cross Resources
Training
Activity
Hours Spent
Comments
Weekly Project Meetings
.5-1.0 Hours
Each Week
Daily PMO Stand up Meetings
.25 Hours
15 minutes each day for 4 days a week
Managing Project Schedules
.5-1.0 Hours
Each Week
Training on PM Fundamentals
1.75-2.75 Hours
Each Week
Goals for Trainees 1.
Learn project management skills and use these skills to help them in their career paths.
2.
Be in a better position to apply for and have the necessary Knowledge and Skills to be a viable candidate as a project manager or junior project manager if the needs of the PMO increase.
Meetings for Trainees 30 Minutes to 1 Hour per Project per Week â&#x20AC;˘ Advance preparation includes check-in with team for any pressing items for discussion and publish an agenda via e-mail prior to the meeting.
â&#x20AC;˘
Meetings should cover progress made, review open issues orDate Modified blocking items, upcoming priorities and schedule status.
•
Lead the discussion on the team members. Ensure the conversation stays on point and veer away from important subject
between doesn't matter.
•
Keep dialogue focused in a positive direction.
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Always close the meeting with a recap and stating next steps that the team and client are expected to take. This can be a brief readout of the key action items that are part of the notes that will be filed post-meeting.
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Post-meeting activity includes publishing notes into project management tool and follow-up with project team on action items.
Check-Ins for Trainees .25 Hours Monday – Thursday (15 minutes each day 4 days a week) Each day (Monday –Thursday) my team has a stand up meeting for 15 minutes to review the status on all open projects that we are working on. Managing Project Schedule- .5 to 1.0 Hours 1. Determine the team / roles necessary for the project 2. Break the project down into phases and features, and use these major pieces as milestones. 3. Add individual tasks underneath these milestones in the project management system. 4. Publish and Update the Schedule 5. Create and Update Weekly Status Reports 6. Managing Scope Changes and D.I.R.T. (Decisions, Issues, Risks, Tasks)
PM Training
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1.75-2.75 Each Week Each week I will give the team members on fundamentals of Project Management including:
training
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Determining the essential information need to prepare for and complete your first project
you'll
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Critical concepts you need to plan, implement, control and close any type of project
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Project politics and ethics, project measurements, and project closure
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Developing all sections of a project plan
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Understanding the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
Project Audits (Tollgates) Auditing is key to monitor the success of any project. Project auditing is important so as to validate whether the project is feasible in a business sense, to verify whether the project can move on to the next phase, and also to check any specific issues that crop up during project execution. Most importantly the audits would help in reassuring the management on the project. Project auditing is done in three stages within the PMO. We call these stages Tollgates. •
Baseline One (Project is Baselines and Charter is Reviewed)
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Baseline Two (Architecture is Reviewed)
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•
Baseline Three (Testing is Reviewed Implementation)
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Documenting Lessons Learned Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines lessons learned as the learning gained from the process of performing the project. Formally conducted lessons learned sessions are traditionally held during project close-out, near the completion of the project. However, lessons learned may be identified and documented at any point during the project's life cycle. The purpose of documenting lessons learned is to share and use knowledge derived from experience to: • Promote the recurrence of desirable outcomes •
Preclude the recurrence of undesirable outcomes
Lessons learned document the cause of issues and the reasoning behind any corrective action taken to address those issues. They should draw on both positive experiences– good ideas that improve project efficiency or save money, and negative experiences– lessons learned only after an undesirable outcome has already occurred. At any point during the project life cycle, the project team and key stakeholders may identify lessons. The lessons learned are compiled, formalized, and stored through the project's duration. Upon project completion a lessons learned session should be conducted that focuses on identifying project success and project failures, and includes recommendation to improve future performance on projects. The lessons learned session is typically a meeting that includes: •
Project team
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Selected stakeholder representation including external project oversight, auditors, and/or QA
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Project support staff
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Lessons learned and comments regarding project assessment should be: •
Documented
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Archived
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Presented
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Openly discussed
With the intent of eliminating the occurrence of avoidable issues on future projects. The ultimate purpose of documented lessons learned is to provide future project teams with information that can increase effectiveness and efficiency and to build on the experience that has been earned by each completed project. If documented and disseminated properly, lessons learned provide a powerful method of sharing ideas for improving work processes, operation, quality, safety and cost effectiveness, etc. and helps improve management decision making and worker performance through every phase of a project. They also helps validate some of the tougher times endured during the project's life and helps future Project Managers avoid similar difficulties.
Tools and Templates •
PMI Lexicon
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PMO Business Requirements Document
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PMO Communications Management Form
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PMO Change Request Form
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PMO Operational Support Guide
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PMO Project Charter Template
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PMO Project Close Forms
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PMO Project Close Guides
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PMO Project Governance
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