The Best of Project Planning by Jason Wesltland

The Best of Project Planning A selection of professional insights from the Blog archive

Since 2008 our project management professionals have been sharing knowledge, experience and learning with online readers via the Project Manager Blog. Their collective wisdom provides a wealth of how to, top tips and best practice advice, for project managers, teams and businesses. To make their writings more accessible we’ve created a series of “Best of” project management topics available free to download and share. Here is a collection of excerpts and insights from blog posts that offer best practice planning advice and discuss the importance of planning to project success. Enjoy

Jason Westland CEO ProjectManager.com

What is a Project Plan? ................................................................................................................................ 3 Your Project Management Plan Needs ....................................................................................................... 5 8 Questions Project Managers Should Ask About Project Planning ........................................................... 9 How to Plan a Project When You’re New to Project Planning .................................................................. 11 12 Steps to Planning a Project ................................................................................................................... 14 How a Good Project Planner Can Become Invisible .................................................................................. 17 3 Reasons Resource Planning Will Gain Respect from Functional Managers ........................................... 19 4 Ways to Be All-In When You Plan a Project ........................................................................................... 22 How to do a Project Plan Face-to-Face ..................................................................................................... 25 Project Planning Words You Rarely Hear .................................................................................................. 29 Do You Know Your Project Plan Development Numbers? ........................................................................ 31 About Project Management Requirements Gathering ............................................................................. 33 30 Day Free Software Trial ........................................................................................................................ 38

What is a Project Plan? It’s hard to trace back where the confusion occurred between a project schedule and project plan, but when most people hear the word project plan they just think you are talking about the project schedule. What can be done to enlighten them?

A Project Plan is the Who, What, Why, Where, and When of Project Management For starters, you can begin with helping them understand that a project plan answers such critical questions as the Who, What, Why, Where and When a project will be complete. The project schedule is one part of that equation and predominantly answers the question “when” will this project be complete. That leaves the following questions unanswered: 

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Who? This question is about who is involved in all aspects of the project. This ranges from who is responsible for initiating the project, who is the source of funding, and who are the resources that will actually be working on the project. What? This question provides insight into what the project is all about. The answers to this question allows for a better understanding of what the final result looks like. Is it a new website? Is it a new cash register system or a new building? Answering this question as part of the project plan also serves as a good indicator for when the project can be considered complete and ready to close out. Why? The answer to this question sheds light on the importance of the project. Why is this important to know? If a project is tied to revenue and growth or cost cutting measures, it has a much better chance of seeing its way to completion and maintaining visibility in the eyes of its sponsors and people behind the project. Where? This may seem obvious, but in today’s disparate and global economy it is important to know “where” the “who’s and what’s” will be taking place. Will everything be accomplished under one roof? Will it need to be outsourced? Will there be part of a team in one location and another part of the team in a separate location? ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

With answers to the above questions in mind, you can now move forward with assembling the actual “project plan”.

Components of a Project Plan Depending upon the size and complexity of your project, the final Project Plan could range from just a couple of pages long with headings for each of the sections below to hundreds of pages long. The following components of a project plan are also based upon the assumption that the authorization to move forward (the project charter) and the solutions document have already been defined. 

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Scope – Identifies the project deliverables and how the related work will be accomplished. The Work Breakdown Structure is a major piece of this section of the project plan and identifies the work that is to be done. Time – This is the portion of the plan of which people are the most familiar. This is the start of the project schedule where the work that needs to be done as identified in the Scope document is given time durations and assigned resources. Cost – This portion of the plan defines budgets. These budgets will range from the cost of company personnel who will be implementing the project, to physical resources, to outside vendors. Quality – The quality portion of the project plan will identify those aspects of the project that need to be carefully monitored to meet certain criteria and standards. It also will address the remediation measures necessary if something is found to be outside of these parameters. HR – This portion of the plan deals specifically with who will be doing the work. Which team members will be assigned to which roles and how will they be managed. Communications – Exceptional communication is the differentiator between a good project manager and an extraordinary project manager. This part of the plan outlines who knows what…and when. Risk – Managing a project is risky business and this portion of the plan is where the exceptional project managers are separated from the, uh… less than exceptional project managers. This section outlines what would be considered a risk and the plans that would be in place to mitigate these risks that could negatively impact a project. Procurement – This portion of the plan deals with how any goods and services that are attained from outside the organization will be managed. Again, this section could ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

be a couple of lines to a 2” thick document of rules and regulations that must be followed. Now that you’ve had a chance to share the above information with your colleague, they should have a much better understanding that the project plan is not just about the project schedule. The project schedule is one part of the plan (Time) and is nestled in between many other sections of the plan that are equally as important.

Putting the Project Plan Together There is no science to putting the project plan together other than determining what works best for you and your team. Such is the best project planning guide. Some will put the plan in a binder and include it in the middle of the room for all on the team to access. Others will store the plan and components of project planning online for everyone to utilize. The biggest thing that everyone needs to remember is that there is a plan that has been thought through, it addresses all aspects of the project, and they know where to get the details can be found. The holistic view that a project plan that includes the above components provides is invaluable as clarity and accuracy are introduced. There is an expression in construction to “measure twice, cut once.” Putting such a comprehensive plan in place will have the same affect on any projects you manage.

Your Project Management Plan Needs We all have needs and we all have wants. There is a need for food, shelter, and clothing. Most people, however, want good food, a nice house, and fine clothing. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the finer things out of life. The problem that can arise is when wanting more than what we need begins to put a burden on us either financially, mentally, or physically. The trick to having a successful life is finding that balance between what we want and what we really need. The projects you manage fall into the same category of having needs and wants .There are certain things that everyone NEEDS the final project to accomplish, and then there ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

are other things that people WANT a project to accomplish. This is a blurry line and one that is filled with passion and emotion during the scoping phase of any project. Stakeholders will argue vehemently that their particular “bells and whistles” are a need, if not a necessity, of the upcoming project. How, then, do you determine what are the true needs are that fit into your project management plan and how can you go about extracting these needs from stakeholders? The following suggestions should prove helpful in this area.

1. Engage all Stakeholders in Conversation We’re not talking about the kinds of conversation that take place in the hallway as people pass each other on their way to the next meeting. Rather, we are talking about sitting down in someone’s office or over lunch and really getting an understanding of what that particular person is wanting the project to accomplish. This is important for a number of reasons. First, it allows you as the Project Manager to understand what is important about this project for this particular stakeholder. This gives you background information that you will find useful when making decisions about the project management plan that are sure to come up in the future. This also will afford you the opportunity to understand what is NOT important to this person. If you find that there is a theme across all stakeholders you talk to, you can use this information as ammunition to “de-scope” a particular part of the project that is not necessary. Words of advice…make sure you are talking to the right people about the project. It’s assumed that you’ll be talking to the project sponsors and others that are above you in the corporate hierarchy. But, you don’t want to forget that there are other stakeholders that can make a tremendous amount of noise later if they are left out. Make sure to include the final Users of the project once it is complete. I’ve seen projects go swimmingly well all the way to the point of being implemented in its final resting place only to come to a grinding halt.

The reason was that the person who was on the front-line of using what this project delivered, was never consulted. Their feedback was not in the project management plan and the project (and the PM) paid dearly for that oversight.

2. Listen Carefully for Contradictions and Read Between the Lines When you are talking to these people about the needs they have for the project, be careful to listen for contradictions and to read between the lines. They may say to you that the reason they need a particular feature to be added to a project is to help the company, or increase sales, or save time. However, if you listen really carefully, you may find that what they are really saying is that they are looking to advance their own career, make another group look bad, or make their life easier. Unfortunately, some people and their needs for a project are not as noble or transparent as others. You need to look for and listen to these carefully as you put your project management plan together.

3. Clarify Vague Ideas Another area that you need to zero in as a Project Manager to truly understand the needs of a project is to clarify vague ideas. People will sometimes have a tendency to throw out very complicated ideas with a simple “I just need it to do this…”, or “It only needs to do that…” They will intentionally make it sound like it’s not that big of a deal to get something added to the project. You, on the other hand, know that it is a big deal to get something like this added. Don’t ever be scared or timid to dig into the details of what someone is asking for and claiming to be a need. Make them clearly explain what they are looking for and justify the reason. Be prepared for them to push back and get a little agitated with your questions. That’s to be expected. Let them know that in order to put a project management plan together that meets everyone’s needs you have to understand the details.

4. Trust, but Verify If you hammer only one nail into a board, it has the ability to turn and twist. Hammer two nails into that board and it’s harder to move. Put three nails into that board and it’s not going anywhere. It’s the same thing when it comes to putting together your project management plan and defining the needs of the project. You can listen to just one person about what is a critical need. However, that may twist and change as the project evolves based upon circumstances. If you start hearing the same requirement as a need from two, three, or many more people that is undoubtedly a critical need that must be addressed.

5. Prioritize Needs Nobody likes to hear “NO” when it comes to what they can and can’t have included in a particular project. The following is a helpful way in working through such an exercise. Once you’ve captured all of their “needs”, ask them to prioritize them based upon the following criteria: a. This is a Must Have – These are the needs of the project that if they are not included in the project management plan it would be considered an utter failure. Ask the person you are talking to about what falls into this category on their list and put a Number 1 next to those items. b. This is a Should Have – These are the needs of the project that would be really nice to have, but are not critical to the success of the project. They may be items that make things go smoother or faster but the project can be used without such features. Ask the person you are talking to about what falls into this category on their list and put a Number 2 next to those item. c. This is a Nice to Have - These are the items that fall into the category of “bells and whistles”. The project would be just fine without these things but this will make it just that much fancier or easier to use. These will then have a number 3 next to them.

That’s it. Now sort the “needs” of the project into 1, 2, and 3 priorities and this is most likely what you will find. If there was a list of 10 items, 2 or 3 will fall into Must Haves, 3 or 4 will fall into Should Have, and then a final 2 or 3 will fall into Nice to Have. Focus on the Must Haves in the project management plans and you will have boiled the project down to the essence of what is important. Throw in a couple of Should Haves for good measure and good will and then get to work!

8 Questions Project Managers Should Ask About Project Planning Eight questions to help you with project management planning…

1. What Needs to be Accomplished? This first question is critically important because it defines the size of your project universe. You need to understand as a project manager the relative size of the project to do that you must first understand what needs to be accomplished. Remember, when you are talking about project planning there is no way this early in the process that you will have all the details you need. But, you should have enough information about the project to size it up as Small, Medium, or Large. The answer to this first question helps provide a basis for the questions to follow.

2. Who Needs to Participate? You need to understand who needs to participate now that you have an idea of what needs to be accomplished. Project participation occurs at two levels. There are those that are involved in the ‘planning’ process and those that are involved in the ‘doing’ process. The tricky part about project planning is making sure you have the right people involved on both sides of the project. Go down the list in your head of all the executives, functional managers and other stakeholders that need to be involved in the planning process to build an understanding of who is going to be involved, and what work will be done. At this point you may have an instinctive feel for how large the team needs to be based on the size of the project. Again, at this point in the project planning process you must make educated estimates and know they may change as information becomes available.

3. What Parameters Must You Work Within? A 3rd question well-trained project managers ask about project planning is what are the constraints of this project? Constraints are anything that is either not there or must be there. For example, a constraint that “is not there” might be that the software testing team is not going to be available during the time scheduled for testing on this project. You know that you’ll need to find a different team to accomplish the testing. A constraint that “is there” is a deadline that must be met. For example, a trade show at the end of the 3rd quarter at which the new product must be displayed. You will have to figure out as a project manager what needs to be done in order to deliver within this date.

4. How Will You Know if This Project is Successful? This is a great question to ask that is typically overlooked, one that encourages you as the project manager to ‘start out with the end in mind’. Once we have expended all of the effort, energy and resources necessary to complete this project…how will we know it was successful? So many teams blaze forward without the answer to this question only to find themselves becoming terribly disappointed at the end. Define from the start the measures of project success that you work towards.

5. What Assumptions Have Been Made About this Project? We’re all familiar with the saying about what happens when you make assumptions. For example, the constraint identified above about the regular testing team may have been an assumption on the part of somebody else. Somebody may have committed to meeting a certain date on the assumption that the team was available. As a project manager it is your responsibility to uncover any assumption and respond to the reality of each situation.

6. What Needs to Be Done? This question is one level deeper than ‘what needs to be accomplished’. We’re not talking about a full-blown project plan with dependencies and resources all nicely put into place. We are talking about a high level overview of the big rocks that will help us get over the stream. These are the major milestones that pave the way from the beginning to the end of the project. Your view about project planning may be to break this down into phases of the project with high level deliverables identified for each ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

phase. This at least gets everyone thinking in the same direction and begins to identify anything that has been left out.

7. What is a Rough Project Schedule? What time frame is being discussed? Ask the question of whether an end date has already been decided. Often people are reluctant to come out with this information which is not to say a date is not already set. “You said we could do what? Are you kidding me? That’s impossible!” rings through the ears of someone who commits the company to a hard end date. It is important for you to know, nonetheless, as it will help with your planning and resource activities.

8. What Could Prevent this Project from Being Successful? The final question is what could bring this project to a grinding halt? Is there a singletracked vendor that could decide to do something else and leave the project hanging? Are there rules or laws in a State that could shut this project down in the blink of an eye? You need to have the answers to these questions in order to identify the risk your project is exposed to and put plans in place to mitigate risks as they occur. There you have it…8 questions to ask about project planning. These questions should be as instinctive and reflexive as when you touch a hot stove or someone tickles you in that one spot that drives you crazy! Keeping these 8 questions about project planning in mind will help your projects be that much more successful.

How to Plan a Project When You’re New to Project Planning The following seven questions are a great project planning checklist…

1. Who is Involved? The first question you need to know the answer to is who is involved? Is this a pet project for one of the executives of your company or is this something that a client has asked to be complete? Assemble a list of who these people are, their respective roles, and their level of involvement in the project. This will serve as a directory of who to go to when questions or issues arise. It will also identify the project sponsor who is endorsing or backing up this project. You want to maintain a close working relationship with the project sponsor and keep the lines of communication open. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

2. Why is this Important? Next, you want to ask the project sponsor (identified above) why this project is important. Is it a project that will generate revenue for the company? Is it a project that will reduce expense? Or, it may be an entirely different reason why this project is important to implement and complete. Having an understanding of what is driving this project will help you be able to make decisions that may come up along the way.

3. Will I Have the Authority to do This? There is nothing more frustrating than having accountability and responsibility without the commensurate level of authority you need to get the job done. You need to have a level of comfort that you will have access to the necessary resources and budgets to complete the project at hand. In formal project management planning, this would be accomplished by means of a document called the Project Charter. This is a document that provides the authority assigned to the project manager to ensure the project can be complete. Asking and obtaining answers to the three questions above are the foundational steps you will need to start your project off on the right foot. At this point, you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even really talked about the project itself other than understanding who is involved, why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important, and receiving confirmation that you will have access to what you need in order to get the job done. Now comes the fun part when it comes to how to plan a project.

4. What Needs to be Done? This is the question where you get everyone in the same room and ask them what needs to be done. What is the goal that everyone wants to achieve? What will the final project look like and how will everyone know when it is complete? Carefully capturing these requirements and statements will serve as the basis for understanding if something needs to be built, re purposed, purchased or any variation thereof. In formal project management planning, the result of this would be a Requirements Document that typically would be put together by a business analyst.

5. How Will This be Done? Now that everyone understands what needs to be done to consider the project a success, you need to bring in the experts as to how it will be done. There are many roads that lead to the same place and some may take longer than others. If you have identified the proper subject matter experts from question #1 above, you can rely upon them to show you the best path to take. This question would typically result in the creation of a scope, or solution document that specifically details how the project will be implemented and what project planning tools can be applied.

6. Who Will Do This? With the “what” and “how” questions answered, the next question is “who?” The way you get the answer to this question is to take the deliverables that were defined in Question 5 and break them down into steps that can be assigned to a particular person. For example, let’s say the project was to complete a new website for the company. You identified in Question 5 that you will need to have a Web Design, Web Host, Content, and Web Development. You determined that the content for the pages will need to come from someone in the Marketing department. Voila’. You now have a name associated with the activity and can move on to the final question.

7. How Long will this Take? You now simply go to the resource you have identified to complete the task at hand and ask them how long they think they will need. Hopefully, this fits into the schedule established at the outset, and you schedule this into your project plan. If not, you can always come to some type of agreement of what would be a reasonable amount of time to get the job done. That’s it…a simple way of planning a project even if you have never planned a project before by asking 7 questions and following the project planning steps. You can make this as formal or informal a process as necessary. It may be something that you can put together yourself, or, it may require input from a large number of people depending upon the complexity of the project. Just remember to not lose sight of the big picture and why the project was important to start with (Question 2). By keeping this project planning guide in mind, you will be able ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

to not get bogged down in meaningless details and strong personalities that can quickly derail your project with minutiae. By staying focused and maintaining clarity around the questions above you’ll soon find yourself running one successful project after another.

12 Steps to Planning a Project The following checklist of 12 activities for planning a project can serve as a reference for new project managers and a reminder for those that may be more experienced. It’s good to run down this list from time to time to make sure you haven’t missed a critical step when it comes to planning a project.

1. Define the Scope This is an important first step in planning a project because it answers the question of what it is that needs to be completed. This scope needs to clearly articulate and define what this project looks like, why it’s important, what it needs to accomplish, and roughly when it needs to be complete.

2. Identify Your Project Supporters The project that is defined from above must have sponsors or stakeholders that the completion of this project is important to. Find out who these people are. They may be funding the project, or have the influence necessary to keep the project moving forward when the going gets tough. Establish a relationship with this group of people and communicate with them on a regular basis about the good, the bad, and the ugly that is happening with your project. Their vested interest will help you get more done with less aggravation.

3. Determine Resources that Are Available Based upon the scope defined in Step 1, you should have a pretty good idea of what type of resources will be needed to complete the project. Are they technical in nature? Do they need a special skill set or training? ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

Are they already on-site and available or will they need to be hired or contracted in order to complete the project? This will give you a good sense of what you will need to do fill in any major gaps when it comes to resources planning.

4. Check the Timeline A big part of planning a project is to understand the timeline that has been associated with a project. In a perfect world, the scope and resources available should determine how long the project will take. But, we all know that many times this is not the case. Market pressures will accelerate how fast a project needs to be finished in order to compete with new technology. Or, perhaps a salesperson committed a date to a client in order to get the deal without really knowing what it takes. Get a sense of what you are dealing with so you can determine if it will be feasible with what you have in place already or if creative project planning will be necessary.

5. List the Big Steps This is a simple way of saying to start putting together your Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). However you breakdown your WBS (deliverable, service, hybrid, etc.) you need to start thinking about those activities and deliverables that are big and discrete enough to go along the top level of this hierarchy. This will help you determine whether you have captured “the big picture” of what needs to be done to complete this project.

6. Break Down the Smaller Steps Once you’ve determined what the big steps are, now break them down into smaller chunks of bite-size work that can be doled out to the team. For example, one of the Big Steps from Step 5 above may be Documentation Complete. The smaller steps would then consist of deliverables along the lines of Technical Manual, Release Notes, and Training Manual. This could be broken down even further into Write Manual, Design Manual, and Print Manual. This process helps ensure each deliverable is seen to its completion.

7. Develop a Draft Plan When it comes to planning a project, at this point you know what the project is, how long you have to do it, the resources that are available, and roughly what needs to be ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

done. This is when you put together a DRAFT plan. This is your first stab at combining the dates, deliverables, and resources together. It’s the time to identify dependencies and include them in the plan At this point you are working on the plan in a vacuum. That’s why it’s called a draft plan. Because, the moment it sees the light of day and your team gets their eyes on it, they will identify all the things you missed or got wrong. That’s what Step #8 is for.

8. Create your Baseline Project Plan Now that you have the draft complete, you want the feedback from your team. Review it with them. Let them know your thought process when it comes to planning a project of this type. Let them think about it and then listen to their feedback. They will recognize areas that you may have missed, are technically impossible, or may conflict (or benefit from) some other initiative that is already in progress. Take it all in, weigh each suggestion against your experience and discretion, and then develop version 1.0 of the project plan.

9. Refine the Plan Based upon Reality Now that the plan is moving forward, reflect and refine based upon the reality of what is actually happening on the project. Are things going well or running behind? Make adjustments accordingly. This can be either to the plan or to how the plan is being executed, for example, bringing on more resources to complete it on time or reducing the scope and moving some deliverable to a future phase.

10. Monitor Progress Progress will need to be something that is constantly monitored on a daily basis. Is the plan staying on track? Are issues being addressed and resolved in a timely manner? It’s your job as a project manager in planning a project to include how progress and success will be monitored throughout the duration of the project, one of the best methods will be project planning online to monitor progress against plans.

11. Document Everything Planning a project has to do as much with understanding that things will change as it does putting the original plan together. Make sure you keep up with these changes in ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

writing and update documentation to reflect reality frequently. There’s nothing worse than someone realizing way into the project that they were working off the wrong version of the specification document or project schedule and find themselves separated from where the rest of the team was heading.

12. Keep Everyone Up-to-Date Finally, you need to include mechanisms in your project plan that will keep everyone upto-date. It may be a simple “everything is just fine” message that is blasted out to anyone and everyone interested in the progress of the project to an emergency conference call in order to address a problem that just arose. Don’t leave the communication plan to chance. If you do, people that need to know and that can help with the success of the project may not have the information they need to assist. That’s it. 12 “easy” steps to plan a project. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list of every single step necessary to plan a project, it is a good starting point to make sure that your project gets off the runway safe and sound.

How a Good Project Planner Can Become Invisible When you find yourself in the state above and begin to wonder if the company even needs you as a project manager, take a moment to pat yourself on the back. It means you have done a great job! Reflect on how things were when you started and where they are now. Reflect on all the pain and suffering you went through as a project planner to get things in order. The greatest value you can bring to an organization is to set things up where they run by themselves. It is quite a legacy if you have put systems, processes, and procedures in place that will allow you to walk away and things still get done. It’s almost as if you can disappear as a project manager and nobody will even miss you. Great job! But hey; now what? While this is a good place to be, it is also a risky place to be unless you take some steps that will keep you visible within the organization. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

What’s Next as a Project Planner? There are a number of things you can do to maintain your visibility and increase your value within the organization once you have everything running smooth. 

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Move into New (and troubled) Areas – Is there another department or division in your company that’s in as bad of shape as the one you just fixed? You can pick up on those areas pretty quick by listening to what’s going on in the company. Is there a department that’s always behind or late? Is there a new line of business that’s being worked on or a huge client just came in the door that’s going to need a good project planner attached to them? Find these opportunities, and if you have the flexibility and opportunity, start moving over to these areas. Introduce More Value to Your Existing Department – Now that things are up and running; you can begin to fine-tune the machine as a project planner. Start by introducing a handful of easy-to-report, easy-to-measure, and easy-to-track Key Performance Indicators. You don’t need to bring everyone to a grinding halt with having to report out on tons of metrics, but maybe there are 3-4 areas that can be improved. Find out what those are and then drill down into those areas to improve these metrics which should tie into efficiency and profitability. Always Feel Uncomfortable – This is a general statement, but the moment you start feeling comfortable in your job is when you run the highest risk of losing your job. The days of job security are long gone, and unfortunately, if you find that you are just “phoning it in” and not pushing the envelope every chance you get, your employer may begin to lose sight of the value you bring. Sure, you got everything up and running smoothly, but don’t rest on your laurels. What’s next? Can you introduce a new (and better) project management methodology? Is there a technology that could be implemented that will make things better? Attend seminars, educational opportunities, network, brainstorm with others. Always bring that edge with you to work and you can maintain your visibility. Set up a PMO – Since you’re so good at what you did in one department, why not broach the subject of doing it for ALL departments. Float the idea of setting up a PMO to the right executive at the company and see where things go. Could be something along the lines of “Hey, I hear that you like what I was able to accomplish in this department over here, how would you feel about getting the same benefits for the entire company?” That’s enough to pique the curiosity of any executive and the rest would be up to you. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

3 Reasons Resource Planning Will Gain Respect from Functional Managers Most workers are familiar and comfortable with working in a chain of command environment. You have one manager, your manager has one manager, and your manager’s manager has one manager and up the chain it goes. Resource planning is simple because you know who reports to whom. Once you step over into the world of project management, however, you will most likely find a very different structure. This falls into the category of a matrixed organization and requires enterprise resource planning. This is where people may work directly for one manager, but are then put ‘on loan’ to other managers (typically project managers) for the purpose of completing a specific project or initiative within the company. To complicate things more, these same resources may work for multiple project managers on various projects. The day to day direction, management, and prioritization is handed down from the functional managers. These managers are typically responsible for the employee reviews of the people in their department and approving/denying routine requests such as vacation and time off. They will provide input to the HR department for long-term human resource planning. In most companies, at any moment in time, the direction of the functional manager could supersede the direction of the project manager and throw project schedules into a tizzy. Add to this, the functional manager just may not like the project manager. This could be either personally or professionally. They may just not get along with you as a person, or, they don’t subscribe to the concept of a project manager in general. They may view it as just another layer of management bureaucracy and complicates their resource planning. The following are some additional objections you may hear from a functional manager if you are working in matrixed organization.

“You don’t know what you are talking about” Ouch. That one kind of hurts. Unfortunately, it may be true, especially if you work in a technical environment and did not come up through the technical ranks. There are two career paths where a project manager can begin. The first is from the technical side. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

This means you have been on the front line, know the ins-and-outs of the work that is being done. You know the shortcuts, you know when to take them and you know when you shouldn’t take them. The second is from the business side. You may have dealt with clients, finance, or come through the operations department where you used and implemented what was created from the technical team. You understand the business issues; you understand ROI, the need for deliverables to be correct and how to satisfy a business need. Here’s a warning: Don’t try to fake it as if you have come up through the technical ranks if you haven’t. They will eat your lunch. You will lose credibility instantly and sit there like a deer in the headlights. As a project manager you don’t need to offer technical solutions. Your job is to facilitate and expedite the work getting done and part of that is having the right people (aka the technical team) figure the problem out. Focus on what you do best and let the technical team focus on what they do best.

“You make things worse” This is another statement that stings a bit. How could you make things worse as a project manager? Your job is to keep things moving forward and not to introduce confusion or chaos into the mix. Well, if you don’t know what you are talking about from a technical perspective and try to offer solutions, or worse yet, provide technical direction to a technical resource you will indeed make things worse. Here’s how this plays out. You establish a rapport with one of the technical resources on the team. Their functional manager is busy so they come to you with a question about implementation. The question goes something along the lines of “Should I do it THIS way or THAT way?” In a moment of weakness, you tell them they should do it “THAT way”. Big mistake. They do it THAT way, it breaks a whole lot of other things downstream that you just didn’t know about and it requires late nights, extended time frames and extra cost to fix the mess. No amount of resource planning software will help get out of this mess. There’s a balance to be had here. It’s not that you’re not going to make any decisions as a project manager. But, clearly know your domain of expertise and the domain of the ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

technical team. You will garner that much more respect and cooperation if you don’t cross that line.

“They are pulled in a million directions already” This one is most likely true and somewhere you can assist. The better a resource becomes in an organization the more demands will be put upon them. Their insight, guidance and decisions will be needed on multiple fronts, while they work on multiple projects, and undoubtedly put out multiple fires. You can help identify the work that is in process, prioritize what is most important for them, and run interference as much as possible. Technical resources love to get into the zone and be heads down on what they are working on. Help them get there…and stay there. The nature of the beast is that functional managers are going to be protective of their turf. They have undoubtedly hand-picked their teams and have years of experience together through the good times and the bad. They have their own inside jokes and secret hand-shakes. They don’t want someone from the “outside” stepping all over the turf they have worked so hard to nurture. Respect that as a project manager. Respect what everyone on the team does. Establish a stellar relationship with the functional manager early on. Sit down with them and find out those areas they are experiencing the most pain and see what you can do to help. Ask them about their experience with project managers prior to you. This will give you a real-time glimpse into what they think about project managers and why they feel that way. The more you can minimize the resource thrashing that occurs within a department due to poor resource planning, the more valuable you will become to that department. Serve as a buffer between the chaos that occurs on the business side of things and the technical teams. A good 80% of the scenarios that play out on the business side will never make it past the front office. The technical resources don’t need to hear about all the drama. They will appreciate you helping them stay focused on the task at hand. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

4 Ways to Be All-In When You Plan a Project There are a number of signs you can look for when someone is all in as a Project Manager. The following are a few of these signs:

They Have High Energy One sure sign that you can look for in a Project Manager that is dedicated to making their project a success is their extremely high energy level. They are there early in the morning, talking about the best way to plan a project. They have a snap in their step as they walk briskly from one meeting to the next. They speak in rapid-fire succession, rattling off facts, figures, next steps, dates, deliverables, risks and contingencies, as if they’re written on the back of their hand. They rally the troops around a common goal and keep everyone pointed in the same direction.

They’re Focused The Project Manager that’s all in is also extremely focused on what needs to be accomplished. They’re not distracted or divided over other activities that may be on their plate. Sure, they have other responsibilities, both from inside and outside the organization that are on their mind, but they’re able to “compartmentalize” these things and stay extremely tuned-in to the task at hand.

They Give 110% Yeah, yeah, yeah…we all know you can’t give more than 100%, but those Project Managers that are all in somehow pull this off. When they plan a project, they make sure that no stone is left unturned. When they call a meeting, they make sure everyone is prepared to the enth degree. When they identify risks, you’re left wondering if they’re going to condemn the place! They make sure they do all they can to discharge their responsibility as a Project Manager and then do just a bit more for extra insurance. Hopefully, the above-listed signs will help you – especially if you want to be a Project Manager who is engaged, active, and passionate in your position as the leader of a project. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

What is the Opposite of “All In”? Let’s take a moment and look at the opposite of All In. I guess you could say it would be All Out. Or, more realistically, it would be something along the lines of “sort-of” in. This is where the Project Manager sort of cares about what they’re doing, but also sort of doesn’t. Maybe they’ve been burned a number of times at their company. Maybe they’ve had some bad experiences or are still recovering from mistakes they made in the past. Whatever the case, they don’t have the same vim and vigor that the All In project manager carries with them. 

They Just Go Through the Motions – A Project Manager that is not truly engaged with a project will go through the motions of being a Project Manager. They’ll call a meeting, but do something else while everyone talks about the issue at hand. They’ll plan a project without digging into the details. They’ll send out only the most cursory status updates just so they can check it off their list of things that need to get done.

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They “Phone it in” – This can be in both the literal and symbolic sense of someone just phoning it in. We all know you can get more done as well as be more effective and efficient if you take the time to meet face-to-face. Especially if you’re in the same location! The Project Manager that just phones it in is content with never leaving their cubical or desk to meet face-to face. This is even if the people they need to meet with are in the office or cubical right next to them! Rather, they’ll set up conference call after conference call and multi-task checking email or working on something else while the team works through open issues. They Become Perfunctory in their Actions – The Project Manager who is not 100% engaged will set themselves on auto-pilot. They will live and die by an unwritten ToDo List of all the things that need to be done after they plan a project. Rather than take a moment to reflect on whether the next activity on the list is the best thing to do at this particular time, based upon the current circumstances, they’ll blaze forward to get it done – even if it isn’t the best thing to do.

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How can you identify what this Project Manager looks like? The following are some signs: Unfortunately, we’ve all known Project Managers that fit the description above. The net result is that both they and their teams suffer because of this attitude.

4 Ways to Be “All In” As a Project Manager Is there a formula for being 100% engaged as a Project Manager? Not really. You’ll know what it means when you see it. However, the following are seven characteristics you can adopt that will propel you into a new realm of project management. 1. Be Passionate – Everyone is so concerned about being politically correct nowadays that people are relegated to being just an automaton – a mere cog in the wheel of the enterprise. Dispel this belief and vociferously stand up for those things you believe should be done for the good of the project. 2. Get Upset or Be Disappointed – If something goes wrong or doesn’t go your way, it’s fine to be a bit upset or disappointed. We’re not talking about throwing chairs across the room (I’ve seen that, by the way) but every now and then you can have a bad day…and even let other people know about it. 3. Get Excited – On the other hand, when things go better than expected or the project receives a great break along the way, a few fist-pumps here and there… or a yelp from across the room when you plan a project out… can go a long way toward energizing the team. 4. Be Genuine and Real – Nobody likes someone who is fake – most times they can see right through such a facade. Make sure that whatever you’re doing is an expression of your real self and not some script that you think you should be playing out as a Project Manager. Knowing that you’re genuinely all in as a Project Manager, will draw your team, management and clients closer to you, and help you support the cause even more.

How to do a Project Plan Face-to-Face Smart phones, video conferencing, enormous monitors, and hyper-fast Internet speeds are common place these days making our jobs as project managers that much easier and travel not as frequent. With all of these advances, however, the reality is that there are many times when nothing beats a face-to-face conversation. We’ll discuss why you sometimes need to know how to do a project plan face-to-face and make the most of that limited time together.

Problems that Surface without Seeing Each Other Face-to-Face Most organizations have some element of a Sales function and Services function. The job of the Sales department is to go out and find the work. The job of the Services department is to deliver on these commitments the company has made. Typically, the Sales team will have had a number of face-to-face meetings with the potential client making sure that the solution the company offers meets their needs. They then hand it over to the Services team to implement the details. There are a couple of issues that arise from this if you are wondering how to do a project plan without meeting in person.

1. Lack of Understanding No matter how finely tuned your sales department is, there’s almost always going to be a disconnect between what your company can offer and what has been promised. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s the rare situation when a potential client’s needs align 100% with your offering. It is also the rare salesperson that says that they may not be possible (and that’s OK…it pushes the envelope for the team internally to try new things and more importantly brings the work in). You are now thrust into the position of taking over the project and need to know how to do a project plan with somewhat limited information as to what has been agreed upon. You can have conference call after conference call as you try to understand what the client’s needs are and what they have been promised. People’s attention and time is divided on these calls and it will typically end up in frustration, confusion, and no progress.

2. Lack of Trust Another huge challenge of not meeting the client’s team face-to-face from the beginning is a lack of trust. You are focused on how to do a project plan with the client and they are focused on what they have been promised from the sales team. The reality of what can and can’t be done begins to come into conversations and many times that is their first impression of you as a project manager. Depending upon how you position what you can and can’t do, will determine how much trust they will put in you. Couple this with the fact that they don’t have a clue who you are, what you look like, or how you carry yourself. You are just a tiny voice on the other side of the call that they are expected to follow and believe without reservation. Sure, you can get to that point based upon results and execution, but it will take much longer if you never have the opportunity to meet in person.

3. Lack of Collaboration and Camaraderie Another critical part when you need to know how to do a project plan with a client is the element of collaboration and camaraderie. This is ability to look at each other over the table or sitting side by side from each other and letting the ideas flow. You may say something that you can tell sparks some interest from the other person and then expand upon it further. This generates another idea from someone else who then inspires someone else to add to this quickly emerging train of thought. It’s hard to have this same dynamic come into play if you’ve never met each other in person. Plus, it’s tough to do a virtual high-five when there has been some revolutionary breakthrough that emerges from such collaboration.

How to Make the Most of a Face-to-Face Meeting One of the optimal times to get together as a joint project team between your company and the client’s is the project kick-off meeting. This is the time when there is a good solid framework around the project plan, but still some flexibility around what can and can’t be done. It’s also a good opportunity to provide education to their team about how your company operates along with gleaning some insight into their structure as ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

well. Keep the following in mind when you want to know the best way of how to do a project plan in person.

1. Make Sure you Have the Right People There You don’t have to bring an entire entourage to the client’s site, especially if there is a substantial amount of travel involved. But, you should have a key representative from each major group that the client will be interacting with. It’s your job as project manager to coordinate all these efforts, but it’s also good for the client to have a direct relationship with these key players. Make sure key resources from the client are in attendance as well. There is nothing worse than not having the right people in the room when questions are asked and answers are not forthcoming.

2. Keep it on Track One challenge that does surface when you want to know how to do a project plan in person is that a meeting can have a tendency to get off track quick. For example, someone may bring up a topic that nobody had considered up to this point (a good thing), but discussing this topic at this time also has the potential of derailing the rest of the very important topics that need to be covered. It’s up to you as a Project Manager to find the best time to discuss this new subject. You may want to spend a bit of time on it now and see if it can be resolved. If not, schedule a follow-up meeting to give this necessary topic the right amount of time for consideration.

3. Schedule the Right Amount of Time You will be amazed at how much can be accomplished if you have the right people in the room to do a project plan and keep it on track. One final aspect to making the meeting a success is to schedule the right amount of time necessary to finish the project plan. You may want to have a contingency plan in place for another half-day or entire day to finish up any loose ends in order to make the most of your time together. It’s hard not to see the progress that has been made when it comes to technology, but, there’s still nothing like getting together in person from time to time. Sure, it may seem ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

somewhat old-fashioned, but you will be very pleased with the long-term results that come from this investment of time, money, and resources.

How to Project Plan Like There’s No Tomorrow There’s a certain disbelief that occurs after a big layoff where people walk around a bit shell-shocked. You can gently remind everyone that for those that were let go there is no tomorrow and that everyone needs to start going above and beyond to ensure the company remains viable. How can you do this? Take this opportunity to engage in the following activities as a project manager: 

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Sure, I’ll Help – There needs to be a big attitude adjustment once a layoff occurs. People need to stop just looking out for themselves and need to ask the question about what they can do to help others. You can lead this charge as a project manager who knows how to project plan like there’s no tomorrow. Offer your assistance in areas that you know were particularly hit hard. Perhaps you have resources or you know of resources that can be “loaned” for a period of time until another group gets back on their feet or catches up on their backlog of work. It may require some longer days on your part, but they will certainly appreciate your efforts in helping them out during this tough time. Play Nice with Everyone – Remember the departmental strife that was discussed at the beginning of the article? As everyone’s teams get smaller and more compact, they are almost forced to play nicer with each other to get things done. You undoubtedly had some particular person that you just hated working with or who frustrated you to no end – and you would avoid them at all costs. You can’t do that anymore as a project manager because they are now the only people left that you can rely upon. You, and everyone else in your company, are going to need to use your best manners as you work through these tough times together. Break Down the Silos – There should be zero energy expended on internal turf warfare and the silliness that ensues because of that activity. Rather, everyone in the ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

company needs to focus on the one common goal that brought the company to a layoff in the first place…survival! When you understand how to plan a project like there’s no tomorrow it brings a greater sense of urgency and importance to everything the team is working on. Take this opportunity to reach across and into all departmental silos within the company and begin tearing down those walls. Ensure that everyone understands the big picture. Get rid of the finger pointing and “he said, she said” mentality that can easily creep into any company if not carefully guarded against. Finally, don’t fret when layoffs occur. It is unfortunately a common occurrence in today’s business environment. I know of companies that have gone through half a dozen layoffs in just as many years and unfortunately eliminated two-thirds of their staff. However, the result has been that the core group that stays around is stronger and more agile than ever before. Plus, they’ve learned the skills necessary to work together and not against each other.

Project Planning Words You Rarely Hear …What?? Did somebody just say “I got that?” Someone actually volunteered to take on a deliverable that didn’t necessarily have a clear owner? Did you hear them right? You did. You’re grateful. Someone from the team stepped up and took ownership of something that they didn’t necessarily have to own. We’re not saying that this type of behavior never happens, but it’s a rarity nowadays. The following are some of the reasons why this type of behavior may be rare during project planning and some things you can do to hear those three little words more often.

Why is Volunteering So Rare? Volunteering to take ownership of something that doesn’t have a clear owner is a rarity for a number of reasons. For example: 

It Means More Work – Let’s face it…everyone has more than enough work to keep not only themselves busy, but probably a second or third person as well. There’s just not enough time in the day to get done what people are already responsible for, let alone signing up for additional work. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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It Stretches Comfort Zones – Most people like routines. They like predictability. They like to know that if there’s a task or activity ahead of them, that they’ll be able to accomplish it without too much of a problem. When someone volunteers for something new or different, it puts them in the position of having to try something new. They may not feel entirely comfortable doing what is being asked of them and this causes reluctance when it comes to taking ownership of something new. Something Could Go Wrong – Another reason why you may hear crickets when you look for someone to take ownership of something is that they may have been burned before. It may have been earlier in their career that they were gung-ho about taking on new and exciting challenges. But then they fall victim to “no go deed goes unpunished” and they find themselves backing off as their career progresses. It’s an unfortunate long-term consequence of poor management, but it doesn’t take too many times to get burned if something goes wrong before people wise up.

Should You Volunteer as a Project Manager? A trap that many newer project managers may fall into when it comes to project planning is to volunteer for everything themselves. They can’t stand the silence. It’s awkward. It may make them feel as if they don’t have control of the situation. It’s especially easy to succumb to volunteering for an unassigned deliverable if you know how to do it. For example, you may have a technical background that would allow you to accomplish that task. Don’t do it. By the book, a project manager should own NOTHING other than the project plan and all the activities associated with project management. You never, ever want to be on the critical path yourself and run the possibility of slowing the project down. There are, however, some things that you can, and should, volunteer for when it comes to project planning. It may be an administrative task, or organizing something that will make your resources jobs easier, or something that will clear an obstacle of their way. You should be all over that type of activity for a couple of reasons. 

You’ll Garner Respect from Your Team – There are “hands-off” project managers that do nothing more than bark out commands; forward emails, and drink way too much coffee. They refuse to get their hands dirty or dig into some of the details that

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will help move the project forward, faster. If they see you digging in and helping out, you’ll certainly go up a notch or two on their respect-o-meters. It Keeps Your Team Focused – Your resources need to stay heads down on what they need to accomplish. If you’ve volunteered to take care of something (that’s not on the critical path) then this will allow them to keep focused on those items that are on the critical path. There’s nothing more frustrating for a person that’s “in the zone” to have to stop and start over and over again. You can remove that frustration. It Sets a Good Example – You’re volunteering as a project manager for those items that you can take care of sets a great example for your team when it comes to having a volunteering spirit. The next time you need to have something done and there’s deafening silence in the room, perhaps people will remember your example and step up to take ownership.

Project planning isn’t always fun. There are a lot of things that must be accounted for when it comes to resources, identifying work that needs to be done, conflicting demands, and tight schedules. However, project planning can become easier if people on your team start uttering those three little words you long to hear as a project manager…”I got that”. Those three little words make everyone’s job that much easier, remove unnecessary stress and pressure from the team and help build morale across the entire group.

Do You Know Your Project Plan Development Numbers? Every project that is managed within a company is undertaken for one of two reasons. The first is to bring in revenue to the company. Companies that sell client work on a Fixed Fee or Time and Material basis know the intimate details of how that works and the importance of keeping this cash flowing. Or, it may be that a new product or service offering needed to be developed to increase company revenue. This is the lifeblood of the company that keeps everything else moving forward. The second reason projects are undertaken is to cut costs or reduce expense. This could be accomplished by optimizing an outdated process or upgrading antiquated equipment. Each one of these types of projects has a number associated with it…how much will be billed to the client, generated as additional revenue, or realized in the form of cost ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

savings. Find those numbers and hold them near and dear to your project management heart.

How Can You Influence These Numbers? “Big deal,” you may say. “I know the numbers. What difference is that going to make when it comes to my project plan development process?” Good question. There are a number of things you can be mindful of when you are working on your project plan development activities that can influence your number. For example: 

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Can Something Get Done Faster? Are there tasks you can run in parallel instead of serially in order to get the project done faster? This is especially important as the end of your fiscal year approaches. You may be able to meet your financial target by accelerating billing on a project that has been delivered early. Can Something Be Done Better? In conjunction with your project plan development schedule being done faster, is there something that can be done better? Look for opportunities to make something easier, less complicated, or smoother. Find out those areas where something is stuck in limbo between departments without the other department knowing it’s ready to work on. Can Something be Done Different? It may not be that something needs to be done better with your project plan development; it could be that it just needs to be done different. Perhaps you could change the order of where something was done or get approvals earlier on in the process.

The above are all ways you can influence the end of the year billing goal by not only knowing what the company’s target is but how you contribute to the bottom line yourself.

Tell Everyone Your Numbers Now that you know your numbers make sure to incorporate them in your conversations throughout the company. Include them in project meetings, highlight them in status reports, and talk about them frequently. This will let others (especially upper management) know that you are concerned about the business as a whole and what part you have to play in making it a success. What’s your number? Take a break from your routine project plan development activities and go find out. You’ll be glad you did when the new VP comes to town. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

About Project Management Requirements Gathering Is it the responsibility of a project manager to gather requirements for a project? The answer would be NO if you lived in a perfect world. However, not too many of us live in a perfect world. So, the answer is a definitive…Yes, No, Sometimes, Maybe, Never, and It Depends. There’s really not a black and white answer to the question of whether a project manager gathers requirements. It can vary from company to company and depends upon the number of resources available, the skill set of these resources, and even the culture of the company. This article will talk about project management requirements gathering and provide a basic understanding of how the requirements gathering process works.

Should a Project Manager Gather Requirements? This is a bit of a different question than if it is the responsibility of a project manager to gather requirements. The question is really SHOULD a project manager gather requirements. In the purest sense of requirements gathering it is not within the wheelhouse of a project manager to gather requirements. Think about project management and the project managers you know. They are typically date driven, collaborative by nature, and rally the troops toward reaching a common goal. Business analysis and requirements gathering require a different skill set. Requirements gathering involve the person lingering a bit longer than others would. It requires that they probe deep into the problem or conversation at hand and uncover every possible scenario, regardless of how small or inconsequential. You can see this dynamic at work when there is a project manager and business analyst assigned to a project. The thing about project management is that it is deliverable and date based. The project manager will push the business analyst for a date when the requirements will complete. The business analyst’s response is that they have just one more person, or meeting, or ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

requirements session to go through before they really feel as if all requirements have been captured. In an ideal situation a Project Manager would not be used to gather requirements. Requirements are about comprehensiveness. Project management is about movement within previously defined parameters of scope, cost, time, and quality. Despite this fact, many project managers will find themselves in the unenviable role of playing an ad hoc business analyst tasked with gathering requirements. It could be that the company is short-handed, or that the BAs have been pulled over to another project. Or, there could have been requirements that were missed early on and the path of least resistance is to get the project manager to fill in the blanks. One thing about project management is that project managers are a versatile bunch. They’ll dig in where there’s a need and do what they can to help out. The following is a guideline of what you can do as a project manager if you’ve been tasked with this activity…There are four main steps that must be undertaken in the requirements gathering process. These are: Gather Information: Information gathering is the process of uncovering as many sources of requirements as possible. This includes identifying the current users, future users, and even past users of the product or process. Find out what they liked, didn’t like, or didn’t use about the product or process that is looking to be improved. Identify those who are removed 2 – 3 times away from the direct users. For example, is there an executive that uses a report that a direct user of the product or application produces? Is there an interim system that needs to consume the data that the product or application produces? These are all things that must be taken into consideration to make sure there is not one stone left unturned. It’s a sad thing to get to the end of a project and realize that a particular stakeholder group was overlooked and their needs were not met. What is the best way to gather this information? There are a number of ways that range from one-on-one conversations to large groups. One of the most effective ways of gathering requirements is to have a room of about 10-12 people that represent different constituencies that are stakeholders of the

product or application. One thing about project management is that it forces us to be in front of people on a regular basis, so this shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Throw up a screen with a projector or get the over-sized pads and easels with adhesive on the back. Have everyone come up with their ideas as to what needs to be done to either start, improve, or fix the product or process that is being discussed. Record these on your laptop or on the over-sized adhesive pads. You’ll begin to a see a theme develop of people’s needs and concerns. Once you’ve heard the same concerns repeated 2-3 times you are now in a position to start prioritizing the requirements. Ask everyone in attendance to force rank what is the most important on the list they just produced. Start with the Top 3 – 5 as you move into the next step. Convert into Requirements: The next thing to know about project management requirements gathering is to convert the needs identified above into actual requirements. This may involve further conversations with those who identified the Top 3-5 items discussed above. Use tools that you have at your disposal such as creating process flows, swim lane diagrams, or other software tools you use when you learned about project management. Create the requirements in a way that is easy to understand and grasp. Anybody can make something extremely complicated and hard to understand. It takes true genius to take the complicated and make it graceful, elegant, and easy to understand. Think about project management and how complicated it was until someone took the time to break it down for you and explain it clearly. Do the same with your requirements. Document in a Tangible Way for Easy Approval: The next step that needs to be taken once the requirements have been established is to compile it into an easy-to-approve document. This document should consist of what you heard from the sources that provided you with the information at the outset. Show how this converts to the requirements that the rest of the solution, and ultimately the project, will be based upon. Test the Requirements: The final step is to test the requirements to verify everything has been captured. This is similar to testing a product or application to make sure all the ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

functionality that is supposed to be there works. Have the experts vet out the requirements to ensure to a high degree of certainty that nothing has been missed. You now have the basis for a solid set of requirements that will serve as the rock solid foundation for the rest of the project. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s less than ideal if a project manager concerns himself with requirements gathering rather than project management. But, there are going to be those times when you have to step up as a project manager and fill in those shoes. You just have to realize that you are now wearing a different hat and need to look at things a bit differently. Mastering this skill will allow you to not only become a person who knows a lot about project management, but can help the requirements gathering process as well.

5 Steps to Project Management Planning Project management planning is a process that you need to undertake every project, as part of the project management life-cycle. In this short video Jennifer Whitt, Director of ProjectManager.com offers some simple tips that you can do to get out of analysis paralysis, and begin planning and to towards execution.. http://www.projectmanager.com/5-steps-to-project-management-planning.php

Project Planning vs. Project Management Want to learn why project planning is not the same as project management? Have you ever wondered the difference? In this short video Jennifer Whitt, Director of ProjectManager.com distinguishes the difference. http://www.projectmanager.com/project-planning-vs-project-management-spot-thedifference.php

Why Not to Leave Your Project Plans on the Shelf Watch the following video and discover why you should never leave your Project Plans gathering dust on a shelf http://www.projectmanager.com/why-shelf-sitting-is-a-badidea-for-project-plans.php

When to use to Do Lists and Project Plans The “To Do” list vs. the Project Plan – how and when should you use them? http://www.projectmanager.com/using-to-do-lists-versus-project-plans-2.php

How to Baseline a Project Jennifer Whitt, Director of ProjectManager.com offers advice on what baselining is all about and although often overlooked, why it can be the difference between a successful or a failed project. http://www.projectmanager.com/what-baselining-is-all-about-3.php

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Take a Free Trial Create your own Projects Sign up to boost your project success Any questions? Email support@ProjectManager.com and one of our friendly support staff will be happy to help. We also recommend a visit our resource library if you would like access to further: project management tips  video tutorials  project management templates