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Chapter 4: Project Integration Management - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 4: Project Integration Management
The Key to Overall Project Success
Project managers must coordinate all of the other knowledge areas throughout a project’s life cycle
Many new project managers have trouble looking at the “big picture” and want to focus on too many details (See opening case for a real example)
Project integration management is not the same thing as software integration
Project Integration Management Processes
Developing the project charter involves working with stakeholders to create the document that formally authorizes a project—
the charter
.
Developing the project management plan involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a consistent, coherent document—
the project management plan
.
Directing and managing
project work involves carrying out the project management plan by performing the activities included in it.
Monitoring and controlling project work involves overseeing activities to meet the performance objectives of the project
Performing integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle.
Closing the project or phase involves finalizing all activities to formally close the project or phase.
Strategic Planning and Project Selection
SWOT analysis
Strength
Weakness
Opportunities
Threat
As part of strategic planning, organizations
use realistic methods to select which projects to work on
formalize project initiation by issuing a project charter
identify potential projects
Strategic planning
involves determining long-term objectives, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services
Information Technology Planning Process
Project Planning
Business Area Analysis
Resource Allocation
Information Technology Strategy Planning
Best Practice
Four important forces behind NPD success include the following
A product innovation and technology strategy for the business
Resource commitment and focusing on the right projects, or solid portfolio management
An effective, flexible and streamlined idea-to-launch process
The right climate and culture for innovation, true cross-functional teams, and senior management commitment to NPD
Methods for Selecting Projects
There are usually more projects than available time and resources to implement them
Methods for selecting projects include
focusing on broad organizational needs
categorizing information technology projects
performing net present value or other financial analyses
using a weighted scoring model
implementing a balanced scorecard
Focusing on Broad Organizational Needs
“It is better to measure gold roughly than to count pennies precisely”
Three important criteria for projects
There is a
need
for the project
There are
funds
available
There’s a strong
will
to make the project succeed
It is often difficult to provide strong justification for many IT projects, but everyone agrees they have a high value
Categorizing IT Projects
Another categorization is how long it will take to do and when it is needed
Another is the
overall priority of the project
One categorization is whether the project addresses
a problem
an opportunity, or
a directive
Financial Analysis of Projects
Financial considerations are often an important consideration in selecting projects
Three primary methods for determining the projected financial value of projects
Net present value (NPV) analysis
Return on investment (ROI)
Payback analysis
Net Present Value Analysis (NPV)
Projects with a
positive NPV
should be considered if financial value is a key criterion
The higher the NPV, the better
It is a method of
calculating the expected
net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time
Calculation
Determine
estimated costs and benefits
for the life of the project and the products it produces
Determine the
discount rate
(check with your organization on what to use)
Calculate the NPV (see text for details)
Notes
Some organizations
consider the investment year as year 0, while others start in year 1.
Some people
entered costs as negative numbers, while others do not.
Check with your organization for their preferences
Return on Investment (ROI)
The higher the ROI, the better
Many organizations have a required
rate of return
or minimum acceptable rate of return on investment for projects
ROI is calculated by
subtracting
the project costs from the benefits and then dividing by the costs
Internal rate of return
(IRR) can by calculated by finding the discount rate that makes the NPV equal to zero
ROI = (total discounted benefits - total discounted costs) / discounted costs
Payback Analysis
Another important financial consideration is payback analysis
The
payback period
is the amount of time it will take to recoup, in the form of net cash inflows, the total dollars invested in a project
Payback occurs when the net cumulative discounted benefits equals the costs
Many organizations want IT projects to have a fairly short payback period
Weighted Scoring Model
A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria
Identify criteria important to the project selection process
Assign weights (percentages) to each criterion so they add up to 100%
Assign scores to each criterion for each project
Multiply the scores by the weights and get the total weighted scores
The higher the weighted score, the better
Implementing a Balanced Scorecard
Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton developed this approach to help
select and manage projects
that align with business strategy
A balanced scorecard
is a methodology that converts an organization’s value drivers, such as customer service, innovation, operational efficiency, and financial performance, to a series of defined metrics
Developing a Project Charter
After deciding what project to work on, it is important to let the rest of the organization know
A
project charter
is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project’s objectives and management
Key project stakeholders should sign a project charter to acknowledge agreement on the need and intent of the project; a signed charter is a key output of project integration management
Inputs for Developing a Project Charter
A project statement of work
A business case
Agreements
Enterprise environmental factors
Organizational process assets
, which include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, information systems, financial systems, management systems, lessons learned, and historical information
Developing a Project Management Plan
A
project management plan
is a document used to coordinate all project planning documents and help guide a project’s execution and control
Plans created in the other knowledge areas are subsidiary parts of the overall project management plan
Common Elements of a Project Management Plan
Introduction or overview of the project
Description of how the project is organized
Management and technical processes used on the project
Work to be done, schedule, and budget information
Directing and Managing Project Work
Involves managing and performing the work described in the project management plan
The majority of time and money is usually spent on execution
The application area of the project directly affects project execution because the products of the project are produced during execution
Coordinating Planning and Execution
Project planning and execution are intertwined and inseparable activities
Those who will do the work should help to plan the work
Project managers must solicit input from the team to develop realistic plans
Providing Leadership and a Supportive Culture
Organizational culture can help project execution by
providing guidelines and templates
tracking performance based on plans
Project managers may still need to break the rules to meet project goals, and senior managers must support those actions
Project managers must lead by example to
demonstrate the importance of creating
and then following good project plans
Capitalizing on Product, Business, and Application Area Knowledge
It is often helpful for IT project managers to have prior technical experience
On small projects, the project manager may be required to perform some of the technical work or mentor team members to complete the projects
On large projects, the project manager must understand the business and application area of the project
Project Execution Tools and Techniques
Meetings
Meetings allow people to develop relationships, pick up on important body language or tone of voice, and have a dialogue to help resolve problems.
Project management information systems
There are hundreds of project management software products available on the market today, and many organizations are moving toward powerful enterprise project management systems that are accessible via the Internet
Expert judgment
Experts can help project managers and their teams make many decisions related to project execution
Monitoring and Controlling Project Work
Changes are inevitable on most projects, so it’s important to develop and follow a process to monitor and control changes
Monitoring project work includes collecting, measuring, and disseminating performance information
A
baseline
is the approved project management plan plus approved changes
Performing Integrated Change Control
There are 3 main objectives which are
Influencing the factors that create changes to ensure that changes are beneficial
Determining that a change has occurred
Managing actual changes as they occur
Change Control on Information Technology Projects
Problem
Stakeholders rarely agreed up-front on the project scope, and time and cost estimates were inaccurate
Modern view
Project management is a process of constant communication and negotiation
Former view
The project team should strive to do exactly what was planned on time and within budget
Solution
Changes are often beneficial, and the project team should plan for them
Change Control Board (CCB)
A
CBB
is a formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project
CCBs provide guidelines for preparing change requests, evaluate change requests, and manage the implementation of approved changes
Includes stakeholders from the entire organization
Making Timely Changes
Some CCBs
only meet occasionally, so it may take too long for changes to occur
Some organizations have policies in place for time-sensitive changes
“48-hour policy” allows project team members to make decisions, then they have 48 hours to reverse the decision pending senior management approval
Delegate changes to the lowest level possible, but keep everyone informed of changes
Global Issues
Incompatible hardware, software, and networks can make communications difficult in some regions
A lack of competition can cause prices to soar
Rapid changes in technology often cause governments around the world to take action.
A group called the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
promotes policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
In February 2012, the
OECD
called upon its members’ governments to boost competition in international mobile roaming markets.
Configuration Management
Configuration management
ensures that the descriptions of the project’s products are correct and complete
Involves
identifying and controlling
the functional and physical design characteristics of products and their support documentation
Configuration management specialists
identify and document configuration requirements, control changes, record and report changes, and audit the products to verify conformance to requirements
Suggestions for Performing Integrated Change Control
Plan for change
Establish a formal change control system including a CBB
View project management as a process of constant communication and negotiation
Use effective configuration management
Define procedures for making timely decisions on smaller changes
Use written and oral performance reports to help identify and manage change
Use project management and other software to help manage and communicate changes
Focus on leading the project team and meeting overall project goals and expectations
Closing Projects or Phases
To close a project or phase, you must finalize all activities and transfer the completed or cancelled work to the appropriate people
Main outputs include
Final product, service, or result transition
Organizational process asset updates
Using Software to Assist in Project Integration Management
Several types of software can be used to assist in project integration management
Documents can be created with word processing software
Presentations are created with presentation software
Tracking can be done with spreadsheets or databases
Communication software like e-mail and Web authoring tools facilitate communications
Project management software can pull everything together and show detailed and summarized information
Business Service Management (BSM)
tools track the execution of business process flows