The Princeton Project Office

Project Management:Project Management: A Critical Skill for PrincetonA Critical Skill for Princeton

Presented by Hetty Baiz

Princeton Project Office

OIT, Princeton University

BackgroundBackground

Multiple Projects Cross-functional Mutually Interdependent

Success and failure is no longer within the total control of that project.

What’s A Project?What’s A Project?

What’s A Project?What’s A Project?

A “project”

Will deliver – Business and/or technical objectives

Is made up of– Defined processes & tasks

Will run for– Set period of time

Has a budget– Resources and $’s

What is Project Success?What is Project Success?

What is Project Success?What is Project Success?

The 'Golden Triangle' of

Objectives

Time Cost

Project Success

Project success occurs when we have:

A delighted client (expectations met)Delivered the agreed objectivesMet an agreed budget - $, resources etc.Within an agreed time frame

and

Done it all professionally &without killing the team

Why Do Projects Fail?Why Do Projects Fail?

Changing scope Insufficient planning No risk or issues management Poor communication Lack of commitment and responsibility by stakeholders

ProjectAcademic &Business Units

Who Are Stakeholders?

Outside Groups(Vendors)

TeamMembers

InformationTechnology

Steering Committee

Clients & Users Senior Mgmt

InterdependentProjects

Project ManagementA Maturity Model

seatseatof theof thepantspants

Success rate lessthan 30%

awaree

Success rate of 30to 45%

Success rate of 45to 75%

Success rate betterthan 75%

best practicebest practicebest practicebest practice

competentcompetent

seatseatofof

pantspants

awareawareaware

Seat of Pants Seat of Pants

Projects happen without correct initiation– Planning is insufficient– Benefits are unknown– There is often inadequate buy-in

Communication is poor Interdependencies are not managed Standards, if any, are poorly defined or

unenforced.

Seat ofSeat ofpantspants

Success rate lessthan 30%

AwareAware

Projects are formally initiated & plans endorsed but with varying standards and few disciplines

Methodology has been introduced Stakeholders support projects overall The number of projects is rationalized Projects are explicitly associated with

business planning

awareaware Success rate of 30To 40%

CompetentCompetent

Methodology and standards are well established and supported Stakeholders understand and accept roles Discrete measures support good management Projects are set up and managed end-to-end Risks are clearly defined and controlled

competentcompetentSuccess rate of 45 To 75%

Best PracticeBest Practice

Improvement programs are formal Good measurement enables optimization Level of confidence sees organization taking

on high risk projects successfully Respect and support of projects and project

managers

best practicebest practice Success rate better than 75%

Why Should We Care?Why Should We Care?

To Increase the likelihood that projects will :

– be done on time and within budget– meet people’s expectations– be done well

Project Office MissionProject Office Mission

To enable the successful implementation of OIT initiatives in a way that establishes a project management culture so that we deliver projects on time, within budget and with expected results.

How?How?

Define a Princeton Project Management Methodology (PPMM)

Support and Mentor Offer Training Facilitation, Audit, Review

P2K Project Office

Methodology

Consulting/Mentoring Education/Training

ContinuousImprovement

Project Management ProcessProject Management Process

Initiation

Complete&

Assess

Tracking& Control

Reporting

Review

Planning

Initiation Plan

DetailedPlan

Status Report

PostProjectReviewReport

Management TechniquesManagement Techniques

To increase the likelihood of project success you must manage:

Stakeholders Risks Issues Change

How to Manage StakeholdersHow to Manage Stakeholders

A stakeholder is any person or group who, if their support were to be withdrawn, could cause the project to fail.

- Get them involved- Keep them informed- Gain their endorsement

How to Manage StakeholdersHow to Manage Stakeholders

Identify stakeholders Involve in planning Establish expectations / accountabilities Formal communication Gain sign-off Change and issues resolution Project reviews Define project completion

Risk ManagementRisk Management

What is “risk”?

Any factor capable of causing the project to go off track.

– Develop and monitor a Risk Plan

Issues ManagementIssues Management

Unresolved issues will drive a project towards failure and consume a significant part of a project manager’s time.

Stakeholders play key role in issues management and resolution

- Establish Issues log, review, escalation process

Change ManagementChange Management

Uncontrolled changes to a project will probably account for up to 30% of a project’s total effort.

If these changes are not managed, the project will be viewed to be over time and over budget.

- Establish a Change management process

PPMM Summary OverviewPPMM Summary Overview The Process

– Initiation– Planning - Track/Control - Report - Review– Completion and Assessment

Management Techniques– Stakeholder Management– Risk Management– Issues Management– Change Management

PPMM DeliverablesPPMM Deliverables

Project Plans Status Reports Audit & Review Report

PPMM ToolsPPMM Tools

Office 2000– Word– Excel– Access

MS Project 2000

For more information…...For more information…...

Call the Princeton Project Office at 8-6335

Send e-mail to [email protected] Visit our web site at…

www.princeton.edu/ppo

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Project Planning and Management

Follow proven methodologies Active Executive/Project Sponsor Identify / revisit “critical success” factors Document assumptions

– Business process change vs. customization


Project Planning and Management

Have technical staff in place at start-up Plan for backfill Involve Steering Committee early Plan production support in central offices Plan for applying fixes Plan for “end of project” Plan for vacation/sick time


Scheduling, Tracking and Control

Break large projects into phases (no > 18 - 24 months total)

Control phase “bleed over” Post phase assessments “Go/No Go” decision points Sponsor sign-off Review Scope periodically


Scheduling, Tracking and Control

Building learning curve into plans Weekly team meetings Detail planning in 1-2 month segments Define and manage to “critical path”

– What’s important– Prioritize– Who, what, when


Reporting

Establish monthly status reporting Hold monthly status reviews with key stakeholders

– Oral status reports are effective Keep users of system (middle managers) informed

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesResourcing

Resource Plan Cross functional teams work Co-locate teams Projects are full time job Complete training before prototyping Have full team train together Leverage investment Build team spirit


Managing Expectations

Communication Plan Make major policy decisions up front Don’t make promises to users up front Monthly status report and review Monthly / bi-monthly presentations Articles, web pages, newsletters Special communications from sponsor Focus groups, demos, town meetings


Promoting the System

Focus Groups during gap analysis Demos for every user after first release Active Executive Committee showed support Town meetings to endorse system Major presentation to users “Pretzel stick” advertisement

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesMethodology

Follow proven methodologies Consolidate methodology ( pre-kick off ) Functional reps go to all prototyping Use standard report formats Co-locate developer with tester (short term)

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesManaging the Consulting Partner

Selection criteria should include– Ability to transfer knowledge– Help organize team– Follow proven methodology– Provide good implementation tools– Ability to form good working partnership– Higher Education experience– Work locally (near by or on-site)

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesManaging the Consulting Partner

Take time to define contract– Terms and conditions / Statement of work (metrics)

Review by Legal, tech., bus., purchasing Veto power to select / reject resources Fixed price gives University more control Tie payments to acceptance of deliverables Review quality plans State that the University has methodology


Managing the Consulting Partner

Form partnership - make part of team Have single point of contact Build one project plan Consultant defines phase objectives Build in reviews with decision points

– Meet expectations / Go-no go decision Plan for early transition of knowledge Implementation done by Princeton


Managing the Vendor

Have single point of contact Include RFP responses / bind vendor to meet Cap maintenance fees (post impl. Phase) Don’t presume product works from day 1

– Fixes required? Review Quality Plans


Managing the Vendor

Know package after prototyping (not sales) Include vendor milestones in project plan Build “decision points” into plan where tight vendor dependencies Have contingency plans in place

For more information…...For more information…...

Visit our Web site at…

www.princeton.edu/ppo

The Princeton Project Office

Business

project management culture

project completion

likelihood of project

project managers time

project office mission

good management projects

aware projects

support of projects