PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Corinne Thomas Chris Wittenberg. Loyola Law School

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1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT Corinne Thomas Chris Wittenberg Loyola Law School

2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT A carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a successful project There is a difference between a project (one-time effort), a program (ongoing process), and a task (either) Know how to fit the pieces together The software is just a tool, not the answer

3 COMPONENTS Initiation Planning and Design (Defining the requirements) Goals and objectives Implementation/Execution Monitoring Closing

4 GETTING STARTED 1. Initiation Define the nature and scope of your project (very important!) Analyze needs and requirements Finding the right problems and understanding them fully Make sure your goals and objectives are measurable! Identify stakeholders Users, support personnel Cost analysis (budget, human resources)

5 GETTING STARTED 2. Planning and Design How will you plan? (How detailed do you need/want to get?) Identify your deliverables Estimate time and cost for ^^ Develop a schedule Risk planning (things will change!) Who makes the calls?

6 IN THE MIDST OF IT 3. Implementation You re doing it! Coordinating people and resources Overcoming obstacles Keep on going

7 IN THE MIDST OF IT 4. Monitoring (Controlling) Where we are Where we should be Address issues and risks Are there any factors you did not think of during the planning phase? Document, document, document!

8 ENDING 5. Closing Finalizing all deliverables Delivering the product, closing contracts, filing away documentation Celebrate and evaluate

9 THINGS TO REMEMBER You may not go through all the steps of a PM model Define the goals/objectives and the scope! Have a way to monitor and document your project Know who s really in charge (we all have opinions) Technology is a tool, not a savior Breathe

10 PRODUCTIVITY & ORGANIZATION

11 SCOPE Simple to Intermediate level of complexity Define some terms Management Demo Task Management Software

12 DEFINITIONS I Tasks: Any single action you can take. Call Mary Return from George Projects: Actions that have multiple steps to complete Faculty Questionnaire Create questions Create form Distribute form Process form

13 DEFINITIONS II Workflow or Business Process Actions (or a series of actions) you take as as work passes through different stages All new staff members hired are processed the same: Payroll New computer Telephone

14 TYPES OF ORGANIZATION Digital (Computer) Paper Smart Phone Organization techniques can span these different areas

15 TRAIN YOURSELF Tip 1: Be specific about what you are telling yourself to do. Example: Bad: Follow up with Bob regarding pricing Good: Call Bob for price on HP printer 4345 for Finance Why? Because you may not follow up on this task for a week, and not remember what it was about! Tip 2: Be a Producer, not a Consumer Don t passively look at your inbox: Act on it. Train yourself to classify information you look it, don t just read it and go on to the next item.

16 DECIDE! Information you receive: Immediately Actionable? Can you do it in 5 minutes? Do it. Future Actionable? Add task in your task manager Information only? Archive it. If you need it later, you can search for it.

17 TASK ORGANIZATION Task Organization (regardless of application): Actions Recurring Scheduled Someday Put your individual tasks here Put recurring items here If you ve assigned a due date to something, put it here *Used only if Actions list gets too long Information you might want to do someday

18 TASK MANAGERS Online Task Managers Don t put LLS confidential information Don t put student information Think of tasks/projects as a list of instructions for you to follow; no confidential data is needed.

19 WEEKLY REVIEW Look through Actions folder. Re-assess the tasks Delete Schedule Wait (leave it for the next review)

20 Process Inbox to Zero An Approach: Immediately Actionable? Do it, then Archive the (clear it from inbox) Future Actionable? Delegate? Forward to your task manager, Archive it. Delegate it, then Archive it. Information only? Archive it. If you need it later, you can search for it.

21 TECHNIQUES Reduce how often you check your Every 30 minutes You will re-process the inbox each time you look, so the less there is to process, less time is spent managing your Use as task manager? Multiple Inboxes & Stars

22 PROJECTS Remember what Corinne said: DEFINE YOUR PROJECT! Define a successful outcome for your goal. If you can t define the end of the project, it will never end. Don t confuse support as part of your project. Projects are an extension of Tasks Different levels of complexity Increase your complexity as you get comfortable with project management

23 PROJECT PROCESS & CONSIDERATIONS Stages of a Project: Project Definition (define your project, and define when it s done) Planning (identify project owner, people involved, etc) Communication (what will you tell people about the project, and what to expect about it). Scheduling/Implementation (Determine date to start, range of dates to finish) Post Mortem (What did you learn about this?)

24 POTENTIAL SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Getflow.com Google Apps Excel Microsoft Project