Project Management. Robert F. Anderson IIT Fall Robert Anderson

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Neil Blankenship
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1 Project Management Robert F. Anderson IIT Fall 2007

2 Life is one big project Projects have a beginning, middle, and end Construction, new product development, sales campaign, fund raising Some basic principles apply Another valuable skill to develop and demonstrate

3 Project management triangle Time Money Scope Change any one and at least one of the others must change You can trade

4 Speed Resource addition works up to a limit Overtime Parallel tasks Training and communication issues 9 women don t have a baby in a month

5 The fireman s mantra You don t get to the fire earlier by driving the fire engine faster You get there earlier by leaving the firehouse sooner Is there an academic corollary about not starting your term paper the day before it s due?

leaving the firehouse sooner Is there an academic

6 Money Premium delivery service Higher talent level Move to the head of the line Overtime, weekends Diminishing returns

7 Scope Biggest issue in project management Usually coupled with the word creep Documentation, communication, kickoff Change orders No surprises Expect to be sandbagged

8 Causes of scope creep Poor understanding of project Wishful thinking Unexpected risks Emperor s new clothes Unclear charter

9 Unforeseen barriers Weather Labor problems Delivery delays Mistakes Uncommunicated changes

10 Critical path The series of steps for which a delay will delay the overall project Should be the focus of your attention Speeding up other series of steps will not affect overall schedule

11 Project management tools Software - e.g. Microsoft Project Gantt charts Pert diagrams Earned value analysis Work breakdown schedules

12 Software Easy to use Graphics make progress easy to track Resource allocations tracked Costs tracked Critical path visible

13 PERT diagrams Invented by the US Navy Project Evaluation and Review Technique Allows for randomness in activity completion times

14 Earned-value analysis A plot of per cent complete vs per cent money spent A plot of per cent complete vs per cent time elapsed Should be 45 degrees or higher

15 Work breakdown schedule Table of tasks, skills required, often specific people Work schedules as constraint (some are part time, some don t work weekends, etc.)

16 Lessons from real world Time spent up front is usually worth it Co-location improves communication Honesty is the best policy Fix problems early Anderson s law - first 90% of project uses first 90% of the time, last 10% uses the other 90% of the time

policy Fix problems early Anderson s law - first 90% of

17 Murphy s Law If something can go wrong, it will and at the most inconvenient time Anderson s corollary Murphy was an optimist

18 Contingencies Anticipate trouble and be ready Manage an early warning system Spare resources on call Build in some slack Keep looking out the window

19 Conclusions Project management skills important everywhere Interesting career opportunities MBA with specialization in project management

Systems Analysis and Design

Systems Analysis and Design Slides adapted from Jeffrey A. Hoffer, University of Dayton Joey F. George, Florida State University Joseph S. Valacich, Washington State University Modern Systems Analysis