Work Ready Project Management David Nelson Careers & Employability Adviser Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 1
Agenda Why is Project Management important Scoping the project Project planning Implementation and Evaluation Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 2
Why is Project Management Important? The vast majority of graduate recruiters test for this when recruiting (interview & assessment centre) Evidence from university projects Evidence from voluntary work Evidence from placements Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 3
Project Management Group 1 What is a project? Where can projects go wrong? Group 2 What is a project? What skills do you need to manage/plan a project? Group 3 What is a project? How would you evaluate a project? Why is evaluation important? Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 4
What is a Project? a unique venture with a beginning and end, conducted by people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, time and quality. (Pinto 2007) Project management is the way of managing change. Everything from the Olympics to organising a wedding can be considered a project. It describes the activities that meet specific objectives and can be used to introduce or improve new or existing products and services. (Assc for Project Mgnt 2011) Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 5
Where projects can go wrong Get stuck into a project without planning. Spending more time planning than doing. Lack of flexibility leads to a failure to respond to changing circumstances. Setting woolly objectives or no objectives at all. Boundary creep and trying to achieve too much. Changing requirements mid-project Underestimating resources required. Lack of project management skills Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 6
Project Management Skills Technical skills Managing a budget Planning and control Legal awareness Leadership skills Communicate expectations Motivation of others Demonstrate positive attitude/lead by example Coping skills Dealing with problems Persistence Creativity Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 7
Stages of a Project Scoping/concept Design/plan Implementation and monitoring Evaluate the project Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 8
Group Project Project outlines Address questions raised What else needs to be considered Report back We ll re visit the projects later in the session. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 9
Project Management Triangle
Concept & Scoping Setting the Terms of Reference of the project: Aims and deliverables Timescales Budgets Scope Authority How people will work together Break points to check on progress Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 11
Scoping & Setting Objectives SMART targets Specific Measurable Action-orientated Realistic Timed Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 12
Scoping & Setting Objectives How SMART are these targets? 1. Lifeguard: Will save at least 2 lives per week. 2. Admin Officer: I will be promoted to office manager by December 2012 3. Lecturer: Ensure all student have the skills needed to find a suitable role in their professional field. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 13
Smart Objectives Group Project In your groups, return to the projects you discussed earlier and set some SMART objectives for your project. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 14
Who s involved in projects? The project manager - has the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution and closure of a project. Project Sponsor - has authority over the project, provides funding, approves scope changes, provides high-level direction and champions the project within an organisation. Stakeholders - anyone, internal or external to an organisation that has an interest in a project or will be affected by its deliverables. Project Team - is the management team leading the project, and provide services to the project. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 15
Project Planning Process Set a start and an end date for the project. Break the project down into smaller tasks to make it more manageable. Set deadlines for each task. Take into account: other people involved in the task; resources required & their availability; your own existing commitments; dependencies. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 16
Planning LEAD System List the activities Estimate the length of each activity Allow for contingency Decide on priorities Taskboarding is a technique used to do this. Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 17
Task Boarding. In your groups, return to your project Write all the relevant activities on Post-Its along with timescales. Place in a logical sequence Select any tasks that can run concurrently Review is there potential for any blockages? Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 18
GANTT Charts A type of bar chart that shows a project schedule An alternative/compliment to Task Board Shows tasks: that can be done at the same time (parallel) and those that have to be done sequentially (dependencies) Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 19
GANTT Charts - Simple The length of bar represents time These can done in parallel This activity can t start until the others are completed
GANTT Charts - complex
GANTT Charts To construct your own List all the tasks Estimate the length of time to complete Decide which are sequential and order they need to run in Pick out any activities that can be done in parallel Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 22
Some other Project Management terms Critical Path - the sequence of activities that must be completed on time for the entire project to be completed on schedule. Milestones key events in the project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) an alternative way of showing the tasks on a tree structure PRINCE2 a approach for managing and coordinating projects Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 23
Implementation Delegate actions Review progress and performance (RAG) Communicate progress to the team Deal with any problems as they arise Adjust projects plans How would you measure your projects? Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 24
Review A Post-Implementation Review (PIR) to: Did the project resolve the problem it was designed to address? Can it be taken further? What were the lessons learnt for next time? Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 25
Thank you for attending!! www.mmu.ac.uk/careers Tel 0161 247 3483 Friday, June 07, 2013 Event Name and Venue 26