Project Manager's Toolkit

David Shailer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780750650359
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136371059
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

'The Project Manager's Toolkit' provides a quick reference checklist approach to drive an IT development project as well as solve issues that arise in the process. It can be used proactively to set a project on the right course and reactively for solutions to problems. It will: * help identify what needs doing next on an IT project * provide quick reference 'to-do' lists for use throughout the lifecycle of an IT project * answer the need for material that can be used to quality-check project deliverables It has been designed so that those on the project team who are facing a problem can pick up the book, turn to a relevant checklist and use it as a "starter-for-ten" to find a solution. For example, how to analyse data for a data-conversion exercise, or how to measure the quality of a project deliverable. 'The Project Manager's Toolkit' therefore provides a fast way to reduce an insolvable problem/issue to a set of smaller solvable ones

1
Project inception checklists

1.1 Getting the project kick-off meeting right

Type: To do

Checklist description

Major projects often start with project kick-off meetings. These meetings set the tone of the project and are the point where all interested parties are brought up to the same level of understanding about what the project is intended to achieve and how it is intended to run.

This is a simple checklist to indicate what should be covered in the project kick-off meeting -effectively, the meeting’s agenda. It goes without saying that it is very important that all interested parties be invited to the meeting.

Checklist

1 Describe the project background (see checklist 1.2 ‘Five key areas to understand when starting a project’).

2 Outline the project objectives and goals (see checklist 1.3 ‘Dealing with hidden agendas -where to start’). Explicitly state the goals.

(a) Primary goals:

(i) To achieve what? Specific benefits with numbers, volumes, rates (e.g. 25 per cent more query calls handled per day)

(ii) By when?

(iii) At what cost?

(iv) For the benefit of whom?

(v) Giving them what benefits?

(b) Secondary goals:

(i) Using whom?

(ii) With what additional benefits (e.g. new skills, PR value, higher morale etc.)?

3 Set scope of project and expectations.

4 Show milestones and plan.

5 Show individuals their part and reporting lines.

6 Outline what standards are to be used.

7 Outline project controls – status reporting, timesheets, change control, configuration control.

Definitions/techniques

None.

Next steps

It should be clear from the above that project kick-off meetings don’t just happen. A great deal of project work needs to occur prior to the meeting as indicated by the relevant checklists. It is recommended that this background work be conducted prior to the meeting rather than after it -there is nothing so demoralizing on a project than a lack of confidence in the project and business management. That lack of confidence is easy to engender – just go to a project kick-off meeting where there is tension between the project manager and the business managers to see what I mean.

With a good project meeting in the bag, people will want to start work so it’s best not to hold such a meeting when there is going to be a gap (no matter how small) between the meeting and starting project work. Ideally the project plan should contain some early, simple, small-win tasks that can be started immediately and finished within the month. This will continue the ‘feel-good’ factor on the project – nothing breeds success like success.

1.2 Five key areas to understand when starting a project

Type: Analysis

Checklist description

‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish’ may sound good in a Hollywood musical but, in IT projects, how you start often determines whether you finish at all. One of the important building blocks of a project is to understand where it fits in the organization – its context.

The following checklist is relevant whether the project is new or whether you are new to the project. Using the checklist will help you to plot the course for what to do next, what is important or unimportant and who your customers are.

Checklist

1 Understand the IT strategy:

(a) Does the organization have an IT strategy?

(b) How old/applicable is it?

(c) Who are the owners of the strategy?

(d) What is the corporate vision and is the IT strategy backed up by the corporate vision?

(e) What are the short-, medium-, long-term goals of the strategy?

(f) Which parts of the organization are affected by the strategy and are they currently in a state of change?

(g) What external parties are affected by the strategy – suppliers, customers, unions, professional/trade bodies?

(h) What are the benefits to the organization, departments and individuals of the strategy?

2 Understand where this project stands in terms of the IT strategy:

(a) What contribution will this project make to the overall strategy?

(b) Why now?

(c) Who is the beneficiary of the project? Have they approved the project?

(d) Who are the main contributors to the project’s success? Do they know of the project and are they committed to its success? Is there any conflict between the contributors regarding the project?

(e) What departments will be directly or indirectly affected by this project?

(f) To what extent will they be impacted?

(g) Who are the main influencers in these departments?

(h) What level of planning and acceptance will be required from the main influencers?

(i) What are the impacts on external parties of this project and to what extent are actions required to involve these parties?

3 Check the commitment of the project sponsor:

(a) Is the currently allocated project sponsor appropriate to this project? Are they a major stakeholder in the benefit of the project?

(b) Do they have ultimate responsibility for budget, timescale, acceptance criteria, sign-off?

(c) Has the project sponsor stated the benefits to be achieved – what are they?

(d) What priority has the project sponsor given this project above his/her own activities?

(e) Is it clear from the project sponsor that this is a worthwhile project that has to be tackled now?

4 Understand what limits and constraints have been imposed:

(a) What has been specified as a given on:

(i) hardware

(ii) software

(iii) timescale

(iv) delivery date

(v) resources

(vi) budget

(vii) scope.

(b) Are the limits reasonable given the objectives? Are you allowed to challenge the limits?

(c) What are the deliverables? Are they agreed? Has the quality of them been agreed?

(d) Do project milestones exist? What are they? What happens if you don’t meet them? Are they reasonable given the quality requirements?

(e) Is there anything required before the project can begin – office space, machines/IT, personnel? What is the timescale for getting these items? Is there sufficient budget for getting these items?

5 Understand the project’s history:

(a) What work has already been done? Is it available? Is it to standard and quality? Is there anything missing which will have to be done under the new project’s auspices?

(b) Who has been involved up to now? What is their role? Is their role continuing? Have responsibilities been assigned? Who to and for what? Are the demarcations clear? Are they reasonable? Are handover points identified along with the level of quality expected at each handover point?

Definitions/techniques

None.

Next steps

The answers to the above questions should be captured in a section in a Project Charter or Project Handbook. This can be given to individuals assigned to the project to help them understand the project’s context in the organization.

With this information in place, it is now time to start the task of project ‘start-up’ – see checklist 1.1 ‘Getting the project kick-off meeting right’.

Note that the project goals and objectives are especially important to get right at the start of the project and hence a separate c...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Computer Weekly Professional Series
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 PROJECT INCEPTION CHECKLISTS
• 2 PROJECT CONTROL CHECKLISTS
• 3 BUSINESS ANALYSIS CHECKLISTS
• 4 BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS CHECKLISTS
• 5 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS CHECKLISTS
• 6 SYSTEM BUILD CHECKLISTS
• 7 QA AND TESTING CHECKLISTS
• 8 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLISTS