Tutorial on

Project Management

Mark Plesko ([Link]@[Link]),

Igor Verstovsek ([Link]@[Link])

Cosylab (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

 Project Management in Research Institutes

What is project management?

Entering random numbers into Microsoft

project and printing long rolls of paper
Filling pointless reports nobody looks at
Something that makes management happy

To sum up: Something I dont need or like

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 2
 Project Management in Research Institutes

but, people have problems:

What should I focus on today? Everything is urgent,

so it doesnt really matter
I am not sure what I will be doing in two months,
this means I have all the time available, right?
How far are we on this project, anyway? I just
know that the deadline is in two weeks
It seemed like a good idea to start this, but now I
am not really sure why
I feel like I am the only one who cares about this
project. What are the others doing?

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 3
 Roadmap

Lifecycle of a Project
Phases
Addressing common pitfalls
Step by step checklists

Second order theory

Reporting why, what and how
Resource management
Analysis
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 4
 Project Flow
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

Measurable Formal decision
anyone targets process
Acceptance
idea test
proposal Impleme-
no go ntation
Formal
go closure

Quick Client contract

sanity
check active support closed

Risks, CRM, Warranty

Start Regular period
reporting supervision
production expires

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 5
 Project Flow the Idea
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

Measurable Formal decision
anyone targets process

idea
proposal
no go

go
Quick
sanity
check

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 6
 From Idea to Proposal and to Project Launch

Pitfalls:
Projects are started too easily (without basic
thinking about purpose and scope)
Too many projects in parallel: focus of work is
lost

What to do about it:

Quick sanity check: why start something? Think
about the big picture as well
Prepare a well rounded proposal
Use formal decision process to start a project
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 7
 Checklist: Project Start up
The startup process
Who your sponsor is
Who the customer and possible secondary customers are
Who will use the results
The initial project core team - or likely candidates
Other people who can influence the project - the stakeholders
Customer needs and expectations
Understand the customer - explore priority and relative importance to other
activities
Understand the customer's environment in which they must operate
Use political skills - not all customers are equal and some needs cannot be
addressed
Demonstrate your technical competence and awareness of their technical
needs
Convert ill-defined needs into practical solutions
Keep an open mind and a creative approach
Analyse the mixed signals you receive through personal influence on needs
Attempt to expose the hidden expectations
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 8
 Checklist: Project Start up

Questions to ask the customer when starting the business case for the
project
What changes are identified?
process changes?
behaviour changes?
Are these just a 'quick fix' or a quantum leap?
What does the customer believe is needed?
Do all customers agree?
Have the fundamental needs been separated from wishes?
Are pre-determined solutions being proposed already?
Has the end users perception of needs been identified?
Have the needs been listed as primary, secondary and hopes?
Has this lists been priorities and agreed with the customer?
Can you turn the information into clear 'statements of need?
Can you use the needs analysis to derive a 'statement of requirements'?
Will the customer agree with your statement of requirements?

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 9
 Checklist: Project Brief and Stakeholder List
Project brief
The project origins - a need or opportunity statement.
The project rationale - why is it necessary now.
The benefits of the project - to the customer and your organisation.
The project budget if known at this stage.
The current timescale and expected deadlines - subject always to detailed
planning later.

A stakeholder list
Name of stakeholder and job title/position.
Location and contact data (telephone/fax/e-mail).
Whether internal/external to your organisation.
Ranking of importance to the project (high, medium, low).
Current degree of support for the project (positive, negative).

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 10
 Checklist: Statement of Requirements and
Objectives
Statement of requirements
Needs and expectations identified and to whom attributed?
How these needs can be met in practice?
Which needs cannot be satisfied yet and why?
What assumptions have been made at this stage?
What the project is about and what is not included?
Project objectives statement
A statement of background
The project purpose - why are we doing this now?
The overall project objective - in 25-30 words
The primary deliverables of the project with expected delivery dates
The primary benefits to be gained - quantified in the business case
The cost of the project
What skills are required - particularly those not currently available?
Any identified interfaces with other active projects
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 11
 Project Flow - Planning
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

Formal decision
process

idea
proposal Impleme-
no go ntation

go
Client contract

active support closed

Start
production

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 12
 Planning

Pitfalls:
Not done at all: no reference to track progress
People get over allocated and ineffective
No satisfaction of a job well done

What to do about it:

Prepare at least the initial project plan
Make a risk plan
Communicate the plan and get commitment

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 13
 Checklist: Planning
Planning is about asking questions:
What actions need to be done?
When are these actions to be done?
Who is going to do them?
What equipment and tools are required?
What is not going to be done?

Project planning is carried out to:

Identify everything that needs to be done.
Reduce risk and uncertainty to minimum.
Establish standards of performance.
Provide a structured basis for executing the work.
Establish procedures for effective control of the work.
Obtain the required outcomes in the minimum time.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 14
 Checklist: Allocation of Responsibility, The
Critical Path

Allocation of responsibility
The work to be done is identified at the detailed task level.
The dependencies are clearly identified.
The estimates of durations are accurate and subject to constant scrutiny.
The work gets done on time to the quality needed.
The work conforms to quality assurance procedures and requirements.
Regular monitoring is maintained.

The critical path

The critical path - confirmation of your initial inspection.
The start and finish times for all the key stages.
The amount of 'spare time' available in the non-critical key stages.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 15
 Checklist: Analyse Resource Requirements
Analyse resource requirements
Review the initial task list.
Add to the tasks where necessary.
Analyse for the 'often forgotten tasks':
documentation,
approval times,
testing planning and development,
project reviews and gathering the data,
project meetings and user group meetings,
negotiations with suppliers,
expediting and administrations.
Suggest each key stage owner
Derives a complete list of tasks in their key stage.
Produces a responsibility chart for each key stage.
Estimates the durations of all the tasks in the key stage.
Identifies the actual people who will carry out the work.
Confirms their commitment availability.
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 16
 Checklist: Milestones

Define milestones
Completion of a key task, for example, providing output to third parties.
Completion of one of the project deliverables.
Stage generation of benefits.
Completion of a third party significant event, for example, acceptance tests.
Completion of third party activity, for example delivery of equipment or data.
A financial audit point.
A project audit point.
A quality audit.
Completion of a significant stage of work (possibly a critical element).
A significant decision point, for example, abort the project.
Completion of a project stage to release further funding.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 17
 Use Gantt for the Initial Project Plan

A "helicopter view" of the project

Easy identification of the critical path

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 18
 Checklist: Risks

Risks
A short description of the risk.
When it is expected to occur.
The probability assessed.
What consequences are expected.
What actions you will take if it happens.
Who will take the actions.
Who is responsible for monitoring the risk.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 19
 Project Flow Closure and Evaluation
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

Acceptance
idea test
proposal
no go
Formal
go closure

Client contract

active support closed

Warranty
period
expires

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 20
 Closure and Evaluation

Pitfalls:
Never ending work on certain projects
Nothing learned from past experience

What to do about it:

Acceptance process (even for internal
projects)
Close project, plan resources for support
(for a limited period of time ! )
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 21
 Checklist: Acceptance Process

Acceptance process
Unfinished non-critical work. Training of operating staff and
The project tasks done. management.
The deliverables achieved. Training of maintenance staff.
Quality standards attained. Setting up a help desk.
Supply of equipment. Establishing maintenance function.
Installation of equipment. Outstanding issues awaiting resolution.
Testing and validation of equipment. Identifying any follow-on projects.
Testing and validation of operating Limits of acceptability.
processes. Who monitors post project
Documentation manuals. performance.
New standard operating procedures. Budget over-runs.
New standard operating procedures.
Design of training programmes.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 22
 Checklist: Acceptance Process

In addition confirm:

Who is responsible for each step of the acceptance process and the work
involved.
What post-project support is required and who is responsible.
What post-project support can be available.
For how long such support must be given.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 23
 Checklist: Wrap Up Presentation

Provide the background of the project - you can recycle slides from the kick-start
meeting presentation. Why was the project important? Justify that the project in-
line with the company's strategy.

Provide an insider's summary of the project. Tell anectodes. Discuss mistakes, do

not blame people for them, present what the team has learned through them.

Is the outcome different from what was planned in the kick-start meeting? Why?

What have we gained / lost with the project? Payment of the bill is not everything.
Which new friends / partners have we made? How can or are we already use this as
an opportunity for new business. What have we learned about the market?

Suggest areas for future improvements for developers, management and the
process itself.

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 24
 Second Order Effects

Tracking work progress and time spent

Reporting project status

Risk management

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 25
 Tracking Work in Progress

The cultural aspect of reporting work done

Big Brother effect
DESY: relative units are tracked (not man-hours)

Any reporting and management system must

introduce minimal overhead
show its benefits, fast!

Introduce the system gradually

Lectures
Coaching and support for users
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 26
Tracking Progress and Time Spent The Ticket
People
Cosylab rate: 300 tickets / week - owner, CCs
Subject
Status
- open,
- resolved
Queue
Body
- text
- attachments
Due Date
Estimated Time
Time spent
Relationships
- parent-child
- refers to
- depends on
Keywords

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 27
 Cosy Project Manager

Planning, reporting and Any system is a trade off between

analysis of multiple
projects in a dynamic
organization
Built on top of open
source tools, e.g. RT Order
Flexibility Bureaucracy
flexible, little overhead
Ease of use
Nevertheless boasts
some very powerful
features
Ideal solution for research institutes!
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 28
 Project Flow - Supervision
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

idea
proposal
no go

go
Client contract

active support closed

Risks, CRM, Regular

reporting supervision

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 29
 Monthly Reports Help Project Managers

End-of-month
Short and concise reports
Only the necessary information
3th next month: Supervisor and PM agree on
report
Have a meeting, if necessary
Supervisor can be another project manager
(peer review)

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 30
 Monthly Report
Project Management Report
I. Tidy up project report: Eliminate errors, warnings
II. Update PM documentation, accessible from the report

Specific questions on:

1. Budget
2. Schedule
3. Overall progress
4. Clients
5. Planned activities - enumerate major or important ones
6. Planned resources
7. Risks
Risk 1, Risk 2,
8. Specific questions for this project
9. Feedback - Requested actions for the COO (how can I help you)

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 31
 Extraordinary Supervision
Presentation to Bill Gates

Presentation of project progress on a

meeting
Prepared by project manager

Initiated by QA, project manager, the

management or somebody else

Same procedure as for Monthly Reports

+ additional tricky questions
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 32
 Early Detection of (Potential) Problems

Which tickets are past due? Is estimated time

set? Is there too much work being done? Is the
project organized well?

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 33
 Planned vs. Spent Work in Real Time
Project budget
People

Estimated time

Time worked

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 34
 Status of High Level Tasks

Overview of time spent on contract tasks

Contract time = budget in man-hours
Total estimated = from created tickets
Spent time = time reported into the system

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 35
 Interaction: Team and Customer Meetings

Mailing lists
Internal: All project members
External: Internal + clients

Team meetings
one per week (tough projects) or one per
two weeks
Customer meetings
One per every two weeks (phone
conference)
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 36
 Resource Planning

People vs.
weeks

Very High
level
Only one
major activity
of the week

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 37
 Analysis of Projects

On-line Analytical
Processing (OLAP)
"cross sections"
of data on any
level
Work spent per
developer
Distribution of
activity in the
organization
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 38
 You Should Take at Least the Following from
This Tutorial

Take extra time for conception, planning

and closing stages of projects
Manage risks thought the project
Use some sort of project management /
reporting system
Monitor project progress (close the loop)
Ease cultural issues by
Demonstrating benefits of p.m. to people
Constant coaching
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 39
 Thank You!

[Link]@[Link]

[Link]

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 40
 Hypothetical Questions of Hypothetical People

Developer
"What are my tasks for today? Which is the most urgent?"
"Where can I see how my colleagues did things?"
Project manager
"How far is my project - in terms of time AND progress?"
"What are the biggest problems of the project?"
"Can I satisfy the management / clients (a.k.a. The Big
Boss) without having too much overhead writing
reports?"
The Big Boss
"Is the project on track?"

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 41
 What to Expect from a Management System?

Offer its users help to

supervise work in progress
learn from mistakes
optimize for the future
The system: How formal and when to
introduce it?
Our approach - evolution
Take open source tools and adapt them
Let the tools evolve along with your needs
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 42
 The Stage - R & D Company

Cosylab: spin-off of Jozef Stefan Institute

project oriented work, research
=> very similar to research institutes

Cosylab team 2001 2003 2005 12

10
Full-time persons 2 6 11
8
Half-time persons 6 6 15 6

Projects 4 15 30 4
2
Customers 4 12 25 0
2001 2003 2005

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 43
 Request Tracker (RT) The Ticket
People
Cosylab rate: 200 tickets / week - owner, CCs
Subject
Status
- open,
- resolved
Queue
Body
- text
- attachments
Due Date
Estimated Time
Time spent
Relationships
- parent-child
- refers to
- depends on
Keywords

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 44
 Project Flow
Conception Planning Execution Closure

Definition Launch Evaluation

Measurable Formal decision
anyone targets process
Acceptance
idea test
proposal Impleme-
no go ntation
Formal
go closure

Quick Client contract

sanity
check active support closed

Risks, CRM, Warranty

Start Regular period
reporting supervision
production expires

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 45
 Gantt Project (GP)

GP provides a "helicopter view" of tasks

Our adaptation: two way integration with RT
Colour
coded
status
Actual
progress
of the
task

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 46
 From Tickets to Project

A project is more than a set of tickets!

Project is defined / consists of
Project group (members, leader)
Budget (available money and work)
Deadlines and milestones
Communication
Deliverables (SW and HW releases,...)
Quality assurance
Project management
This information is added into RT database
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 47
 Organizing Your Project

Master ticket (level 0)

Contract task 1 (level 1)
ticket 1 (level 2)
o) ticket 1.1 (level 3)
- ticket 1.1.1 (level 4)
ticket 2 (level 2)
Contract task 2 (level 1)
Only first two levels are formalized:
Master: root ticket of the project
Contract task: breakdown into well defined units
Otherwise use the tickets "as usual" - no overhead
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 48
 Closing a Project

Grading of tasks and developers

RT keywords are used (1 - 5 scale)
For Cosylab - calculation of monetary awards
for positive stimulation of developers
Final project statistics
on time, on budget?
Learning experience for the team
Building knowledge base of "Case studies"

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 49
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 50
 Introducing the System in Real Life

The cultural aspect

The system must

introduce minimal overhead
show immediate benefits

Introduce the system gradually

Lectures
Coaching and support for users
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 51
 Experience from DESY

Project: Control System for Petra III -

upgrade of the machine into a synchrotron
Collaboration with Reinhard Bacher
in the stage of project definition
not much feedback from users yet
Relative units vs. time in minutes
indicate how far is each task, e.g. 45/200
developer reports progress, not time
more suitable for research groups

PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 52
 Conclusion

Management system
is always a trade off
Order
Flexibility Bureaucracy
Our solution
Ease of use
flexible, little
overhead
but still has very
powerful features
Ideal solution for research institutes!
PCaPAC, JLab, Newport News, October 2006 Mark Plesko: Project Management Tutorial 53