M anaging Sm all P rojects

Tom Mochal
President, TenStep, Inc

TenStep® Project Management Process 1 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 P roject Sizing
• Level of effort determines how much project
management structure to apply
– Small projects do not need much structure
– Medium projects need more structure
– Large projects need a lot of structure
• Primary indicator is estimated hours of effort
• Guidelines set by the organization
• Project manager will ultimately make decision

TenStep® Project Management Process 2 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Large P rojects
• More rigor and structure needed to be successful
• Formal, pre-defined project management processes
• Additional templates
• Greater than 2500 effort hours
• Examples
– New computer application
– Manufacturing a new product
– Upgrading the phone system throughout an organization

TenStep® Project Management Process 3 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Sm all P rojects
• Simple processes and guidelines
• Few templates
• Up to approximately 250 effort hours
• Examples
– Updating a college class
– Creating new employee orientation
– Yearly financial close
– Management research

TenStep® Project Management Process 4 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 P lanning for Sm all P rojects
• Service requests (replaces charter/scope statement)
• Schedule / task list
• Simple budget
• Project Management Plan? – No

TenStep® Project Management Process 5 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Define the Service R equest
• Deliverable(s)
• When are you done?
• Duration / due date
• Budget (if any)
• Potential problems (risks)
• Roles
– Sponsor – the person asking you for the work
– Stakeholders – other people interested
• Document your understanding
• Verify your understanding with your Sponsor
TenStep® Project Management Process 6 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc
 Service R equest Form
Service Request
This section to be com pleted by the requestor.
SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER: DATE SUBMITTED: PRIORITY (H/M/L):

Requestor Name: Project/Application Name:

Scope Statement/Description of Request:

Reason for Request/Business Benefit:

This section to be com pleted by the w orkload m anager.

Assigned To: Date Assigned:
Skills Needed:

Estimated Effort Hours, Cost, and Duration:

Constraints:

Dependencies:
Assumptions:
Risks:
Approval Section
Customer Approval to Begin Work: DATE:
Customer Approval to Move Work to Production Status: DATE:
Customer Approval That Work Has Been Successfully Completed: DATE:

TenStep® Project Management Process 7 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Sim ple Schedule / Task List
• Describes how the project will be completed
– Activities
– People
– Estimated effort, start and end date
– Dependencies

TenStep® Project Management Process 8 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Sim ple Schedule / Task List
Deliverable
Line # Activity (optional) Who Start Date End Date Dependencies Status

TenStep® Project Management Process 9 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Estim ate Cost
• Should be straightforward for small projects
– Maybe don’t have budget
• Labor and non-labor
• If there are cost concerns, address them now

TenStep® Project Management Process 10 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 M anaging Sm all P rojects
• Managing schedule / task list
• Resolve problems
• Manage the scope of work
• Communicate proactively
• Be aware of future problems

TenStep® Project Management Process 11 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 M anage the Task List
• Keep the task list up to date to be successful
• Managing the task list means that you understand
– The work to be completed
– Who is assigned to complete the work
– When the work is due
– The dependencies
– etc
• What’s in the task list gets done
• If it is not in the task list, don’t work on it

TenStep® Project Management Process 12 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Techniques
• Make sure team members know their assignments
• Be clear on work to be done and person responsible
• Validate team members’ understanding of work
• Communicate
– The activity
– A description of the activity
– Start date and end date
– What they are creating
– Other resources, if any

TenStep® Project Management Process 13 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Tim e M anagem ent Techniques
• Provides higher degree of control over what you do
– Maybe not total control but greater degree of control
– Control your day without letting your day control you
• Can’t give you more hours in a day, but helps you
complete the things that are most important

TenStep® Project Management Process 14 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Tim e M anagem ent Techniques
• Create daily lists
• Document follow-up items
• Carry forward unfinished work
• Keep track of due dates
• Keep commitments reasonable
• Keep a clean workspace
• Keep current work close
• Eliminate time wasters

TenStep® Project Management Process 15 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 R esolve P roblem s
• Small projects usually have small problems
– Impacts the progress of a project
• Need to define a problem to resolve it
• Use problem solving techniques if necessary
• Don’t procrastinate
• Determine who can make decision

TenStep® Project Management Process 16 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 M anage Change
• Proactively managing change is a key to success
• Understand the work you have been asked to do
• Recognize when the work changes
• Ask for relief to compensate for any additional work
• The sponsor must approve

TenStep® Project Management Process 17 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Com m unicate P roactively
• Proper communication leads to success
• Poor communication results in frictions, frustration
and inefficiency
• Includes all manner of communication
– Status Reports and other reports
– Status meeting and other formal meetings
– Emails
– Phone calls
– Ad-hoc meetings
– Casual project related conversation

TenStep® Project Management Process 18 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Ongoing Com m unication
• Resource problems and impact
• Schedule progress and risks of missing deadline
• Actual spending and risk of going over estimates
• Scope change requests, impact and resolution
• Problems, alternatives, recommendations and
resolution
• Risks and risk activities

TenStep® Project Management Process 19 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Be Aw are of P otential P roblem s
• Don’t just focus on here-and-now
• Think about the work on the near horizon
• Try to foresee any potential problems
• Solve the problems before they happen

• By the way… these are risks

TenStep® Project Management Process 20 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Ending the P roject
• Gain agreement up-front on what it means to be
finished
• Make sure expectations are in the Service Request
• Validate that you have completed the work
• Ask sponsor to approve the major deliverables
• Ask sponsor to validate that the work is completed
– Signature or confirmation email

TenStep® Project Management Process 21 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Sum m ary
• Projects come in all shapes and sizes
• Not everyone is a formal project manager
• Project management practices scale up and down
• All projects can be managed proactively
• Small project requirements are minimal
– Be organized
– Understand expectations
– Manage your time and your work
– Communicate proactively

TenStep® Project Management Process 22 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 M ore I nform ation
• TenStep, Inc.
• Tom Mochal, President
• 877-536-8434

• Contact us via the survey or email for:

– Copy of the slide deck
– Certificate of participation for 1 PDU

TenStep® Project Management Process 23 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc

 Questions?

TenStep® Project Management Process 24 Copyright © 2011 TenStep, Inc