Category: Project Management

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How to Choose a Project Management Methodology?

Close up of two business people talking about project management methodologies

While attending an Agile conference, I heard a lot of discussion about the types of project management methodology from pure agile teams, waterfall teams, and a combination of the two. Several presenters stressed the importance of being a 100% dedicated agile team. They stated that the only way to be successful is to make sure your team or company follows the Scrum/Kanban/XP/etc. methodology in its purest form. Other presenters called out these statements as false and went on to discuss numerous examples of blended approaches that have worked at their company or with their clients.

How can an organization trying to understand agile figure out the best approach when so many experts in the field have different opinions?

Best Project Management Methodologies

  1. Project Structure
  2. What About a Blended Approach?
  3. Benefits of an Adaptive Approach
  4. Choose the Methodology that Works Best for your Organization
  5. Sharpen Your Agile and Hybrid Skills Sets

Project Structure

If we, as an organization, want our projects to be more successful in our customers’ eyes, we need to start asking the right questions.  How do we create a project structure that works for our current environment, team, and clientele? Is this a product we need to get to market faster? How can we get our stakeholders/customers more involved? What really defines success?

In today’s environment, many organizations are trying to figure out how to be more “agile” or adaptable. Many organizations are transitioning to the agile approach, kicking off agile pilots, and having great success. Wonderful! But just as many are failing. This is why I’m suggesting that we need to ask the right questions to determine what will be successful within our organizations. What really is the best approach for our environment, on a particular product or project?

What About a Blended Agile Approach?

It is possible to blend agile and traditional project management practices together in the right proportions to fit your project and environment. Blending some of the structure of traditional project management with the fluidity of agile can be quite liberating. I have seen this type of approach work in organizations where there’s resistance to agile among the leaders and mid-management. Leadership support is key when making any type of organizational transition.

Change is very scary to many individuals. It is easier for leaders to buy in to agile practices when the project team is asking, not to throw out all the current processes (which usually have been in place for ten or more years), but to blend the approaches in a way that means more value, quicker release to market, and more satisfied customers and employees.

Benefits of an Adaptive Approach

If you are interested in taking more of an iterative and adaptive approach to project management, consider the following key points:

  • Collaborate daily with your key stakeholders.  Communication is critical. Consistent collaboration with your key stakeholders can only make your project more successful. Increased visibility is never a bad thing, and it enhances your ability to succeed on the next three items.
  • Emphasize maximizing business value. How can we get to the market more quickly with a minimal viable product?
  • Reduce unnecessary documentation. Using an agile approach does not mean there’s no documentation, but there is less documentation than in traditional project management. Figure out what level of documentation is necessary to ensure your leaders, team members, and customers feel comfortable.
  • Be more adaptive to change. Customers tell us they know what they want, but they discover what they want when they experience it. Using an iterative approach makes us more adaptive to change requests, but also allows the customer to experience the product as the team is building it.

Choose the Methodology That Works for Your Organization

In conclusion, with proper planning, coaching, and training, organizations can choose a project management methodology that works best for their project teams, customers, and environment. At the conference, most presenters really stressed the importance of working with a qualified agile coach to help assess your organization’s maturity and determine the best approach for your project and environment. Waterfall, agile, and blended approaches all work!

Planning, coaching, and training for any type of project transition are the key to success with any methodology. We all need to drop our preconceived notions that one particular methodology is better than another. Find the one that will make your team and project more viable, productive, and collaborative.

Sharpen Your Agile and Hybrid Skill Set

Regardless of methodology, having a comprehensive understanding of agile and predictive approaches allows you to adapt based upon the project and your business environment.

If you want to run more projects using agile practices or a hybrid approach, RMC has options for you to discover.  RMC has many offerings including our Agile Fundamentals book, available in hard copy or in an online subscription format.  RMC also offers a self-directed Agile Fundamentals eLearning Course that teaches agile project development, practices, tools, and techniques. Our Hybrid Agile eLearning course teaches you what you need to know to combine predictive and agile approaches.

Sources:

https://www.teamwork.com/project-management-guide/project-management-methodologies/[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

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Project Vision and Mission

Two Business colleagues standing around table discussing

Project managers are expected lead, engage, and empower their teams and stakeholders toward outcomes that deliver value to the organization and your customers. Defining a clear project vision and mission for the project gives direction and meaning to the team to deliver the project goals. This leads to greater accountability for the” why” and “how” of the project.

Establishing the mission and vision is key, whether you are executing a predictive or agile project or using a hybrid approach. Let’s define what’s in a vision and mission statement and how to craft one of your own.

Vision and Mission for Projects

  1. What is a Vision and Mission for Projects?
  2. Why is the Project Vision and Mission Important?
  3. Connecting Work and Achievement
  4. How Do You Create a Vision and Mission Statement?

What is a Vision and Mission for Projects?

Project Vision Statement – The Why Project Mission Statement – The What and The How
  • Communicates where the organization or customer want or need to be at the end of a project.
  • The vision helps state the expected benefits and the future state where the benefits will be realized.
  • Defines the problem we are trying to solve or the goal we wish to achieve. It includes the purpose, focus and the objectives for what we are trying to do.
  • The mission describes how the team will work to deliver the product, service, or result.  It focuses on the approach to achieve the objectives.

Why is the Project Vision and Mission Important?

The vision empowers the project team by answering “why.”  Team members are tired of just executing without a sense of the bigger picture.  They want to be a part of the solution, making a difference through their contributions.  Vision gives direction and meaning to the work.  It helps fosters growth and engagement in the effort.  It lends focus to the project and can lead to better ideas and fewer fire drills.

The mission confirms the benefits and value of the project. It answers the “what” and “how” question. The mission helps motivate your team to move forward, allowing each team member to own their work and decisions to support the common goal.  It provides the basis for performance metrics and evaluation. When the team understands the direction, it informs their analysis and decision-making. Mission also establishes a framework for work behaviors and responsibilities.

Connecting Work and Achievement

The communication of the project vision and mission is an ongoing part of the plan. The vision and mission need to be shared with project stakeholders. Regularly refer to them in meetings and other communications to maintain alignment and identify possible misunderstanding.  Link them to efforts, deliverables, and milestones through the project. Use them to inspire and motivate the team.

How Do You Create a Vision and Mission Statement for a Project?

Prepare the Team:

Set the stage by preparing them for what will happen and its value. The investment in the team’s knowledge inspires their commitment.

  • Define what the team will be doing, why and when?
  • Communicate how the vision and mission statements will be used.
  • What are known project objectives.
  • Prepare for resistance.
  • Understand the needs and of introverts and extroverts.

Create the Project Vision Statement:

Describe the desired future state of the project. It answers the “why” question. Your vision statement can be written out or it can be mapped out to give the team guidance and direction. Include the following key elements:

  • What are the final project goals? What are you trying to achieve through the project?
  • List examples in broad terms of what the future will look like. Ask what is the greater good you are trying to solve for? What is the need?
  • What are you organizing your efforts to change?
  • Imagine the risks if the project is unsuccessful.
  • Describe each example in terms of “I wish” or “Wouldn’t it be great if?”
  • Refine the statements that should stay in the vision.
  • Imagine it as reality and capture the data for strategy development.

Develop the Project Mission Statement:

Your vision needs a strategy! You need a summary of the purpose, the focus, and the aim that we are trying to achieve today. The mission statement answers the following:

  • What is the project?
  • Who are we doing this for?
  • What are the objectives?
  • What does it take to reach the objectives?

Review for the Mission for Changes:

The mission is likely to go through some changes during the project. Schedule a periodic evaluation informed by the following questions:

  • Do our efforts align with the vision and mission? (Are we off-track)
  • Do we still have a shared vision?
  • What have we learned?
  • What should be adjusted?

Learn More on this Topic

Developing a project vision and mission is a worthwhile exercise for project leaders.  Taking the time to do so can positively impact your team’s understanding of what you are trying to achieve and how the team will work to solve the need.  If you want to learn more about mission and vision, RMC offers a Strategic Business Management Best Practices eLearning course.  This course is worth a total of 33 PDUs (2 Technical, 4 Leadership and 27 Strategic).  We also cover this topic extensively in Rita’s PMP Exam Prep book which is a great project management reference guide

You can also listen to our webinar Empowering Your Project Team with Vision and Mission and earn 1 Free PDU.

Sources:

Current PMP Exam Content Outline

https://www.lytho.com/blog/the-case-for-a-project-mission-statement

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Communications Management Plan in Project Management

Communication in business and in project management can be difficult, especially when you’re collaborating with virtual teams or working on global projects, but clear communication is a critical component to a project’s success.

Did you know that a project manager spends 90% of his or her time communicating? Indeed, most problems on projects relate, to some degree, to issues surrounding communications. Yet, our studies show that communication issues are the most preventable problems on projects.

What’s the secret to good communication? Communications must be planned, managed, and continuously monitored throughout the life of a project. This requires the development of a project management communication plan.

Project Management Communications Plan

  1. What is a Project Management Communications Plan?
  2. Create a Project Management Communications Plan
  3. Ideas to Consider in Your Communications Plan
  4. Set Your Plan In Motion

What Is a Project Management Communications Plan?

The Communications Plan is an easy tool to create that you can use to improve communications with everyone on your team, as well as with clients and stakeholders. It outlines the methods used to deliver important information relating to you’re working your project, from start to finish.

  • The goal of a project management communication plan is to establish guidelines that everyone who’s involved in the project will follow to share information with others.
  • A communication plan defines how often information will be shared, who will be responsible for sharing it and details on how information is to be delivered.
  • It’s best to create a new project management communications plan for each project you start. That’s because every project is unique, with its own timeline, deliverables, team, and budget, so the same communication plan won’t work on all projects.

Create a Project Management Communications Plan

A good project management communication plan, starts with stakeholder management. This includes the identification of stakeholders, their requirements and expectations.

You’ll also use the project management scope statement and the WBS (work breakdown structure) that have been created as part of the project. As you create your plan, ask questions like the following so you can move in the right direction:

  • Would it be better to communicate the information more formally in an email or a phone call?
  • Is this an issue that is best discussed in person or virtually?
  • Is the communication important enough to call a meeting, or is it fine to simply create a report?
  • How quickly and how often does the information need to be communicated?

A key aspect of planning communications is determining the optimal technology for communicating information. Agile emphasizes more face-to-face communication while more formal written communications are necessary when utilizing a predictive approach.

Ideas to Consider in Your Communication Plan

Communications should be efficient (providing only the information needed), effective (providing information in the right format at the right time) and add value to the project. When creating a project management communications plan, here are some questions to consider:

  • What needs to be communicated, and why?
  • What information do stakeholders need and when?
  • What is the best method for communicating: What reporting format does the sponsor require? What reporting format do you want from the project team? Who is responsible for sending information? You’ll also want to consider when and how often should information be sent?
  • How will you clearly delineate project roles and responsibilities?
  • What methods should the team use to bring problems or issues to your attention?
  • Where does the project fit into the organizational initiatives, portfolio, and programs?
  • How to communicate changes
  • How will factors such as location, culture, security, privacy, and language impact project communications?

Consider project risks, status, the project charter, stakeholder expectations, the project management plan, and WBS. And don’t forget to also consider problems, changes, and updates to components of the project management plan, as well as upcoming work and delays.

Set Your Plan in Motion

Remember that, in project management, good communication must be planned into the project and managed throughout. The methods and frequency of communication must meet the needs of your stakeholders.

In the end, what your plan looks like will depend on the needs of the project itself, as well as the people involved. Writing down your project management communications plan is wise, it can serve as a valuable reference throughout your project. The best part is that it doesn’t need to be too formal either, yet it will certainly help you and your team succeed.

All of these elements can be found in much more detail in Rita Mulcahy’s PMP® Exam Prep book, so definitely check it out if you want to learn more.

Sources:
A white paper by RMC Learning Solutions, “6 Essential Elements to Effective Project Management.”
https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/project-management-communication-plan

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Six Tips for Planning Your Project Communications

Two coworkers planning their project communications plan on their computer

Having a well-thought-out and documented plan at the beginning of a project is important. The plan can often mean the difference between success and failure. As a project manager, you need to care about project communication. Too often project managers (PMs) approach their projects without planning communications. They may focus all their efforts on issuing status reports. Status reports are important. Unfortunately, all they do is describe where your project currently stands. Status reports don’t address the communication needs of the project from beginning to end. Given how crucial communication is to the project and project team, a failure to plan can lead to misunderstandings, rework, and other problems.

Planning communication on the project doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it does require some thought. You need to consider all the exchanges of information required of you and everyone involved on the project. Doing so will keep the project deadline on track. A plan can help you prepare for any obstacles the project encounters along the way. Such planning will guide you and the team in creating information that is clear and understandable. It will help you reach the right people and allow stakeholders to act when necessary.  Here are six ways to consider as you plan your project.

Six Communication Planning Tips

  1. Think How to Communicate: Think through the different types and methods available.  Make sure you choose the best approach for each item that needs to be communicated. Information can be communicated in different ways—formally or informally, written or verbal—and through a variety of methods. It’s important to consider what approach to use for the different information exchange needs of the project.
  1. Analyze Stakeholders’ Communication Requirement: Keep in mind the phrase “to each their own.” Ask your stakeholders how they prefer to give and receive information. Try to follow their preferences within reason. As the PM, you will likely need to communicate to individuals on your team using several different methods. Although this may mean extra work, it can be worth the effort if it prevents problems. Miscommunication can be avoided by asking a simple question like, “How would you like me to pass this information to you?”
  1. Consider the Company Culture and Existing Systems: You also need to take the company’s culture and expectations into consideration when planning project communications. If people in the organization are resistant to technology, for example, that will impact your thinking about what types of tools or software to include on the project. Similarly, the company may already have existing systems and programs in place. You’ll want to make use of for communicating.
  1. Refer to Lessons Learned from Past Projects: There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, draw on existing procedures, issues, and lessons learned from past projects. Assessments of what has and has not worked in the past can be a great help for planning.
  1. Take Advantage of Available Technology: Modern collaboration tools such as Trello and others can help keep project communication and the team organized. Such tools help the team track progress on deliverables. They allow the team to communicate about the schedule and other project concerns. These might document deadlines, ownership of tasks, updates, and the time required to complete tasks.
  1. Follow the Plan: Make sure everyone knows about the plan and how important it is to the project. Then, follow the plan in your own approach. Constantly refer the team back to the plan until the habit becomes ingrained.

RMC is Here to Help

You can’t plan for everything, and many unique situations will surface throughout your projects that you may not have anticipated. But planning and documenting in advance how you’ll communicate on a project—including how you’ll communicate around these unexpected situations—will help your projects run more smoothly.  Whether you are a new or experienced project manager, project communications can be a struggle.   If these tips aren’t enough, check out RMC’s Project Communication and Stakeholder Engagement eLearning course.

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PMP Exam Tool: Master Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart

Image of Rita Mulcahy's Process Chart game

If you are preparing for the Project Management Professional exam, having a proven PMP Exam tool to support the learning process is key.  One such tool is Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart game. Rita’s game is an important tool to learn the project management process in more detail, quickly and effectively.  It helps you understand what should be done when.

PMP Exam – Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart Game

  1. An Introduction to Rita’s Process Chart
  2. The Process Domain and the PMP Exam
  3. What You Need to Understand to Pass the PMP
  4. Study for the PMP® Using Rita’s Process Chart Game
  5. Prepare for the PMP

An Introduction to Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart

When students discover Rita’s process chart game, they often ask, “Which parts should I memorize?” It’s a simple question, right? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t so straightforward. It’s more than just memorizing―it’s realizing that to pass the exam, you need to thoroughly understand each process.

Let’s start with some basics. Understanding the overall process of project management is integral to learning the terms and concepts for the exam.

PMI® has defined five process groups in Project Management. Rita’s Process Chart is our interpretation of those groups and the associated actions that result in unique outputs attributed to each process.

Rita’s process chart game is not intended to map to other management resources. Its function is to state the efforts involved in management a project.   The game helps you learn the five process groups of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling and Closing.

The Process Domain and the PMP Exam

Prior to January 2020, the PMP exam was generally focused on planned project management.  Planned project management revolves around five process groups and nine knowledge areas.  This is still the case; however, after January 2020, the PMP exam dramatically changed.

Now the exam is organized around three Domains. These are People, Process and Business Environment.  Planned project management is part of the Process Domain along with agile and hybrid project management methodologies.  Process represents 50% of the exam content.

Planned project management remains an important part of the Process Domain.  For this reason, you still need to understand planned aspects of project management to pass the exam and why Rita’s Process Chart Game is an important tool for passing.

What You Need to Understand to Pass the PMP

The PMP exam may ask questions that present a situation which requires you to which process group the project is in.  Rita’s process chart game lays out what specific actions are in each process group and why these actions occur.  There is no specific order for the activities in most of the process groups.  The exception is the planning process group which has a set order of actions.

Rita’s Process Chart game will solidify your understanding of the overall project management process and help you identify and focus on gaps in your knowledge.

Study for the PMP® Using Rita Mulcahy’s Process Chart Game

A typical exam question will only give you some of the information. For example: “You’ve just gained acceptance of interim deliverables from the customer.” Because you’ve done some memorization, you’ll know this action occurs in the Monitor and Control process group.

Now you know where you are within the process but that’s only half the battle. The question then asks, “What should happen next?” The exam is testing your knowledge of the process and outputs associated with the action. In this example, the process is Validate Scope, and the outputs are: work performance information, accepted deliverables, change requests, and project documents updates.

If you understand the actions associated within a process, and what process groups they primarily align with, then you can use logic to quickly analyze and select the best answer.

If you know where you are in the process and understand why processes, actions, and outputs occur you’ll be better prepared to pass the exam.

Prepare for PMP Exam

The process groups are key to planned-driven project management. Rita understood this which is why she created the process chart game to help break down each element to help you more quickly learn the process groups and actions.

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Project Management Professional (PMP) Salary & Highest Paying Jobs

Professional at his computer reading about PMP Salary and Jobs

Project managers have dynamic jobs that allow them to use a variety of skills every day while working with teams of talented individuals. And they have the potential of earning a high salary while doing what they love.

How much does a project manager typically make, what factors can affect their salary, and how much does PMP add to their salary? Continue reading about the PMP salary benefits and get answers to all these questions.

Average Project Manager Salary

There are several factors that will determine how much money you can make as a project manager. Those include your job’s location and industry, the size of the company that hires you, and your experience, education, and certifications.

To give you an idea of average project manager salaries, we’ve broken down the information for you below:

  • An experienced and highly qualified project manager might earn anywhere from $92,000 to $151,000 annually, on average. Earnings are higher for those who are experienced, and an entry-level salary might be roughly $55,000.
  • A program manager might earn an average of around $92,000 to $158,000 annually.
  • A portfolio manager might make roughly $91,000 to $170,000 per year, on average.

Keep in mind that, for all these positions, receiving a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) is a strategic way to increase your earnings. There are other benefits to getting your PMP certification as well.

How a PMP Certification Affects Your Salary

Becoming a Project Management Professional (PMP) is a popular route that many project managers take when they want to advance their career.

But is becoming a PMP worth it? For all the time and effort you need to put into preparing for the PMP certification exam, it should be worthwhile, so is it?

For many professionals who want to become qualified for more job openings and a higher salary, the simple answer is a resounding yes!

Does Being a PMP Increase Your Salary?

The median salary for a certified PMP is 32% higher in the United States –  so it’s a smart way to boost your earnings. To illustrate what we mean: while a project manager with PMP certification’s salary might be around $132,000, whereas without this distinction, you might only earn approximately $100,000.

The longer you work as a PMP, the more you’ll be able to earn. For example, if you received your certification only a few years ago, you might only make a little over $100,000, on average. But if you became certified more than a decade ago, you might make upwards of $130,000 annually, on average.

Side note: Is becoming a certified PMP better than getting your master’s in project management? Well, the median income of someone with this degree is around $120,000, so you might be able to earn even more if you become a PMP. Just keep in mind that various other factors will determine your salary as well.

What Types of Project Managers Make the Most Money?

In addition to becoming a PMP, it’s important to keep in mind other ways to increase your earning potential, such as:

Experience: As mentioned above, the more experience you can acquire, the better, because employers will be inclined to pay you more. While someone who has less than three years of experience in this field might make around $83,000 per year, a project manager with a couple decades of experience might be able to make around $135,000 per year, on average.

Industry: It’s also wise to carefully consider the industry you pursue, as this can greatly impact your salary. Some of the industries that pay the highest PMP salary include:

  • Resources – Roughly $135,000, on average
  • Consulting – Roughly $134,000, on average
  • Pharmaceuticals – Roughly $133,000, on average
  • Aerospace – Roughly $122,000 to $130,000, on average
  • IT – Roughly $117,000, on average
  • Healthcare – Roughly $111,000, on average

Budget and Team Size: Another way to boost your earning potential is by becoming skillful enough to manage a bigger budget and lead larger teams. Someone who can manage teams of 10 or more people might make over $120,000, on average. Compare that to someone who only leads a few people and who earns, on average, roughly $107,000.

RMC Can Help You Become a PMP

If you’ve thought about the perks that come with being a Project Management Professional and you’re ready to take the next step in your career, RMC is here to help you reach your goals. Explore RMC’s proven PMP exam prep materials and classes to help you successful study for the PMP.

Sources:

https://blog.capterra.com/top-5-highest-paying-pmp-jobs/

https://medium.com/the-digital-project-manager/how-much-do-project-managers-make-2020-project-manager-salary-guide

https://wwwpayscale.com/research/US/Certification=Project_Management_Professional_(PMP)/Salary

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/pmp-certification-salary

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Breaking Down the Project Charter

Two business women working on a project charter on the computer

Projects are most successful when there is written and approved authority for the project manager to plan and organize work. A project charter should be created by the project manager from input gathered from the sponsor(s) and the key stakeholders.

The project charter includes documentation of the project’s goals and the definition of the high-level project and product descriptions. The project manager uses the project charter throughout the project to make certain the business case and the project objectives can be met. Therefore, the charter becomes the mandate allowing you to gain “buy in” on the project and its goals. Given its purpose, the charter should have minimum jargon and be easy to read. There are additional benefits of the project charter.

The project charter should be broad enough that it does not need to change as the project progresses. Any change to the project charter should call in to question whether the project should continue.

Elements of a Project Charter

As we walk through the elements you will need to create a project charter, these sections are not exact as a charter should be tailored to meet the needs of the business and project.  Use these components to get you started.

Project Title and Description: The project title and description define What is the Project.

Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level:Includes the name and title of the project manager.  It answers the question, “To what extent can the assigned PM make decisions?” For example, can the project manager approve budget changes, change the schedule, and approve staffing assignments? Keep in mind that when the project is underway is not a good time to find answers and make such decisions!

Business Case: The business case should answer the business need for doing a project. It describes how the project links to the organization’s high level strategic goals. How will the project bring value to the business? On what financial or another basis can we justify doing this project? Understanding the business case will impact the way the project is managed and outlining it in the project charter is essential.

Resources Preassigned:  Have team members or other resources been assigned by management? How many or which resources will be provided? These preassigned resources must be considered when estimating and planning.

Stakeholders: Stakeholders are any people or organizations whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by the project or the product of the project.  To help identify stakeholders, for the project charter, ask “Who will affect or be affected by this project, as known to date?” It includes all employees by department as well as outside representatives. Identifying all stakeholders early in planning may avoid costly changes later in the project.

Stakeholder Requirements as Known: What high-level requirements related to both the project and the product scope. Note that stakeholder requirements define decisions about the business needs, goals and objectives from the perspective of their role in the business. Further work to clarify and finalize requirements will come later.

High-Level Product Description/Key Deliverables:  The project charter defines what specific product deliverables are wanted, and what will be the result of the project? A measure of project success is that all the deliverables are met.

High-Level Assumptions: What do stakeholders believe to be true and reliable for the project, which may not be true? What do we believe to be the case but do not have proof or data for? Assumptions need to be reviewed throughout the project, since an assumption that is proven not to be true may cause changes in scope and other parts of the project management plan.

High-Level Constraints: What factors may limit the team’s ability to deliver the needed result of the project? What boundaries or parameters will the project have to function within?

Measurable Project Objective(s): These are a statement what is expected from the project. These should have metrics and specific values used to measure project success.  Objectives must be measurable to prove project success. And these objectives will depend on the defined priority of the project constraints.

Project Approval Requirements: What items need to be approved for the project, and who will have sign-off authority? What designates success?

Overall Project Risks:A project charter defines the overall opportunities and potential threats that could impact the project? Additional risks, as well as strategies to deal with them, will be documented later in planning.

Project Exit Criteria: What needs must be met so that the project manager will be able to close or terminate the project or phase?

Project Sponsor Authorizing This Project: The project charter requires a signature to give authority and make the project official. Depending on the environment in which your project will be completed, there could be more than one signature on the project charter.

More Project Charter Help

The project charter should contain all the elements described above. They can be abbreviated or elaborated upon depending on the organization’s culture, environment, level of planning, project management maturity, and best practices. It can also depend on the size of the project.

Overall, a successful project begins with a well written project charter that can be used to sell your project, measure progress, is a reference point for avoiding and settling disputes and a guide to keep the projects end solution as the focal point.

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Identifying Project Stakeholders in Project Management

African American project stakeholder

Effective project management requires detailed stakeholder identification to be performed. While the project manager needs to be the expert in project management, they rely on certain stakeholders to serve as experts in what needs to be done and how it should be accomplished. Stakeholders are important throughout the lifecycle of the project. Once identified, you need a plan to manage their expectations and their level of engagement and influence.

In a previous post, we covered the essential element, create a project charter. A charter should identify key project stakeholders, but this is only on the high level, so let’s dive into what it takes to effectively identify all your stakeholders.

Identifying Project Stakeholders

  1. Who Are Stakeholders?
  2. Types of Stakeholders
  3. How to Work with Stakeholders Successfully
  4. Stakeholder Engagement Skills

Who Are Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are people and organizations who:

  • Are involved in or impacted by the project or product
  • Can positively or negatively impact the project or product

It is important to identify anyone who can affect, or be affected by, the project or the product. Anyone who has any interest in the project, including those who might be opposed to the project or portions of it, are also stakeholders. To help you identify more people, ask them: “Who do you think are the stakeholders?” You don’t want to miss any.

Also, when identifying individuals and teams, the project manager must elicit, document, and evaluate stakeholders’ product, project, and project management requirements and expectations. These must be evaluated against the charter and project management plan to make sure the project stays within scope, builds the needed solution, and delivers to the business need.

Types of Stakeholders

There are several types of stakeholders.  The most common are internal or external stakeholders.

Internal stakeholders work within an organization. They include the project manager and team, customer, and sponsor.  It can also include individuals and groups you may not have considered such as board members and investors, other project managers or the Project Management Office.

External stakeholders work outside the organization but still have impact or interest in a project. These can include regulators, consultants, sellers, end users, customers, partners, competitors, shareholders, and other financial institutions.

Stakeholders may be actively involved in the project work or may fulfill or may fill an advisory role.

How to Work with Stakeholders Successfully

Successful project managers identify and properly involve key groups and individuals in the project planning process, and continually engage those stakeholders throughout the project as well.

Good project managers also understand their stakeholders’ requirements, expectations, influence, and impact, and use that analysis and planning to engage them throughout the project and in balance with project constraints. Since stakeholders play an important role in all aspects of projects, here are some ways you can involve them:

  1. Identify all stakeholders: Identify all of them as early as possible. Discovering them later in the process will likely request changes which can impact your project.
  2. Determine their requirements and expectations: We have already discussed the need to gather requirements but is essential to obtain all requirements before work begins. Expectations are more ambiguous than requirements. Expectations can include what stakeholder thinks will happen to them, their department, or the organization because of the project.
  3. Determine their interest: What is each stakeholder’s level of interest in the project. This information will help you structure the work, roles, and responsibilities to maximize engagement.
  4. Understand their level of influence and authority: A stakeholder’s influence and authority can affect the work and outcome of the project. It is important to gather and analyze this information you can leverage it to the benefit of the project.
  5. Plan to engage and communicate with stakeholders: Planning is a key to project management. You’ll want to create a plan to engage and keep stakeholder involved in the project. You will also want to plan your communication to get them to convey their thoughts and concerns to help prevent problems.

Stakeholder Engagement Skills

Balancing the science and art of project management requires that project managers know how to collaborate with key individuals and groups and meet their expectations. Developing these skills is vital successfully delivering projects.

Want to learn more about working with stakeholders? Consider RMC’s Project Communication and Stakeholder Engagement eLearning course.  This course teaches you how to identify stakeholders, discover their expectations and requirements, and how to propose modifications.

If you want to enhance your project management knowledge, RMC has synthesized our project management expertise into the essential elements of Project Fundamentals.  Learn new concepts with thoughtful exercises and content in our Project Management 2-day instructor-led virtual class. Our PM Crash eLearning course allows you to learn the fundamentals of project management any time, anywhere.

RMC also offers a FREE webinar on Stakeholder Engagement Analysis Tools that discuss how to use the variety of tools that can help with stakeholder engagement.

Sources

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/stakeholders-in-the-workplace

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Develop a Project Scope Statement in Project Management

Two colleagues discussing a project scope statement

The Project Scope Statement describes the product of the project, and it describes how you will accomplish the creation of that product – the work that will be carried out on the project, including project management activities. It also describes what is not in the project – those requested requirements that were not approved to be in the project or product scope.

In our previous post, we covered the essential element, Identify Stakeholders. It’s important to identify anyone who can affect, or be affected by, the project or its product. It’s also necessary to  develop a project scope statement appropriate to the particular project.

Project Scope Statement

  1. What is Project Scope?
  2. How Do I Write a Project Scope Statement
  3. Key Elements of a Project Scope Statement
  4. Write It Down and Share It with Your Team

What Is Project Scope?

Project scope is a key component of Project Scope Management. The project scope is the work the project team will do to deliver the product or service of the project.  It also describes the product, service, or result of the project with its features and functions.

The documentation of the project scope is called a scope statement, or scope definition and is a result of the Define Scope process.  This document in effect says, “Here is what will we do on this project”. In addition to describing what the project will deliver, it also explains the boundaries of the project, and how the work will be approved.  Note that the scope statement is not the same as the project charter but is a more detailed explanation of the high-level project scope described in the project charter.

How Do You Write a Project Scope Statement?

A scope statement is created with input and expert judgement from team members and other stakeholders. It can also include experts from outside the organization. The project scope statement involves analysis of the project, translating requirements into deliverables.

Requirements, and requirements analysis, should be as complete as possible before creating the scope statement  . Doing so will help you obtain clear direction and agreement on the expected project scope. If this has not been completed, the project manager is responsible for leading the efforts of requirements elicitation and documentation.

The scope statement format may vary based on the needs of the project. Many of the topics addressed in the project charter are covered in more detail in the scope statement.

Key Elements of a Project Scope Statement

The project scope statement provides stakeholders and the project team with a clear understanding of what the project will deliver and includes these components.

Product scope description: Overall description and characteristics of the project’s product, service, or result, and the work needed to produce the product

Project boundaries: What is and isn’t included in the project

Project deliverables: Specific items to be created, produced, or delivered

Acceptance criteria: Documentation of the conditions for acceptance of each major deliverable

Scope-related constraints: Time, cost, and other factors that affect scope, as known

Project assumptions: List of what is assumed to be true but may not be true as it relates to scope

Write It Down and Share It with Your Team

Your project scope statement should be in writing to promote a common understanding and prevent any miscommunication. Because this document supports the work to properly plan a project and demonstrate success when the project is completed, it’s an essential tool that you should be using for every project you lead.

Want to learn more about project scope? RMC offers our popular Project Management Fundamentals virtual instructor led course or our Project Management Fundamentals book to help with real-world project management issues, including how to define and manage project scope.

Sources

Rita Mulcahy’s Project Management Fundamentals Book

https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/project-scope

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5 Reasons to Care About Project Communication

Project manager in communication with team

A great deal of a project manager’s time is spent communicating with management, the team, the customer, and other stakeholders.  It is no surprise that project managers often identify communication-related issues as the #1 problem they experience most frequently on projects. According to the Project Management Institute, 40 percent of all project failures can be directly attributed to lack of effective communication.

Poor communication examples during projects are endless, yet many people allocate time developing technical project management skills while ignoring softer skills like communication and active listening.  Making even a small changes in your project communication habits can greatly impact your project’s success.  Ask yourself: “Is there a benefit to not communicating effectively?”

5 Reasons for Effective Project Communication

  1. Engaged Stakeholders
  2. Risk Mitigation
  3. Organizational Benefits
  4. Knowledge Sharing
  5. Self-Motivation

Here are additional reasons to care about project communication:

1. Engaged Stakeholders

As a project manager, you need to use communication skills in every aspect of your job, from refereeing conflicts between team members to emailing project status updates to stakeholders. To do this, you need to enhance your communication skills.  If you don’t, your stakeholders could experience poor team relationships, receive too little relevant information about the project, and could become disengaged from it. The easiest way to maintain engagement with your stakeholders is to take the time to plan how you will communicate with them early in the project and follow through with it.

2. Risk Mitigation

One of the biggest benefits to investing in your project communication skills is the ease in which you will be able to collect information on possible risks to your project. All of the methods we suggest identifying risks involve high-quality communication. Being able to facilitate a brainstorming meeting is an art and a science. Knowing exactly how long to use silence before someone is so uncomfortable, they volunteer a suggestion is a golden moment in effective listening. Maintaining energy and enthusiasm with your project team while identifying risk categories and completing an affinity diagram to organize ideas.  It is a skill that isn’t going to come naturally to everyone, but when practiced it becomes second nature. Given the alternative of missing a potential risk that could be costly, it seems obvious that for this reason alone you should care about increasing your communications competence.

3. Organizational Benefits

Simple changes can make a big difference in improving project communications. Imagine a project where you’ve drafted a comprehensive communications management plan and followed it.  Where you’ve continuously updated your stakeholder register, and because of it, stayed on top of requirement changes. Where barriers to communication were reduced to the point where no time was lost because everyone was aware of the project’s progress.  This would get noticed. A project brought in on time, within budget, and meeting the needs of the organization will catch the executive team’s eye.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. Ultimately the investment in effective communications will result in benefits to the entire organization.   Conflicts will be reduced; employee satisfaction will increase resulting in reduced turnover and fewer requirements will be missed.

4. Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge Sharing is a key component of agile methods; this is an important concept to consider when managing project communications. Information (i.e., knowledge) is a basic component of any project, so it must be distributed and shared. Properly sharing knowledge allows for more information to be provided until team members have enough knowledge to complete their work.  A project management communication plan is a tool to determine how information is shared and delivered to everyone.

Agile projects embrace knowledge sharing using tools such as daily stand-ups, Kanban boards, and wireframes all support knowledge sharing by ensuring the project information is available.

5. Self-Motivation

Enhanced communication skills are transferable to any project in any industry. Your ability to effectively listen, to ask clarifying questions, and to craft professional formal and informal correspondence have practical applications.

Project management is about coordinating efforts, gathering information, and sharing knowledge to achieve the project goals.  To increase your communication skills, consider RMC’s updated Project Communication and Stakeholder Engagement eLearning course.

Sources:

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-communication-better-project-management-6480