how does a project work

7/31/2019 How Does a Project Work

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How does a project work?

PRINCE2 is a best practice framework that helps managers deliver projects ontime and within budget. It divides projects into clearly defined stages with a start,middle and end. It focuses on the delivery of products rather than carrying outactivities. Every project must have a business case and plan that is periodicallyreviewed to check the project is still viable.

A PRINCE2 project has the following characteristics:

A finite and defined lifecycle Defined and measurable business products A corresponding set of activities to achieve the business products A defined amount of resources An organisation structure, with defined responsibilities, to manage the

project

What are the benefits of PRINCE2?

PRINCE2 is about doing the right projects, at the right time, for the right reasons.It gives you common systems, procedures and language for projects. PRINCE2also provides:

Better control and use of resources A means of managing risks and issues Flexible decision points Regular reviews of progress against the project plan and business case Assurance that the project continues to have a business justification

Early visibility of possible problems Good communications between the project team and other stakeholders A mechanism for managing deviations from the project plan A process for capturing lessons learned

Putting all of this together should enable you to save time and money whiledelivering projects more effectively.

PRINCE2 for a Successful Project

PRINCE2 is used to manage projects throughout the business world; but what is aproject and what constitutes a successful project? This article will define a

project, look at the characteristics of an unsuccessful and a successful project,and discuss briefly how PRINCE2 can benefit a business.

What is a Project?

A project can be defined as "any outcome you're committed to achieving that willtake more than one action step to complete," or "a project is a managementenvironment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more businessproducts according to a specified business case."

To understand what constitutes a successful project, a lot can be learned bylooking at the common reasons for an unsuccessful project.

Some common reasons for an unsuccessful project are:


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Lack of management support - which can lead to insufficient funding andresources; senior management performance criteria is not linked with theproject's criteria, which can lead to conflict.

Resource conflicts - can mean there is a lack of dedicated team membersin the project; key resources unavailable when required.

Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities - can cause individuals/teamsto work inefficiently; deadlines are missed; resolution over issues isdelayed; overall there is low morale within the project workforce.

Poor communication - lack of information passed to individuals/teams cancause confusion within the project workforce; deadlines missed; concernsof stakeholders or team members are not addressed.

Lack of leadership - can be caused by an inexperienced or an untrainedproject manager; lack of sustained leadership commitment; no cleargoals, vision or strategy set; individuals are unclear how the project willalter jobs, processes, etc; there isn't any alignment of measurement andreward system with targeted outcomes.

Some common reasons for a successful project are:

Advanced planning of the project - individuals are given defined roles;teams are established; the outcome of the project is defined.

Strong leadership - continuous committed leadership; executives showstrong support; metrics and incentives are in place to drive desiredbehaviours; change is seen as an ongoing process.

Relationships are maintained - the leaders are "people focused;"relationships are maintained while meeting the needs of the project.

Quality delivered - project deliverables have met all functional,performance and quality specifications.

Stakeholder expectations met - every expectation of the stakeholders wasmet; every key stakeholder accepts the project results.

Project completed - the project was completed within the set timeframe;completed under the approved budget; the project has achieved itsoriginal goals, objectives, and purpose; every participant should be eagerto repeat a similar experience.

PRINCE2 for Successful Projects

To ensure projects operate smoothly, PROMPTII, PRINCE, and subsequentlyPRINCE2 were all introduced to address the common reasons for project failure.PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) is recognised as a world-classinternational product, is the standard method for project management andprovides a flexible and adaptable approach to suit all projects.

PRINCE2 training enables people to understand how a successful project operatesby covering the processes, components and techniques needed for any sizeproject. It is a project management method designed to provide a structure thatcovers the wide variety of disciplines and actions required within a project. Thefocus throughout PRINCE2 is on the Business Case, which describes the rationaleand business justification for the project - it is the Business Case that drives allthe project management processes, from project set-up through to a successfulfinish.

Conclusion

There are two ways to operate a project - successfully or unsuccessfully. Everybusiness wants a successful project so they can reap the rewards; the way


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forward is for personnel to be trained with a "de-facto" standard for projectmanagement in the UK and internationally, PRINCE2.

How to Become a Project Manager

Whatever the specialist area of your organisation, it is important to understandthe difference here:

Specialists use their skills and experience to create specialist products(deliverables). These products can be anything from hardware, software,roads, documents, service delivery, aircraft, buildings, carpentry, and HRguidelines, the list is endless.

Project managers on the other hand, need general management skills,along with a knack for problem solving. Project managers are there to planand manage the work - NOT to do it!

So what is the project management skill set?

1. Be a Leader and a Manager

Leaders share and communicate a common vision (of some future state); theygain agreement and establish the forward direction. They motivate others.Managers are results driven and focus on getting work done against agreedrequirements. A good project manager will constantly switch from a leader to amanager as situations require.

2. Be a Team Builder and a Team Leader

Because projects are often cross-functional in that they use people who may not

have worked together before. It is up to the project manager to set the "tone" of the team, and to lead them through the various team development phases to thepoint where they perform as a team. Often, the team individuals have their ownline manager, and so the project manager has no implied authority - yet stillneeds to motivate the individual. This is particularly true in a "Matrix"organisation

3. Be a Problem Solver

This is a skill that can be learned, it just needs a little "detective" work up-front!You will want to first identify the possible "causes" that lead to the problem"symptom." Now, causes can come from a variety of sources, some are:

Interpersonal problems Internal sources External sources Technical sources Management sources Communication Opinions or perceptions

...and so on. The next step having found the root causes is to analyse possibleoptions and alternatives, and determine the best course of action to take. Takecare to agree what "best" really means here!


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4. Be a Negotiator and Influencer

Negotiation is working together with other people with the intention of coming toa joint agreement. It doesn't have to be the eye-ball-to-eye-ball power struggleyou may be thinking of! For example getting one of the team to work late to meeta deadline when they would prefer to go to the ball game. For this you need tohave some influencing skills. Influencing is getting events to happen byconvincing the other person that your way is the better way - even if it's not whatthey want. Influencing power is the ability to get people to do things they wouldnot do otherwise.

5. Be an Excellent Communicator

Being a communicator means recognising that it's a two-way street. Informationcomes into the project and information goes out of the project. A good way of summarising this is that all communications on your project should be clear andcomplete. As a project manager you will have to deal with both written and oralcommunications. Some examples are documents, meetings, reviews, reports, andassessments. A good mental guideline is "who needs this information, whogathers and delivers it, when or how often do they need it, and in what form will Igive it to them."

6. Be a Good Organiser

Let's just think of the aspects you will need to organise; project filing including alldocumentation, contracts, e-mails, memo's, reviews, meetings, specialistdocuments, requirements and specifications, reports, changes, issues, risks, etc.It's almost impossible to stay organised without having time management skills,so add this to your list!

7. Be a Competent and Consistent Planner

The skill of planning can't be underestimated, and neither can estimating! Thereare known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you willcertainly own the project plan, but there may be others depending upon theproject. Examples are, stage plans, exception plans, team plans, hand-overplans, benefit realisation plans, etc. Don't worry if you haven't heard of some of these as they may not be necessary, just be aware that planning should becomesecond nature to you. Two aspects need to be mentioned here:

1. Plans are always documents, don't fall into the trap of thinking that, for

example, a Gantt chart is a plan - its only a schedule diagram.2. Successful projects are delivered by successful teams. Always use theteam to help create the plan unless, rarely, there is a good reason whynot, such as commercial confidentiality, or contractual conditions.

8. Set-up and Manage Budgets

At the heart of this is the skill of estimating, particularly cost estimates. Nearlyalways the project manager will need certain knowledge of financial techniquesand systems along with accounting principles.

Part of the project plan will be something called the spend plan. This will show the

planned spend against a timescale. The project manager will want to get involvedin purchasing, quoting, reconciling invoices, timesheets, labour costs, etc. The


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project manager then needs to establish what has actually happened as opposedto what was planned and to forecast the expected final costs. Normallyaccounting and project management tools will help, but remember the garbage in= garbage out rule!

Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager

Inspires a Shared Vision

An effective project leader is often described as having a vision of where to goand the ability to articulate it. Visionaries thrive on change and being able to drawnew boundaries. It was once said that a leader is someone who "lifts us up, givesus a reason for being and gives the vision and spirit to change." Visionary leadersenable people to feel they have a real stake in the project. They empower peopleto experience the vision on their own. According to Bennis "They offer peopleopportunities to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean totheir jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for theorganisation." (Bennis, 1997)

Good Communicator

The ability to communicate with people at all levels is almost always named asthe second most important skill by project managers and team members. Projectleadership calls for clear communication about goals, responsibility, performance,expectations and feedback.

There is a great deal of value placed on openness and directness. The project

leader is also the team's link to the larger organisation. The leader must have theability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure thesuccess of the team and project. Through effective communication, projectleaders support individual and team achievements by creating explicit guidelinesfor accomplishing results and for the career advancement of team members.

Integrity

One of the most important things a project leader must remember is that his orher actions, and not words, set the modus operandi for the team. Goodleadership demands commitment to, and demonstration of, ethical practices.Creating standards for ethical behaviour for oneself and living by these standards,

as well as rewarding those who exemplify these practices, are responsibilities of project leaders. Leadership motivated by self-interest does not serve the wellbeing of the team. Leadership based on integrity represents nothing less than aset of values others share, behaviour consistent with values and dedication tohonesty with self and team members. In other words the leader "walks the talk"and in the process earns trust.

Enthusiasm

Plain and simple, we don't like leaders who are negative - they bring us down. Wewant leaders with enthusiasm, with a bounce in their step, with a can-do attitude.We want to believe that we are part of an invigorating journey - we want to feel

alive. We tend to follow people with a can-do attitude, not those who give us 200reasons why something can't be done. Enthusiastic leaders are committed to their


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goals and express this commitment through optimism. Leadership emerges assomeone expresses such confident commitment to a project that others want toshare his or her optimistic expectations. Enthusiasm is contagious and effectiveleaders know it.

Empathy

What is the difference between empathy and sympathy? Although the words aresimilar, they are, in fact, mutually exclusive. According to Norman Paul, insympathy the subject is principally absorbed in his or her own feelings as theyare projected into the object and has little concern for the reality and validity of the object's special experience. Empathy, on the other hand, presupposes theexistence of the object as a separate individual, entitled to his or her ownfeelings, ideas and emotional history (Paul, 1970). As one student so eloquentlyput it, "It's nice when a project leader acknowledges that we all have a lifeoutside of work."

Competence

Simply put, to enlist in another's cause, we must believe that that person knowswhat he or she is doing. Leadership competence does not however necessarilyrefer to the project leader's technical abilities in the core technology of thebusiness. As project management continues to be recognised as a field in and of itself, project leaders will be chosen based on their ability to successfully leadothers rather than on technical expertise, as in the past. Having a winning trackrecord is the surest way to be considered competent. Expertise in leadership skillsis another dimension in competence. The ability to challenge, inspire, enable,model and encourage must be demonstrated if leaders are to be seen as capableand competent.

Ability to Delegate Tasks

Trust is an essential element in the relationship of a project leader and his or herteam. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions - how much youcheck and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allowpeople to participate. Individuals who are unable to trust other people often failas leaders and forever remain little more that micro-managers, or end up doingall of the work themselves. As one project management student put it, "A goodleader is a little lazy." An interesting perspective!

Cool Under Pressure

In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with nomajor problems or obstacles to overcome. But we don't live in a perfect world -projects have problems. A leader with a hardy attitude will take these problems instride. When leaders encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting,they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. "Outof the uncertainty and chaos of change, leaders rise up and articulate a newimage of the future that pulls the project together." (Bennis 1997) And remember- never let them see you sweat.

Team-Building Skills

A team builder can best be defined as a strong person who provides thesubstance that holds the team together in common purpose toward the right


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objective. In order for a team to progress from a group of strangers to a singlecohesive unit, the leader must understand the process and dynamics required forthis transformation. He or she must also know the appropriate leadership style touse during each stage of team development. The leader must also have anunderstanding of the different team players styles and how to capitalise on eachat the proper time, for the problem at hand.

Problem Solving Skills

Although an effective leader is said to share problem-solving responsibilities withthe team, we expect our project leaders to have excellent problem-solving skillsthemselves. They have a "fresh, creative response to here-and-nowopportunities," and not much concern with how others have performed them.(Kouzes 1987)

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE) is a project management method.It covers the management, control and organisation of a project. "PRINCE2"refers to the second major version of this method and is a registered trademarkof the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), an independent office of HMTreasury of the United Kingdom.PRINCE2 is derived from an earlier method called PROMPTII[1], and from PRINCEproject management method, which was initially developed in 1989 by theCentral Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) as a UK Governmentstandard for information systems (IT) project management; however, it soonbecame regularly applied outside the purely IT environment.[2] PRINCE2 wasreleased in 1996 as a generic project management method.[3] PRINCE2 hasbecome increasingly popular and is now a de facto standard for projectmanagement in the UK.[4] Its use has spread beyond the UK to more than 50other countries.

Content of the Package:- Prince2 Training Foundation- Prince2 Practitioner Exams- OGC - Prince2 Manual - 3rd Edition- Prince2 in Practice- Managing sucessful projects with Prince2- Prince2 CBT- Prince2 All You Need Package (Many Additional Files and Documents)