The following ten elements should be considered by a project manager irrespective of the size of the project. It is the level of detail that goes into each element that will correlate with the size and complexity of the project.
Element 1 – Planning and Scoping
A key component of any project is the completion of a project scope. Having a clear project scope assists with the effective management and expectations of stakeholders. It ensures that the deliverables are aligned with the project objectives and improves the chances of project success.
Included in the project scope statement should be detail on the project outcomes, customers, outputs, work and resources.
A project scope statement should consist of the following:
- A statement of work which breaks down all of the tasks to be performed by the project team.
- Negative constraints that may negatively impact the project
- Scope exclusions. By clearly stating what is out of scope, the impact of scope creep may be limited.
- Key milestones
- Detail of what the final deliverable will be
- Acceptance criteria that clarifies what needs to be delivered before the client will accept handover.
- Final approval whereby the client signs the scope statement verifying that they accept all the parameters and that the document is complete and accurate.
For larger projects the scope statement should be detailed fully in the Project Business Plan.
For smaller projects a brief description outlining all the elements and timeframe may be enough.
Element 2 – Governance
For larger projects it is important that a formalised governance structure is in place. Having this in place clarifies the management structure, the accountability, roles and responsibilities of the project. Project governance is highly important as it determined who has the overarching accountability and responsibility. Knowing this assists project success as it defines how project decisions are made.
There are four core governance principles that will ensure project effectiveness:
- Ensure there is a single point of accountability
- Project ownership independent of asset ownership
- Separation of stakeholder management and project decision making activities
- Separation of project governance and organisational governance structures.
For smaller projects good governance may lay with the project manager and a senior or line manager.
Element 3 – Outcome Realisation
Project planning activities should consider the amount of organisational change required to deliver the project outputs and realise the project outcomes.
Differentiating outputs and outcomes is important here. A project output is the project itself and with all its deliverables being realised. A project’s outcomes are the benefits that the project has. For example, a medical centre may be the project output and improved health outcomes will the outcome. This stage of the project is therefore called outcome realisation.
For larger project outcome realisation will be documented along with stakeholder engagement.
Element 4 – Stakeholder Engagement
There are four important steps in effective stakeholder engagement. They are:
- Stakeholder identification
- Stakeholder Classification
- Communication
- Managing and monitoring relationships
For more information on stakeholders have a look here or take a look at my eBook on Stakeholder Engagement.
Element 5 – Risk Management
Risk planning is a fundamental part of the project planning process. It starts with risk identification, analysis, evaluation and treatment. Contingencies and mitigation strategies also need to be considered.
All risks can’t be removed from the project however planning will reduce the chances of risks becoming issues and will also have a plan in place for when an issue may occur.
Constant monitoring of the risk register is encouraged as change is inevitable throughout a project and risk profiles will change. The process should be iterative and built into the project planning and activities.
Element 6 – Issues Management
The importance of identifying and monitoring issues provides a robust way in managing potential risks to the project. Awareness of issues and developing a process for identification, evaluation, assessing their impact and decisions on resolution are all important.
An issues log will assist in capturing the details of each issue, identify change in status and nominate who holds responsibility for resolving the issue.
Managing issues in this way can provide insights for possible future opportunities as well as add to lessons learned for future projects.
Element 7 – Resource Management
Effectively managing resources is crucial for projects of all sizes and complexity. Resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, natural resources or IT.
Resource management involves planning, so the right resources are assigned to the right tasks. Managing resources involves schedules, budgets, equipment and supplies.
For smaller projects documentation may not be necessary, however for medium to large projects documentation will lead to better management of resources and provide transparency for key stakeholders. Monitoring against the baseline by providing status reports will identify change that is outside the tolerance level of the Project Steering Committee. This will quickly raise awareness that project change may be required.
Element 8 – Quality Management
There are two aspects to quality management:
a) The quality of the project processes
b) That outputs are at the level of quality agreed upon by the client
The two are intrinsically linked as a lack of quality in the project processes will unlikely yield a project output that is fit for purpose as agreed upon by the client.
By ensuring project quality the risk of project failure decreases.
Quality management procedures should be reviewed throughout the project life cycle thoroughly. Project practitioners should also include processes for managing change, problems, issues and incidents that emerge during the project and the production of outputs.
Element 9 – Status Reporting
Matching the status of the project to what was planned is a fundamental part of the monitoring and controlling of the project. Reporting is usually to the Project Sponsor or Project Steering Committee.
Status reporting provides a mechanism to regularly validate the project’s alignment with the baseline and identifies whether the project is achieving the strategic objectives. It is also an important tool to keep both direct and indirect stakeholders up to date with the progress of the project.
The regular review of the project and providing status reports is important in order to keep everyone on the same page and aware of where the project is at. A status report will generally include the following:
- The work that has been completed
- The plan for what is following
- The current state of the budget and schedule
- Action items
- Issues and risks and whether there has been any movement their levels.
Element 10 – Project Close
No matter the size of a project it is always helpful to reflect on the project. This reflection should consider whether the project was able to deliver its outputs as planned. Essentially project practitioners wish to determine whether the project was delivered on time, on schedule and under budget. If this is achieved then the project delivery can be considered a success. The measurement on whether the output provides the outcomes planned for and whether those outcomes were aligned to the strategic objectives of the organisation will also need to be reflected on.
Project close also is the chance to tie up the loose ends of the project. For example all bill are paid, documents are archived in the relevant repositories and transition plans are in place for the staff that were involved in the project.
Considering lessons learned and providing recommendations and an action plan for future projects is also a worthwhile exercise for the organisation.
It is also the time for the project team to celebrate its successes and enjoy the breakup party!
