Project Management

A project is a set of tasks that are structured to achieve a measurable goal in a defined deadline.

Project management is the use of frameworks to make critical resource-allocation decisions during the course of a project. Its goal is to ensure a timely and optimal outcome quality despite the inevitable uncertainty and resource limitations.

• When multiple stakeholders and responsibility roles are involved, so accountability would otherwise be diluted.
• When multiple interdependent tasks will be performed simultaneously.
• When time of delivery is critical.
• When the use of resources (cost) is high.
• When outcome quality is critical.

• During execution, the project team must rely on the Project Plan to prioritize the inevitable hard choices when changing tasks, dates, resources, and investments.
• A significant amount of time must be dedicated to the Planning Phase (rule of thumb: 30%).
• All Project Team members must understand the documentation, to be fully committed to their roles.
• These decisions must be recorded and compared against the plan, in order to learn and communicate to stakeholders.

A comprehensive document that tells the entire “story” of the project:

1. 1Inputs & reference docsA current problem, a customer request, the business driver — plus handbooks, studies, AS-IS processes, current plans.
2. 2The Project DeckPlanning (phase I) → Execution (phase II) → Closure (phase III), linked by a hub indexing every input, output, and reference.
3. 3OutputsNew process flowcharts, a system go-live, a fleet deployment, outcome results…

• Planning (phase I): the Project Charter, the WBS, the RACI matrix, and the Gantt.
• Execution (phase II): a record of the managerial decisions taken during execution.
• Closure (phase III): a final account of execution vs plan, to derive lessons learned.
• Hub: a linked index of every input, output, and reference document.

This is what the entire project documentation should look like:

• Inputs: a current problem, a request from a customer, the business driver of the project.
• Reference docs: handbooks, studies, AS-IS processes, current plans, etc.
• Outputs: e.g. new process flowcharts, a new system go-live, a new fleet deployment, outcome results…

• Confusing “project” (has an END) with “process” (is cyclical).
• Not having a unique Project Manager.
• Not clearly stating who is accountable for EVERY task.
• Not setting clear deadlines and milestones.
• Not updating the project’s documentation during the execution phase, in order to compare against the planning baseline.
• Not updating all the relevant stakeholders on time, to adequately manage everyone’s expectations.

• PMBOK — the Project Management Institute

The original card cross-references sibling flashcards for the Project Charter, WBS, RACI, and Gantt.