Project Management (PMP) & Management Skills: Pmbok, Scrum

Most management models identify three basic management processes that serve to organize the ongoing activity of the enterprise: Planning-devising a workable scheme to accomplish an objective, Executing-carrying out the plan and Controlling—measuring progress and taking corrective action when necessary. These processes occur at all levels of the enterprise, in many different forms, and under many different names. For example, planning is a constant, not a onetime event.

Many professionals think of a Project Management Plan as a schedule. Professionals who carry this misconception into the PMP certification exam are the least likely ones to pass it. As you will see in this lesson, a Project Management Plan is a document that defines how a project is executed, monitored, and controlled; it is much more than a schedule chart. What is a Project Management Plan?

People say, “Precaution is better than cure” and this holds to be true in every walk of life. Be it the time when you own a project or you’re off studying for an exam, taking remedial measures at the very start of your work can help you gain a head-start as well as avoid the mishaps and catastrophic events later on, when you’re knee-deep into the commitment. This is the same in the case of projects nowadays, where you need to take some measures ahead of going on with the project in order to save on running into risks, which can completely throw your plans away.

Managing large complex projects from beginning to end can be a challenge for even the most seasoned project manager.For project managers in the process of setting new projects into motion, the Executing Process Group can work as a checklist to help make sure the project is off to a strong start.The overall goal of the Executing Process Group is to set the teams in place to get the work done efficiently and effectively so that the project stays on target with regard to the scope and previously agreed upon goals. Teams are set in place to complete work according to stakeholder specifications. 

Projects get delayed for many reasons, including unforeseen risks, optimistic estimates, and evolving requirements. The reality is that projects rarely go as planned. The processes in the Monitoring and Controlling process group trigger change requests that enable a project to get back on track.The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group addresses the skills needed to review progress and document benchmarks. After initiating, planning, and executing a project, the project is then officially underway though the project manager has been hard at work since the initiation process. 

Because of the way workflow typically progresses, the end of a project can generate almost as many details to tend to as the planning or initiating phases. Even when proper execution and monitoring processes have been addressed, there are still many tasks that need to be completed as the project comes to a close.The closing process group comprises all the final processes needed to close out a project and deliver final products and reports to the stakeholders.

Integration management is an element of project management that coordinates all aspects of a project. Project integration, when properly performed, ensures that all processes in a project run smoothly. As you know, as a project manager you have to follow the activities involved in the process groups (i.e., Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing). Now you need to know that, as Integration is the one of the knowledge area, what work you need to do in every process groups, starting from Initiation to closing pertaining to integration management.

The project charter is the planning team’s concise statement of core goals, values, and intent in order to provide the ultimate policy direction for everything that comes next. The charter collects the objectives, scope, organization and implementation plan for the project. By having a receptacle for these goals you can more easily work towards setting the direction of the project and gain “buy-in” from your stakeholders in terms of how you’re going to organize and implement the project.

In the management plan for your project you need to use a series of key elements and develop it in a specific time. It is necessary to start building with good foundations so that everything manages to stay on top. You must structure the management plan in the following sections: -Integration. At this point the project is constituted and processes are defined so that all the activities are included. 

The management of the Project Execution consists of carrying out the work defined in the Project Management Plan to comply with the objectives established therein. This work will be carried out by the Project Director together with his Team, carrying out, among others, the following tasks: *Carry out the necessary activities to meet the requirements of the Project. *Create project deliverables. 

The management of the project does not begin or end with the definition and planning of a project, in fact, contrary to what many Project Directors believe, if it does not include the management of project scope and change, the success of your project could be in danger. Therefore, the person responsible for a project must always structure its functions around five key steps: *Plan the work. 

The scope verification is to obtain formal acceptance of the scope of the completed project and the related deliverables. This includes having the interested parties review the deliverables to make sure that each one was completed satisfactorily. Do not confuse: scope verification is not quality control. Scope verification focuses on stakeholder acceptance, and is typically a project-oriented activity outside. Quality control focuses on the validity of the result of the work, and can be oriented both outside and inside the project. How is the scope verified? It is very simple: "inspecting".  

Time management includes all the activities necessary to achieve the target date of delivery of the product of the project. It includes the following activities: identification of activities, logical sequencing of activities, estimation of duration of activities, and preparation of the project schedule. For the preparation of the schedule we will see several methods such as PERT-CPM with resource leveling, simulation, and the critical chain method. 

Defining the activities consists of identifying the actions that must be carried out to obtain the deliverables of the project. After creating the EDT, we get the lowest level of this decomposition, which we call Work Packages. The decomposition of these into smaller components gives us the necessary Activities to execute the work packages.

How to make the schedule of a project: If your steps and scope are well defined, we can move on to the next step, which is the definition of the deadlines of your project. I like to think of the creation of the schedule as a blank page, where people are organizing dates and deadlines according to a series of specificities that include: *Past experience with similar projects. *Amount of work demanded. *Error margin of established deadlines. *Risks of problems are specified and delayed stages. *Additional research and research work. *Training during the implementation of processes (when appropriate). 

The estimation of costs is a process that consists in the development of an approximation of the monetary resources that will be needed to complete the activities that the project will demand. It is a prediction made on the basis of information that is available at a certain time. An optimal cost for the project is achieved, among other things, taking into account the weighing of costs and risks, such as making or buying an input or intermediate, buying the place instead of renting it, as well as the exchange of resources. 

The process of controlling costs is responsible for monitoring the degree of execution of the project budget, and controlling changes in the baseline of cost performance. The cost control of the project includes: • Influence the factors that produce changes in the cost base line. • Ensure that cost change requests are approved. • Manage cost changes as they occur. • Ensure that the possible extra costs do not exceed the financing restrictions authorized for the project, both total and per periods. 

The Quality Management of the Project includes the processes and activities of the performing organization that determine responsibilities, objectives and quality policies in order that the project meets the needs for which it was undertaken. It implements the quality management system through policies and procedures, with activities for the continuous improvement of the processes carried out throughout the project, as appropriate. 

Carrying out quality assurance consists in verifying that all the processes and standards defined in the quality plan are being implemented. The quality requirements and the results obtained from the quality control measures have to be audited. The activities are supervised by a quality assurance department or similar organization.  It is a process whose objective is to determine if the activities of the project comply with the policies, processes and procedures of the organization. Are quality policies and norms being applied? Are current processes effective and efficient?