Product Life Cycle / Business Case / Role of PM / Project Charter

1. Project Attributes
   1. Time Frame

      Annotations:

      • it must have a definite beginning and end
   2. Purpose (to provide value!)

      Annotations:

      • a project’s goal must be to produce something tangible and of value to the organization. A project must have a goal to drive the project in terms of defining the work to be done, its schedule, and its budget, and to provide the project team with a clear direction.
   3. Ownership

      Annotations:

      • provide something of value to an individual or group who will own the project’s product after it is completed
      1. stakeholders

         Annotations:

         • people or groups who have a vested interest in the project’s outcome
      2. Sponsor

         Annotations:

         • Must be defined
         • an executive, the end user, customer, or the client who has the ability and desire to provide direction, funding, and other resources to the project.
   4. Resources
      1. triple constraint

         Annotations:

         • Scope, schedule, and budget must remain in a sort of equilibrium to support a particular project goal.
         • Triple Constraint should be a consideration whenever making a decision that affects the project’s goal, scope, schedule, or budget.
   5. Roles
      1. Project Manager

         Annotations:

         • responsible for ensuring that all of the project management and technical development processes are in place and are being carried out within a set of specific requirements, defined processes, and quality standards.
      2. Project Sponsor

         Annotations:

         • sponsor may be the client, customer, or organizational manager who will act as a champion for the project and provide organizational resources and direction when needed.
      3. Subject matter expert(s) (SME)

         Annotations:

         • may be a user or client who has specific knowledge, expertise, or insight in a specific functional area needed to support the project.
      4. Technical expert(s) (TE)

         Annotations:

         • needed to provide a technical solution to an organizational problem. Technical experts can include systems analysts, network specialists, programmers, graphic artists, trainers, and so forth.
         • responsible for defining, creating, and implementing the technical and organizational infrastructure to support the product of the IT project.
   6. Risk & Assumptions
      1. internal risks
      2. External risks
      3. Assumptionsare

         Annotations:

         • a form of risk that we introduce into the project in terms of forecasts or predictions.
   7. Interdependent Tasks
   8. Planned Organizational Change
   9. Operate in Environments Larger than the Project Itself

      Annotations:

      • It is important that the project manager and team understand the com- pany’s culture, environment, politics, and the like. These organizational variables will influence the selection of projects, the IT infrastructure, and the role of IT within the organization.

1. Tools and Infrastructure
2. Execution
3. Skilled Resources
4. Project Management Expertise
5. Agile Process
6. Optimization
7. Emotional Maturity
8. Clear Business Objectives
9. Executive Support
10. User Involvement
11. for Challenged and Failed (Impaired) Projects

1. A Value-Driven Approach

   Annotations:

   • Plain & Simple: IT Projects must provide value to the organization     
2. Socio-technical Approach

   Annotations:

   • IT professionals must understand the business and be actively creative in applying the technology in ways that bring value to the organization. clients must become stakeholders in the project.This means actively seeking and encouraging their participation, involvement, and vision.     
   • The successful application of technology and the achievement of the project’s goal must be an equal responsibility of the developers and users.
3. Project Management Approach

   Annotations:

   • applying project management principles and tools across the entire organization, however, should be part of a methodology: —the step-by-step activities, processes, tools, quality standards, controls, and deliverables that are defined for the entire project.
   1. Resources

      Annotations:

      • Projects must be estimated accurately, and cost and schedules must be controlled effectively.
   2. Expectations

      Annotations:

      • organizational clients expect IT professionals to deliver quality products and services in a professional manner. Timely status updates and communication, as well as sound project management practices, are required.
   3. Competition

      Annotations:

      • Internal and external competition has never been greater. An internal IT department’s services can easily be outsourced if the quality or cost of providing IT services can be bettered outside the organization. Today, competition among consultants is increasing as they compete for business and talent.
   4. Efficiency and effectiveness

      Annotations:

      • efficiency as doing the thing right and effectiveness as doing the right thing.
4. Knowledge Management Approach

   Annotations:

   • Knowledge management is a systematic process for acquiring, creating, synthesizing, sharing, and using information, insights, and experiences to transform ideas into business value.
   1. Knowledge management

      Annotations:

      • is a systematic process for acquiring, creating, synthesizing, sharing, and using information, insights, and experiences to transform ideas into business value.
   2. Lessons learned

      Annotations:

      • Lessons learned that document both reasons for success and failure can be valuable assets if maintained and used properly.
   3. best practices

      Annotations:

      • simply, doing things in the most efficient and effective manner.

Attachments:

• Project Management Body of Knowledge area

1. The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) documents 9 project management knowledge areas

   Attachments:

   • Project Management Body of Knowledge area

1. an agreement and as acommunication tool for all of the project stakeholders
2. documents the project’s MOV and describes the infrastructure needed to support the project
3. summarizesmany of the details found in the project plan

1. A strategic-level plan for managing and controlling the project
2. Game plan for implementing project and product lifecycles
3. Recommends phases, processes, tools, and techniques for supporting an IT project
4. Must be flexible and include “best practices” learned from experiences over time.
5. Can be Traditional (e.g., Waterfall) Agile (e.g., XPM, SCRUM)

1. Project Life Cycle
   1. Collection of logical stages or phases that maps the life of a project from its beginning to define, build, and deliver the product
   2. Each phase should provide one or more deliverables
2. Deliverable
   1. Tangible and verifiable product of work
   2. Project plan, design specifications, delivered system
3. Project Phases
   1. Phase Exits, Stage Gates, Kill Points
      1. These are the phase-end review of key deliverables
      2. Allows the organization to evaluate project performance and take immediate action to correct errors or problems
   2. Fast Tracking
      1. Starting the next phase of a project before approval is obtained for the current phase
      2. Can be used to reduce the project schedule
      3. Can be risky and should only be done when the risk is acceptable
4. Project Life Cycle
   1. Define Project Goal
      1. The project goal should be focused on providing business value to the organization
      2. Provides a clear focus and drives the other phases of the project
         1. answer the question: How will we know if this project is successful given the time, money, and resources invested?
   2. Plan Project
      1. Defines the agreed upon scope, schedule, and budget
      2. Used as a tool to gauge the project’s performance throughout the life cycle.
   3. Execute Project Plan
      1. Manage the project scope, schedule, budget, and people to ensure the project achieves its goal
      2. Progress must be documented and compared to the baseline plan
      3. Project performance must be communicated to all of the stakeholders
   4. Close Project
      1. Ensures that all of the work is completed as planned
      2. Final project report and presentation to the client
   5. Evaluate Project
      1. Lessons learned to determine those things to do the same and those things to change
      2. Evaluate team member performance
      3. May be audited by an outside third party
5. IT Project Methodology
   1. Phase 1: Conceptualize and Initialize
      1. Business Case should be developed here
         1. Definition of Business Case: an analysis of the organizational value, feasibility, costs, benefits, and risks of the project plan.
         2. Attributes of a Good Business Case
            1. Details all possible impacts, costs, and benefits
            2. Clearly compares alternatives
            3. Objectively includes all pertinent information
            4. Systematic in terms of summarizing findings
         3. Process to develop a Business Case
            1. 2. Define Measurable Organizational Value (MOV)
               1. goal of the project

                  Annotations:

                  • core team’s objective should be to define the problem or opportunity and then identify several alternatives that will provide direct and measurable value to the organization
                  • IT projects must align with and support the organization’s goals, mission, and objectives. Any recommended alternative by the core team must have a clearly defined purposeand must map to the goals and strategy of the organization.
               2. Be measurable

                  Annotations:

                  • Measurement provides focus for the project team in terms of its actions.
                  • MOV provides a basis for making decisions that affect the project through its remaining phases.
               3. Provide value to the organization

                  Annotations:

                  • Resources and time should not be devoted to a project unless they provide some kind of value to the organization
               4. Be agreed on

                  Annotations:

                  • A clear and agreed on MOV sets expectations for the project stakeholders.
                  • important that all project stakeholders understand and agree to the project’s MOV
                  • It is not easy to get everyone to agree to the project’s goal so early; but it will be well worth the time and effort in the later stages of the project (Billows 1996).
               5. Be verifiable

                  Annotations:

                  • At the end of the project, the MOV must be verified to determine if the project was a success.
               6. Process
                  1. 1. Identify the Desired Area of Impact
                     1. Strategic

                        Annotations:

                        • – e.g. increase market share Customer Financial Operational Social 
                     2. Customer
                     3. Financial
                     4. Operational
                     5. Social
                  2. 2. Identify the Desired Value of the IT Project
                     1. key words

                        Annotations:

                        • better, faster, and cheaper—focus on quality, effectiveness,  and efficiency, while doing more of something focuses on growth.
                        • Once the desired area of impact is identified, the next step involves determining the desired value the IT project will bring to the organization.
                        1. Better
                        2. Faster
                        3. Cheaper
                        4. do more
                  3. 3. Develop an Appropriate Metric

                     Annotations:

                     • Metrics: •Money ($, £, ¥ ) •Percentage (%)  •Numeric Values 
                  4. 4. Set a time frame for achieving the MOV
                  5. 5. Verify and get agreement from the project stakeholders
                  6. 6. Summarize the MOV in a clear, concise statement or table

                     Attachments:

                     • Examples Project Goal and MOV
                     • Project Goals and Objectives
            2. 1 Select the Core Team
               1. The core team for developing the business case mostlikely will be different from the project team

                  Annotations:

                  • include managers, business specialists, and users who understand the requirements to be met, as well as IT specialists who understand the opportunities,limitations, and risks associated with IT. 
                  1. advantages
                     1. Credibility

                        Annotations:

                        • made up of individuals from various organizational areas or departments
                        • access to critical expertise and information that may not be readily accessible to others outside that particular area.
                        • team can provide different points of view and provide a check for important items that an individual may overlook.
                     2. Alignment with organizational goals

                        Annotations:

                        • Higher level managers can help connect the business case with the organization’s long-term strategic plan and mission.
                        • facilitate prioritizing, legitimizing, and assigning value of the IT project to the organization’s strategic business objectives.
                        • the business case should outline how the successful completion of the proposed project will help the organization achieve its overall mission, goals, and objectives.
                     3. Access to the real costs

                        Annotations:

                        • Core members with certain expertise or access to important information can help build more realistic estimates in areas such as salaries, overhead, accounting and reporting practices, training requirements, union rules and regulations, and hiring practices.
                     4. Ownership

                        Annotations:

                        • A cross-functional team can spread a sense of ownership for the business case. A project that includes other areas from the outset has a better chance of reducing the political problems associated with territorial domains.
                     5. Agreement

                        Annotations:

                        • core team develops the business case, the critics may be more apt to argue the results rather than the data and methods used. Easier to come to agreement then business cases developed upon assumptions
                     6. Bridge building

                        Annotations:

                        • serve as an effective tool for handling critics of the business case. One tactic may be to include critics on the core team or to at least allow recognition and consideration for their positions. This may lead to fewer surprises and attacks later on.
            3. 3. Identify alternatives
               1. identify several alternatives before dealing directly with a givenbusiness opportunity.
            4. 4. Define Feasibility

               Annotations:

               • Each option or alternative must be analyzed in terms of its feasibility and potential risk
               1. Risk

                  Annotations:

                  • focuses on what can go wrong and what must go right
               2. Feasibility

                  Annotations:

                  • should focus on whether a particular alternative is doable and worth doing
                  1. technical feasibility

                     Annotations:

                     • focuses on the existing technical infrastructure needed to support the IT solution.
                     • —Familiarity with functional area – less than a reality generates more risk    —Familiarity with technology – less familiarity generates more risk  —Project size – large projects have more risk —Compatibility – the harder it is to integrate the system with the company’s existing technology and other systems, the higher the risk—Availability of maintenance and support – non-availability or intermittent availability increases the risk —Transition from an old to a new system – non-availability of limited availability of an automatic seamless transition through technology increases the risk 
                  2. operational feasibility

                     Annotations:

                     • —If we build it, will it be easy to use?      —Ease of operations – the more difficult and complex it is, the higher the risk —Error free operations – the extent to which the system will be able to validate user inputs and operate without errors     
                  3. economic feasibility

                     Attachments:

                     • Economic Feasibility
                  4. schedule feasibility

                     Annotations:

                     • —Can we build it on time? 
                     • —Availability of resources – timeliness of availability adds to risks —Productivity / efficiency of deployed resources – the poorer the productivity / efficiency, higher the riskThird party dependencies on whom contractual deadlines cannot be imposed – example: a government initiated project to provide telecommunication infrastructure   
                  5. organisational feasibility

                     Annotations:

                     • focuses mainly on how people within the organization will adapt to this planned organizational change.
                     • —Project champions  —Senior management  —Users—Other stakeholders—Strategic alignment with the business? —Legal hurdles, if any such as laws, union contracts, copy rights etc.  
            5. 5. Define Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

               Annotations:

               • decision to invest in an IT project must take into account all of the costs associated with the application system
               1. include costs
                  1. Direct or up-front costs

                     Annotations:

                     • Initial purchase price of all hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment, all development or installation costs, outside consultant fees, etc.
                  2. Ongoing costs

                     Annotations:

                     • Salaries, training, upgrades, supplies, maintenance, etc.
                  3. Indirect costs

                     Annotations:

                     • Initial loss of productivity, time lost by users when the system is down, the cost of auditing equipment (i.e., finding out who has what and where), quality assurance, and post-implementation reviews.
               2. TCO is really an organized list of all possible cost impacts.
                  1. When preparing the business case, it is also important to document all data sources, assumptions, and methods for determining the various costs.
            6. 6. Define Total Benefits of Ownership (TBO)

               Annotations:

               • must include all of the direct, ongoing, and indirect benefits associated with each proposed alternative
               1. Benefits can arise from
                  1. Increasing high-value work

                     Annotations:

                     • For example, a salesperson may spend less time on paper- work and more time calling on custome
                  2. Improving accuracy and efficiency

                     Annotations:

                     • For example, reducing errors, duplication, or the number of steps in a process
                  3. Improving decision making

                     Annotations:

                     • For example, providing timely and accurate information
                  4. Improving customer service

                     Annotations:

                     • For example, new products or services, faster or more reliable service, convenience, and so on
               2. quantify intangible benefits
                  1. link them directly to tangible benefits that can be linked to efficiency gains

                     Annotations:

                     • a corporate telephone directory on an intranet not only improves communication, but can cut paper, printing, and labor costs associated with creating and distributing a paper-based telephone book.
                  2. estimate the level of service

                     Annotations:

                     • one could determine how much someone is willing to pay for a particular service or compare prices of products or services that have or do not have a particular feature.
            7. 7. Analyze Alternatives
               1. Financial models

                  Annotations:

                  • focus on either profitability and/or cash flows
                  1. cash flow models
                     1. breakeven

                        Annotations:

                        • generally easy to compute and can provide a measure of risk.
                        • riskier project alternatives will have a higher breakeven point than less risky project alternatives.
                     2. return on invest-ment
                     3. net present value

                        Annotations:

                        • focuses on the time value of money.
                     4. scoring

                        Annotations:

                        • rovide a method for comparing alternatives or projects based on a weighted score. Scoring models also allow for quantifying intangible benefits or for different alternatives using multiple criteria
                     5. payback

                        Annotations:

                        • payback period is fairly straightforward to calculate and understand, it does not consider the time value of money or cash flows beyond the payback period.
                        • useful for highlighting the risk of a particular investment because a riskier investment will have a longer payback period than a less risky investment.
            8. 8. Propose and Support the Recommendation
   2. Phase 2: Develop the Project Charter and Detailed Project Plan defined in terms of project’s:
      1. scope
      2. schedule
      3. budget
      4. quality objectives
      5. relevant extracts from the Business Case
   3. Phase 3: Execute and Control the Project using an approach such as the SDLC
   4. Phase 4: Close Project
   5. Phase 5: Evaluate Project Success
      1. Post mortem by project manager and team of entire project
      2. Evaluation of team members by project manager
      3. Outside evaluation of project, project leader, and team members
      4. Evaluate project’s organizational value