Notes

Outline

Chapter 13: Planning

What is Involved in Project Planning? Planning is often the most difficult and most unappreciated process in project management Many people have a negative view of planning because they do not use plans to facilitate action The main purpose of project plans is to guide execution Every knowledge area includes planning

Table 13-1. Planning Processes and Outputs

Table 13-1. Planning Processes and Outputs

Table 13-1. Planning Processes and Outputs

Developing the Project Plans The ResNet beta project plan was successful due to planning at a fairly high level, getting strong user involvement, and developing solid measurement tools The ResNet 1995 and 1996 plans were more detailed and focused on key milestones needed to install the 3,000 PCs and develop new software

What Went Right?

Determining Project Scope and Schedules Peeter and the ResNet team clearly defined the scope of each project They focused on meeting key milestones, one at a time NWA did use Microsoft Project to create Gantt charts, but they did not link any tasks or enter actuals The ResNet team did not miss any milestone dates!

Table 13-2. Planned Software Development and Office Implementation Milestones

Figure 13-1. ResNet 1996 Application Development Gantt Chart

Figure 13-2. ResNet 1996 Level 2 WBS for Office Implementations

What Went Wrong?

Figure 13-3.  ResNet 1996 Office Implementation Plan

ResNet Cost Estimates Peeter, Arvid, and other project members developed cost estimates They used vendor quotes for estimating hardware, software, and network equipment They estimated internal labor costs based on the number of people needed from various departments and the labor cost per hour for those employees

Table 13-3. Maximum Departmental Headcounts by Year

Table 13-4. Summary of ResNet Total Life Cycle Costs

Human Resources and Communications Planning Peeter was good at motivating people and providing strong communications with project stakeholders The ResNet team used informal and formal networking and plans

Table 13-5. ResNet Staffing Plan (in person-months)

Figure 13-4. ResNet Project Organization Chart

ResNet Communications Most of the people assigned to ResNet were full-time, making communications easier The ResNet team created templates for communicating project information like weekly and monthly status reports They set up a shared network drive for all project information They held regular meetings for various team members and stakeholders

Quality, Risk, and Procurement Planning The PR2 included some information related to quality, risk, and procurement planning The measurement techniques for tracking call handling time and number of direct sales closes were critical elements in assessing quality NWA used past experience in dealing with vendors NWA managed risk by following expert advice and having strong user involvement