Lakhasly

Chapter 3 Initiating To officially initiate the project management intranet site project, Erica knew that the main tasks were to identify all of the project stakeholders and to develop the project charter.The intranet site will include several templates and tools that users can download, examples of completed templates and related project management documents used on real projects, important articles related to recent project management topics, an article retrieval service, links to other sites with useful information, and an "Ask the Expert" feature, where users can post questions about their projects and receive advice from experts in the field. Some parts of the intranet site will be accessible free to the public, other parts will only be accessible to current customers and internal consultants, and other parts will be accessible for a fee. Main Project Success Criteria: The project should pay for itself within one year of completion. Approach: o Develop a survey to determine critical features of the new intranet site and solicit input from consultants and customers. o Review internal and external templates and examples of project management documents. o Research software to provide security, manage user inputs, and facilitate the article retrieval and "Ask the Expert" features.Results of the stakeholder analysis can be documented in a stakeholder register or in a separate stakeholder TABLE 3-4 Stakeholder register The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study Internal/ Project Name Position External Role Contact Information Joe Fleming CEO Internal Sponsor [email protected] Erica Bell PMO Director Internal Project [email protected] manager Michael Chen Team member Internal Team [email protected] member Kim Phuong Business analyst External Advisor [email protected] Louise Mills PR Director Internal Advisor [email protected] (C) Cengage Learning 2014 management strategy.Project Manager: Erica Bell, (310) 555-5896, [email protected] Project Objectives: Develop a new capability accessible on JWD Consulting's intranet site to help internal consultants and external customers manage projects more effectively.They decided that key team mem- bers should include one of their full-time consultants with an outstanding record, Michael Chen; one part-time consultant, Jessie Faue, who was new to the company and supported the Project Management Office; and two members of the IT department who supported the cur- rent intranet, Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson.After Joe and Erica made the preliminary contacts, Erica documented the stake- holders' roles, names, organizations, and contact information in a stakeholder register, a document that includes details related to the identified project stakeholders.Because many other people would be affected by this project as future users of the new intranet, Joe and Erica also identified other key stakeholders, including their directors of IT, Human Resources (HR), and Public Relations (PR), as well as Erica's administrative assistant.I will have one of my assistants support the project as needed."--Michael Chen "We need to be extremely careful testing this new system, especially the security in giving access to parts of the intranet site to the public and clients."--Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson Chapter 3 TABLE 3-6 Project charter

The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study assignments with external clients might have a higher priority.(See Chapter 4 for more informa- tion on project charters.) Note the items included on the project charter and its short length.Erica felt the most important parts of the project charter were the signatures of key stakeholders (not included for brevity) and their individual comments.Note that Michael Chen, the senior consultant asked to work on the project, was concerned about participating when he felt that his other

Project Title: Project Management Intranet Site Project Project Start Date: May 2 Projected Finish Date: November 4 Budget Information: The firm has allocated $140,000 for this project.TABLE 3-3 Project initiation knowledge areas, processes, and outputs Source: PMBOK(R) Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012.Recall from Chapter 1 that stakeholders are people involved in project activities or affected by them, and include the project sponsor, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and even opponents to the project.A stakeholder analysis is a technique that project managers can use to help understand and increase the support of stakeholders throughout the project.This strategy includes basic information such as stakeholder names, level of interest in the project, level of influence on the project, and potential management strategies for gaining support or reducing obstacles from each stakeholder.o Develop the intranet site using an iterative approach, soliciting a great deal of user feedback.Additional outputs that Erica found very useful for initiating projects were a stakeholder management strategy and a formal project kick-off meeting.Descriptions of how these outputs were created and sample docu- ments related to each of them are provided for this project.They also knew that client inputs would be important for this project, so Joe agreed to call the CEOs of two of the firm's largest clients to see if they would be willing to provide representatives to work on this project at their own expense.JWD Consulting believes that project charters should be one or two pages long, and they may refer to other documents, such as a business case, as needed.o Determine a way to measure the value of the intranet site in terms of reduced costs and new revenues, both during the project and one year after project completion.Table 3-3 shows these processes and their outputs, based on the PMBOK(R) Guide, Fifth Edition.The main outputs are a project charter and a stakeholder register.Recall that every project and every organization is unique, so not all project charters, stakeholder registers, and other outputs will look the same.Identifying Project Stakeholders Erica met with Joe Fleming, the project's sponsor, to help identify key stakeholders for this project.Table 3-4 provides an example of part of the initial stakeholder register.You will see other examples of documenting stakeholder information in later chapters.TABLE 3-5 Stakeholder management strategy 97 Level of Level of Name Interest Influence Potential Management Strategies Joe Fleming High High Joe likes to stay on top of key projects and make money.(C) Cengage Learning 2014 Drafting the Project Charter Erica drafted a project charter and had the project team members review it before showing it to Joe.You will see examples of several of these documents in later chapters.All of the internal staff Joe and Erica recommended agreed to work on the project, and the two client representatives were Kim Phuong and Page Miller.She would keep these issues in mind discreetly and use them in developing the stakeholder management strategy.Some project man- agers do not even write down this information, but they do consider it because stakeholder management is a crucial part of their jobs.Table 3-5 provides an example of part of Erica's stakeholder management strategy for the project management intranet site project.It is hard to get stakeholders to agree on even a one-page project charter, so everyone has a chance to make their concerns known in the comments section.

Chapter 3
Initiating
To officially initiate the project management intranet site project, Erica knew that the
main tasks were to identify all of the project stakeholders and to develop the project charter. Table 3-3 shows these processes and their outputs, based on the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition. The main outputs are a project charter and a stakeholder register. Additional outputs that Erica found very useful for initiating projects were a stakeholder management strategy and a formal project kick-off meeting. Descriptions of how these outputs were created and sample docu- ments related to each of them are provided for this project. Recall that every project and every organization is unique, so not all project charters, stakeholder registers, and other outputs will look the same. You will see examples of several of these documents in later chapters.
TABLE 3-3 Project initiation knowledge areas, processes, and outputs
Source: PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012.
Identifying Project Stakeholders Erica met with Joe Fleming, the project’s sponsor, to help identify key stakeholders for this project. Recall from Chapter 1 that stakeholders are people involved in project activities or affected by them, and include the project sponsor, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and even opponents to the project. Joe, the project sponsor, knew it would be important to assemble a strong project team, and he was very confident in Erica’s ability to lead that team. They decided that key team mem- bers should include one of their full-time consultants with an outstanding record, Michael Chen; one part-time consultant, Jessie Faue, who was new to the company and supported the Project Management Office; and two members of the IT department who supported the cur- rent intranet, Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson. They also knew that client inputs would be important for this project, so Joe agreed to call the CEOs of two of the firm’s largest clients to see if they would be willing to provide representatives to work on this project at their own expense. All of the internal staff Joe and Erica recommended agreed to work on the project, and the two client representatives were Kim Phuong and Page Miller. Because many other people would be affected by this project as future users of the new intranet, Joe and Erica also identified other key stakeholders, including their directors of IT, Human Resources (HR), and Public Relations (PR), as well as Erica’s administrative assistant.
After Joe and Erica made the preliminary contacts, Erica documented the stake- holders’ roles, names, organizations, and contact information in a stakeholder register, a document that includes details related to the identified project stakeholders. Table 3-4 provides an example of part of the initial stakeholder register. Because this document would be public, Erica was careful not to include information that might be sensitive, such as how strongly the stakeholder supported the project and his potential influence on the project. She would keep these issues in mind discreetly and use them in developing the stakeholder management strategy.
A stakeholder analysis is a technique that project managers can use to help understand and increase the support of stakeholders throughout the project. Results of the stakeholder analysis can be documented in a stakeholder register or in a separate stakeholder
TABLE 3-4 Stakeholder register
The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study
Internal/ Project
Name Position External Role Contact Information
Joe Fleming CEO Internal Sponsor [email protected]
Erica Bell PMO Director Internal Project [email protected] manager
Michael Chen Team member Internal Team [email protected] member
Kim Phuong Business analyst External Advisor [email protected]
Louise Mills PR Director Internal Advisor [email protected]
© Cengage Learning 2014
management strategy. This strategy includes basic information such as stakeholder names, level of interest in the project, level of influence on the project, and potential management strategies for gaining support or reducing obstacles from each stakeholder. Because much of this information can be sensitive, it should be considered confidential. Some project man- agers do not even write down this information, but they do consider it because stakeholder management is a crucial part of their jobs. Table 3-5 provides an example of part of Erica’s stakeholder management strategy for the project management intranet site project. You will see other examples of documenting stakeholder information in later chapters.
TABLE 3-5 Stakeholder management strategy
97
Level of Level of
Name Interest Influence Potential Management Strategies
Joe Fleming High High Joe likes to stay on top of key projects and make money. Have a lot of short, face-to-face meetings and focus on
achieving the financial benefits of the project.
Louise Mills Low High Louise has a lot of things on her plate, and she does not seem excited about this project. She may be looking at other job
opportunities. Show her how this project will help the company and her resume.
© Cengage Learning 2014
Drafting the Project Charter Erica drafted a project charter and had the project team members review it before showing it to Joe. Joe made a few minor changes, which Erica incorporated. Table 3-6 shows the final project charter. (See Chapter 4 for more informa- tion on project charters.) Note the items included on the project charter and its short length. JWD Consulting believes that project charters should be one or two pages long, and they may refer to other documents, such as a business case, as needed. Erica felt the most important parts of the project charter were the signatures of key stakeholders (not included for brevity) and their individual comments. It is hard to get stakeholders to agree on even a one-page project charter, so everyone has a chance to make their concerns known in the comments section. Note that Michael Chen, the senior consultant asked to work on the project, was concerned about participating when he felt that his other

Project Title: Project Management Intranet Site Project
Project Start Date: May 2 Projected Finish Date: November 4
Budget Information: The firm has allocated $140,000 for this project. The majority of costs for this project will be internal labor. An initial estimate provides a total of 80 hours per week.
Project Manager: Erica Bell, (310) 555-5896, [email protected]
Project Objectives: Develop a new capability accessible on JWD Consulting’s intranet site to help internal consultants and external customers manage projects more effectively. The intranet site will include several templates and tools that users can download, examples of completed templates and related project management documents used on real projects, important articles related to recent project management topics, an article retrieval service, links to other sites with useful information, and an “Ask the Expert” feature, where users can post questions about their projects and receive advice from experts in the field. Some parts of the intranet site will be accessible free to the public, other parts will only be accessible to current customers and internal consultants, and other parts will be accessible for a fee.
Main Project Success Criteria: The project should pay for itself within one year of completion.
Approach:
• Develop a survey to determine critical features of the new intranet site and solicit input from consultants and customers.
• Review internal and external templates and examples of project management documents.
• Research software to provide security, manage user inputs, and facilitate the article retrieval
and “Ask the Expert” features.
• Develop the intranet site using an iterative approach, soliciting a great deal of user feedback.
• Determine a way to measure the value of the intranet site in terms of reduced costs and new
revenues, both during the project and one year after project completion.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Name Role Position Contact Information
Joe Fleming Sponsor JWD Consulting, CEO [email protected]
Erica Bell Project Manager JWD Consulting, [email protected] manager
Michael Chen Team Member JWD Consulting, senior [email protected] consultant
Jessie Faue Team Member JWD Consulting, consultant [email protected]
Kevin Dodge Team Member JWD Consulting, IT [email protected] department
Cindy Dawson Team Member JWD Consulting, IT [email protected] department
Kim Phuong Advisor Client representative [email protected]
Page Miller Advisor Client representative [email protected]
Sign-Off: (Signatures of all the above stakeholders)
Comments: (Handwritten or typed comments from above stakeholders, if applicable)
“I will support this project as time allows, but I believe my client projects take priority. I will have one of my assistants support the project as needed.”—Michael Chen
“We need to be extremely careful testing this new system, especially the security in giving access to parts of the intranet site to the public and clients.”—Kevin Dodge and Cindy Dawson
Chapter 3
TABLE 3-6 Project charter

The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study
assignments with external clients might have a higher priority. He offered to have an assistant help as needed. The IT staff members mentioned their concerns about testing and security issues. Erica knew that she would have to consider these concerns when managing the project.
Holding a Project Kick-off Meeting Experienced project managers like Erica know that it is crucial to get projects off to a great start. Holding a good kick-off meeting is an excellent way to do this. A kick-off meeting is a meeting held at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans. The kick-off meeting is often held after the business case and project charter are completed, but it could be held sooner, as needed. Even if some or all project stakeholders must meet virtually, it is still important to have a kick-off meeting.
Erica also knows that all project meetings with major stakeholders should include an agenda. Figure 3-2 shows the agenda that Erica provided for the project management intranet site project kick-off meeting. Notice the main topics in an agenda:
• Meeting objective
• Agenda (lists in order the topics to be discussed)
© Cengage Learning 2014
FIGURE 3-2 Kick-off meeting agenda
99
[Date of Meeting]
Project Management Intranet Site Project

Chapter 3
• A section for documenting action items, who they are assigned to, and when each person will complete the action
• A section to document the date and time of the next meeting
It is good practice to focus on results of meetings, which is why a good agenda has sections for documenting action items and deciding on the next meeting date and time. It is also good practice to document meeting minutes, focusing on key decisions and action items. Erica planned to send the meeting minutes to all meeting participants and other appropriate stakeholders within a day or two of the meeting.
Project Planning
Planning is often the most difficult and unappreciated process in project management. Because planning is not always used to facilitate action, many people view planning nega- tively. The main purpose of project plans, however, is to guide project execution. To guide execution, plans must be realistic and useful, so a fair amount of time and effort must go into the planning process; people who are knowledgeable with the work need to plan the work. Chapter 4, Project Integration Management, provides detailed information on pre- paring a project management plan, and Chapters 5 through 13 describe planning processes for each of the other knowledge areas.
Table 3-7 lists the project management knowledge areas, processes, and outputs of project planning according to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition. There are many potential outputs from the planning process group, and every knowledge area is included. Just a few planning documents from JWD Consulting’s project management intranet site project are provided in this chapter as examples, and later chapters include many more examples. Recall that the PMBOK® Guide is only a guide, so many organi- zations may have different planning outputs based on their particular needs, as is the case in this example. You can also use many templates for planning; several are listed in the last section of this chapter.
Because the project management intranet site project is relatively small, Erica believes some of the most important planning documents to focus on are the following:
• A team contract (not listed in Table 3-7, which is based only on the PMBOK® Guide)
• A project scope statement
• A work breakdown structure (WBS), a key part of the scope baseline
• A project schedule, in the form of a Gantt chart with all dependencies and
resources entered
• A list of prioritized risks (part of a risk register)
All of these documents, as well as other project-related information, will be available to all team members on a project Web site. JWD Consulting has used project Web sites for several years, and has found that they help facilitate communications and document proj- ect information. For larger projects, JWD Consulting also creates many of the other out- puts listed in Table 3-7. (You will learn more about these documents by knowledge area in the following chapters.)
Soon after the project team signed the project charter, Erica organized a team-building meeting for the project management intranet site project. An important part of the meeting

The Project Management Process Groups: A Case Study TABLE 3-7 Planning processes and outputs
Knowledge Area Planning Process Outputs
Project Integration Develop project Project management plan Management management plan
Project Scope Management
Plan scope management Scope management plan Requirements management plan
Project Time Management
Plan schedule management Schedule management plan
Project Cost Management
Plan cost management Cost management plan
Collect requirements Requirements documentation Requirements traceability matrix
Define scope Project scope statement Project documents updates
Create WBS Scope baseline
Project documents updates
Define activities Activity list Activity attributes
Milestone list
Project management plan updates
Sequence activities Project schedule network diagrams Project documents updates
Estimate activity resources Activity resource requirements Resource breakdown structure
Project documents updates
Estimate activity durations Activity duration estimates Project documents updates
Develop schedule
Schedule baseline
Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan updates Project documents updates
Estimate costs Activity cost estimates Basis of estimates
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Determine budget Cost baseline
Project funding requirements
Project documents updates
Project documents updates