Project Management (Macro)

Aug 2 2012

Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed (RACI)

A RACI chart is a type of responsibility assignment matrix which helps in stakeholder identification of roles and responsibilities. RACI charts help you ensure that every task has an owner and that they know they are…because if more than one person is accountable for a task…neither are. Think of RACI as a “buck stops here” tool.

RACI Definitions
RACI Definitions

To build a RACI chart follow these steps:

  • Identify the activities
  • Identify the functional roles
  • Assign the RACI codes
  • Identify any gaps or overlaps – for example, where there are two As or no Rs
  • Distribute the chart, incorporate feedback
  • Reach agreement with all involved stakeholders
  • Go forth and conquer!
Sample RACI Chart of a Project Initiation Phase



By • Process Improvement (Micro), Project Management (Macro), Tool Box •

Jun 12 2012

Project Management – It’s about reducing risk

Project Management is the art/science of defining, planning, executing and completing an endeavour in a structured and organized way. The purpose of project management is to reduce the risk of that endeavour.

When to use it?
  • the endeavour has a finite beginning and end
  • the endeavour is high risk or highly strategic

Project management has existed in some form or another as long as humans have been around. Clearly the Romans had some level of project management or else their structures would not have stood the test of time! If you’ve ever engaged in planning for a family road trip by calculating distance, hotels, budget per meals etc. you have been doing some level of project management too.

In the 1950’s project management began to be applied in North America in industries such as engineering, military and aerospace where the risks of not using a structured project management approach could be fatal. For more information on the background of project management see the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) began in 1969 and is the leading proponent organization in North America for project management. The PMI publishes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) which is a framework of principles and practices for project management. Please note that the PMBoK is not a methodology. It is a framework upon which a methodology can be based.

The PMI also has multiple certifications in project management the most well known being the PMP or Project Management Professional.

Links

IPMA – http://ipma.ch/
PMI – http://www.pmi.org/
PMAJ – http://www.pmaj.or.jp
Prince2 – http://www.prince-officialsite.com/
Project Smart – http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/

By • Project Management (Macro) •

Jun 10 2012

Sticky Sessions – Brainstorming on a mission

Sticky SessionsOnce you’re nearing the end of the initiation phase of a project, you’ve identified your sponsors, your scope and your subject matter experts now you are going to have to figure out how to deliver.

Project planning can be pretty daunting when you think of the enormity of it all. After all you are going to break any given project down into its most granular of parts so that you can plan out exactly how to deliver it. The question comes to mind: “Where to start?”. One technique that I have used many times, is the sticky session. Simply put it is structured brainstorming with brightly coloured 3M Post-it® notes and a big a** sheet of paper.

What you need:

  • High level list of deliverables which will help you identify which subject matter experts you will need
  • A group of subject matter experts (SMEs)
  • A sheet of paper 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide and 1.2 meters (4 feet) high
  • sticky notes that are 3×5 inches (other sizes can be used but are either too small to read at a distance or too large they waste space)
  • A room big enough to hold 10-20 people that can accommodate the paper on the wall (NOTE: it’s also nice to have a projector available so participants can refer to the meeting goals through out the session)
  • A brainstorming facilitator (typically the project manager but in some circumstances a third party can be used)

The goal of the sticky session is to facilitate the subject matter experts in brainstorming (to the required level of detail) what will be needed to complete the deliverables.

The stickies will give the project manager the embryonic pieces of the work breakdown structure (WBS) that will eventually give birth to the project schedule (once the activities have been identified and sequenced and the resources and budget have been identified).

By • Project Management (Macro), Tool Box • • Tags:

Jun 6 2012

Project Management is not for the feint of heart

Project management is one of the most misused and misunderstood “disciplines” (if I can call it that) that you will come across. Let’s face it…for all of the glory of the PMBoK and the umpteen million books and methodologies on project management….you’re still working with people…which makes being successful in project management more art than science.

Here at “Order out of Chaos” I will endeavour to share my observations (and dare I say insights?) into the art of project management, process improvement, the nature of variation and any other trendy term that I can scrape from the dirty floor of the internet. In the immortal words of John McClane in Die Hard….”Welcome to the party pal!”

John McClane - Welcome to the party pal! - Die Hard circa 1988
John McClane – “Welcome to the party pal!” – Die Hard circa 1988

By • Project Management (Macro) •

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