Donald Ray

Practical Project Management Donald Ray

Many project managers ask me, what is the rigor needed to conduct a successful project? The simple answer is tailoring the project topic areas to support the needs of the project; in other words, do what is necessary to support the successful execution and delivery of the project requirements. Think it through: -What are the requirements (scope)? Develop a work breakdown structure and dictionary that reflect the contracted statement of work.-Define your project team.-Estimate the resources required to accomplish the scope.-Schedule the time necessary to accomplish the scope (logic driven, with product deliverable milestones).-Conduct a risk analysis, and establish a project management reserve.-Integrate the effort - plan the execution of the project.-Incorporate accounting and financial constraints, including time charging practices.-Conduct the above only to the rigor necessary to accomplish delivery of the required contract scope in the most cost-effective manner. In addition, this book contains the implementation methodology of Earned Value Management (compliant to Tech America Standard; EIA-748-*, Earned Value Management Systems), which is a mandated requirement on most major federal projects. It primarily reflects the productivity of accomplished work against the project plan. One of the major flaws by the contracting authority, corporate process personnel, and reviewers/auditors is the misinterpretation of the Earned Value Management (EVM) standard. It specifically states there should not be requirements imposed that preempt a project's ability to apply an integrated management system best suited for the successful execution of the project, not constraining the detail system criteria. "Do not force a round peg into a square hole." Recognize all projects are different, and the intent of the standard is to "integrate project scope, schedule, and cost objectives; the establishment of a baseline plan for accomplishment of objectives; and the use of earned value techniques for performance measurement during the execution of the project." This provides a sound basis for problem identification and corrective actions. Unlike most books on this topic, I want project managers to use their expertise to plan the execution criteria of the project, utilizing the techniques described herein, but recognize there is no checklist solution. I would also encourage system designers and reviewers to understand the meaning of meets intent.