planning and managing a project for your library
Sam Kalb,
Assessment & Scholarly Communication
Services Coordinator ,
Queen’s University Library kalbs@queensu.ca

 Introduction
 What Is a project?
 What is project management?
 Project management constraints
 Project lifecycle: Scoping, Planning, Executing,
Controlling, Closing
 Project Software
 Project-related Resources

 Temporary in nature (e.g. create a set of online tutorials about using government documents)
 Specific goals (e.g. set of online tutorials on finding
Ontario government pubs)
 Clear-cut starting and ending date
 Dedicated funding ( in most cases)

 Response to a specific opportunity, vision, or challenge (e.g. building project like establishing a learning commons or renovating the old library)
 New management system/organizational restructuring (e.g. moving to a team-based structure)
 Patron service (e.g. self-check circulation)
 Special event/exhibition (e.g. library’s 25th anniversary)
 Need to replace a dysfunctional legacy system (e.g. old library system)
 Response to an external funding opportunity (e.g. the government is offering a grant to develop cooperative information services within communities)


 how will behaviour be changed?
 how will the change impact/benefit our users, staff?
 what will be done more efficiently, effectively, or that we couldn’t do before?

If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
George Harrison, "Any Road", Brainwashed, 2002.
If you don't know where you are, a map won't help.

“Good project management doesn't have to be costly, complicated, or cumbersome. In short, don't panic.
You already know a lot about managing projects.
If you've moved to a new home, hosted a family reunion, or remodelled a bathroom, you already know about achieving objectives, sticking to a schedule, working within a budget, and delivering quality.”
Biafore, Bonnie. On Time! On Track! On Target! Managing Your Projects Successfully with Microsoft® Project,
Microsoft Press, c2006.







 Knowing where you are going and when you have arrived
Identify manageable work loads
Identify where to focus your efforts
Knowing where you stand
Maintaining good communication
Keeping calm and maintaining consistency
Prevent problems and fire drills

 Libraries have historically been transaction based not project based, i.e. Reference desk transactions, number of books ordered, catalogued, processed, number of books circulated, shelved
 Can save dollars by using current staff
 Can work within work groups, but most significantly, across established work group building synergies across the organization

 All who are involved directly and indirectly with the project including students, faculty, staff, community, vendors.
 Make a list of all the stakeholders identified so far in the project.
 You may also want to detail roles of each stakeholder in this section.
Understand the Organizational Culture!

Quality
Costs
A successful project:
 Delivers the outcome with an agreed upon quality .
 Does not overrun its end date .
 Remains within budget (cost of resources).

 The basic elements of project management are illustrated in this project life cycle diagram.
Singh, Manjeet. ProjectMind's Quick Guide to Project Management

 Initiation Phase (Scoping the Plan): identify need, deliverables
& assign priority
 Planning Phase (Developing the Plan): project specifics, such as tasks, milestones, and associated costs
 Implementation Phase (Executing the Plan): applies project plan; direct team in producing deliverables; implement approved changes and corrective actions
 Monitoring & Controlling Process: monitor the project’s schedule and budget, making adjustments as necessary, mitigate risk
 Completion Phase (Closing Out the Project): project assessment & wrap-up report, integrating into ongoing operations

Whenever people work together, communication is an essential ingredient for success
 A communication plan describes how you're going to keep the people involved with a project informed.
 Communication strategies may be simple or sophisticated and can range from a weekly status report to a collaborative Web site. At their core, communication plans answer the questions:



Who needs to know?
What do they need to know?
When do they need to know it?

National Service Quality Benchmarking Project
(LibQUAL Canada) - Communication Plan
 Moderated discussion/announcement list
 Consortial Web site
 Members encouraged to contribute in shaping each phase of the project
 Timelines and action items revised at each stage based on member input.
 Reports to the sponsor (CARL) at completion of each milestone.
 Highest priority: Every query to be answered in a timely fashion &, in most cases, exchange shared with the membership



Launching the
Project
Closing Out the
Project
Developing the
Plan
Monitoring &
Controlling

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Establish the
Project Goal
Define the
Project Objectives
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Define the
Project Objectives
Establish the
Project Goal
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

 A short, crisply phrased piece of information covering:
 what is to be done
 why it is to be done
 value it provides if it is done

 Should communicate why the project should be accomplished

Queen’s Digital Repository Project
Statement
To establish an innovative institutional digital repository to collect, preserve, and enable distribution of research, teaching and learning material generated by Queen's scholars, teachers and researchers. It will reflect the
Queen's goal to “Foster scholarship and interdisciplinary
teaching and learning” , the library's goals to support learning and excellence in teaching and research (an extension of the
consortial “Scholar's Portal” to digital publications) and provide a stable long-term storage and content management system to house academic materials in a variety of digital formats.

 Improved user satisfaction with catalogue searching, and, secondarily, with the discovery environment for other local and remote sources;
 No loss in current functionality, for example real time circulation records;
 This is an interface replacement only; there is no intention to make improvements in technical services or circulation workflows;
 Minimal ongoing staffing requirements, e.g. to maintain data connections

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Define the
Project Objectives
Establish the
Project Goal
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

• A project has one primary goal which gives purpose and direction to the project
• Defines the final deliverable and outcome
• States in clear terms what is to be accomplished
• Is a reference point for questions about scope and purpose of the project

National Service Quality Benchmarking
Project
 Opportunity: For Canadian libraries to benchmark their service performance measures and how libraries can use the results to improve services with other Canadian libraries.
 Primary Goal: To create a large database of Canadian content that would offer meaningful benchmarking of services via as many Canadian academic libraries as possible participating in ARL’s LibQUAL+ Survey in 2007.

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Define the
Project Objectives
Establish the
Project Goal
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

Queen’s Digital Repository Project
Sample of the Objectives
 Install and configure the DSPACE software.
 Customize base DSPACE software for Queen’s as specified by project team.
 Create Demo for early adopters and project team.
 Work with Community coordinators to customize early adopter communities.
 Work with Community coordinators to post submissions using policy guidelines.
 Create documentation and training program for training of staff assigned by project.

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Define the
Project Objectives
Establish the
Project Goal
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

•
•
•
• Clearly state the expected impact
Articulate/quantify outcomes so success can be measured
Make a list of the deliverables to be produced by the project.
Describe each deliverable in an unambiguous manner that is understood by the team member responsible for it.

Queen’s
Research
Guides
Project:
Deliverables

State the Problem/
Opportunity
Define the
Project Objectives
Establish the
Project Goal
Identify the
Deliverables /
Success Criteria
List Assumptions,
Risks, Obstacles

•
•
•
Identify factors that might affect the outcome or completion of the project
Used to alert management & the project team to factors that may interfere with project work
Types of assumptions and risks
• Technological (equipment problems)
•
• Environmental (weather)
Interpersonal (need to rely on student workers)
•
•
Cultural (ensure don’t omit consultation with a key stakeholder group)
Political (the current economic crisis)

Risks
 Timelines could be negatively affected by constraints on working group members, on availability of other staff for consultations and approvals
& coordination with vendor. We accept the risk that the system may not be implemented for 2008/09.
 The system options are new and in some cases unproven. We will endeavour to complete a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of each option, and develop an exit strategy for the chosen system. We do not foresee any risks to library data, and will ensure that there are none.
Assumptions
 The Library Administration and Management Team fully support this project and will champion it as a funding priority.

National Service Quality Benchmarking
Project
Underlying assumption: most libraries did not have dedicated assessment staff to manage the process successfully on their own
Related Objectives:
 To guide consortium members through the planning process, via discrete, manageable sets of actions; each stage with its own timelines and deliverables.
 To provide an easy to use, one-stop resource for member libraries – with material, relevant to Canadian libraries, that could be readily adapted by individual libraries for their use.

Project Name Project Manager Team Members
Problem / Opportunity (Why do this project?):
Project Goal:
Objectives (Specific, Measurable, Assignable), Duration?
Cost?
Success Criteria (Outcomes):
Assumptions, Risks, Obstacles:

Launching the
Plan
Closing Out the
Project
Developing the
Plan
Monitoring &
Controlling

Invest in the Planning Process
 Taking the necessary time to plan & develop each phase of the project is key to a successful project – all the more important if you are new to project management or to the objective of the project
 “Just getting on with the project” can be a recipe for failure

•
•
•
•
•

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

Breaks the project into chunks of work at a level of detail that meets planning and scheduling needs
Broader
Narrower

Queen’s Next Gen OPAC Project

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

•
•
•
•
Similarity to other activities
Historical data
Expert advice
Skill levels of staff involved

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

•
•
• Identify all the resources required for each activity
Estimate the duration of each task
Linkage between and among activities/tasks

National Service Quality Benchmarking Project
Determining Resource Requirements

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

The project network is the set of project tasks presented in sequence with their dependencies, durations, resources & milestones.
Dependencies create the backbone of the project network
 e.g. Task B cannot begin until task A is complete.
A. Design graphics B. Insert content
 The project network or can be represented as a simple list or visually in chart form.

Identify Project
Tasks (WBS)
Determine Resource
Requirements
Prepare the
Schedule/Timeline
Estimate Task
Duration
Construct/Analyze
Project Network

 Timeline for the project’s activities in sequence with:
 Milestones



Actions
Start & End Dates
Relationship among activities
 Types of timelines: text tables, GANTT charts,
Critical paths, PERT charts, etc.

 Good approach for schedules without many sets of activities in complex relationships.
 Does not require specialised skills in preparing GANTT charts, etc.
National Service Quality Benchmarking Project Timeline http://library.queensu.ca/webir/canlibqual/timeline.htm

Queen’s Next Gen Project - Timeline

Queen’s Multimedia Tutorials Project – Gantt Chart

 Project software
 Post it notes on wall
 3 x 5 cards in colors for each task
 Chalk board
Document everything!!

 Identify risks and potential obstacles to the project that:
 could significantly impact on its completion
 are reasonably likely to occur
 Incorporate steps in plan to mitigate risk and avoid obstacles
 Monitor the risks you've identified and watch for new risks that may arise

National Service Quality Benchmarking
Project - Some Risks & Assumptions
 Risk: that potential participants might be deterred by the amount of work involved. Strategy: provide breakdown of tasks in manageable chunks, sample documents explaining every step in the process; and hand-holding by the project manager (always an email or phone call away)
 Risk: possible long, critical delays getting project approval from local research ethics board (REB) for the project.
Strategy: provide examples of successful REB submissions.
 Risk: that libraries would not know how to make effective use of their survey data. Strategy: provide two workshops and supporting documentation on the web site.

Launching the
Project
Closing Out the
Project
Developing the
Plan
Monitoring &
Controlling

 Communication
 Kickoff meeting with project team (& perhaps major stakeholders
 Regular team meetings to review progress

Launching the
Project
Closing Out the
Project
Developing the
Plan
Monitoring &
Controlling

 Monitor Status - Review Meetings
 Manage Change & Resolve Conflicts
 Analyze Variances
 Plan and Take Corrective Action
 Report Status to Stakeholders

 Without a clear description of the project’s scope, change control is impossible and scope creep is practically guaranteed.
 Change is constant – must be accommodated
 Some potential changes may have to be recorded and deferred to later “enhancement” or
“adjustment” process after the project is complete.

Launching the
Project
Closing Out the
Project
Developing the
Plan
Monitoring &
Controlling

 Complete Closing Activities (acknowledge your team
& celebrate successes)
 Document Best Practices
 Close the Project
 Hand off service/support to operational units

National Service Quality Benchmarking
Project - Project Closing
 Survey of participants to assess their experience with the consortium and survey:
 What worked well and what could have been improved
 Would they want to do it again, if so, how often and in what form
 Final report to the Canadian Association of Research
Libraries, the project’s sponsor.

 Software can assist teams in planning, monitoring the project’s progress and identifying problems more efficiently.
 Project management software types: desktop, web-based; stand alone or collaborative; commercial or open-source.
 General, collaborative tools, e.g. wikis
It is important to realize that the software is simply a tool and cannot compensate for poor planning!

Project Management - Selected Resources
 Berkun, Scott. The art of project management, O’Reilly,
2005. Jargon-free, well-written, practical guide. Excellent introduction to project management.
 Associations: Project Management Institute , allPM.com
(Resources, templates, forums, book review & links)
 Glossaries/Dictionaries: Project Management Glossary
 Journals: Project Management Journal , International
Journal of Project Management
 Software reviews: Web-based software , TopTen Reviews , Free software
 Good annotated project management site:
ProjectMinds.com’s Useful Websites

 Know what you are trying to accomplish/ build
 Keep focused on the milestones/outcomes
 Communicate, communicate, communicate
 React early to issues
 Have a sponsor both managerial and technical
 Recognize your team & celebrate your successes
 Learn from the project