MIS5102:
Process Improvement and Innovation
Project Planning
“Magical”(?) Interdisciplinary View
Business
Customer
(Berkun, Chapter 3.3)
Technology
• How does this view
positively affect the
project portfolio
management process?
• How does this view
positively affect the
project planning
process?
• How do organizational
dynamics play a role?
Recall our party planning exercise
from the beginning of the
semester…
What do you do?
When do you do it?
Who does what?
Elements of a Project Plan
What do you do?
When do you do it?
Who does what?
We already have some tools we can use
• Process decomposition
• Swim lane diagrams
• RACI charts
You wouldn’t always use these
specific tools, but many of the
concepts are the same!
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Aircraft System
Air Vehicle
Receiver
Fire Control
Peculiar Support
Equipment
Training
Communication
Equipment
Services
Depot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_breakdown_structure
How is this like process decomposition?
How is it different?
What do you learn from this?
Design principles
• 100% rule
• Mutual exclusivity
• Outcomes, not
actions
• Level of detail
Why is each important in
building a useful WBS?
How far should you break
down a project?
What is the “problem” with
estimation?
http://workbreakdownstructure.com/
Understanding Dependencies
• What are task
dependencies?
• Why is it
important to
understand
them?
• How are they
used
to turn a WBS
into
a project plan?
Critical Path Analysis
using PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
36 days
10 days
Software
Unit Testing
Create
module 1
15 days
Design
15 days
15 days
Software
Unit Testing
Create
module 2
7 days
Buy
hardware
5 days
Hardware
Config.
15 days
System
Test
3 days
Hardware
Testing
30 days
The work units on the
longest path through the
diagram are on the critical
path.
Write
Manual
What does it mean for the
task to be on the critical
path?
Allocating Work
Assigning people to tasks
Build off of the work
breakdown structure
What can a RACI chart tell
you about allocation?
What can a Swim Lane
Diagram tell you about
allocation?
Allocating Work and the Critical
Path
36 days
10 days
Software
Unit Testing
Create
module 1
15 days
Design
15 days
15 days
Software
Unit Testing
Create
module 2
7 days
Buy
hardware
5 days
Hardware
Config.
30 days
How does adding this
information help the
planning process?
Write
Manual
15 days
System
Test
3 days
Hardware
Testing
Entire Team
Software Team 1
Software Team 2
Hardware Team
Communications
Key Considerations about Estimating
• “Few people
enjoy estimating
complex things
that they will be
accountable for.”
10 days
Two scenarios where we
build a 95% confidence interval
-2 standard
deviations from the
mean
+2 standard
deviations from the
mean
(Berkun, Chapter 2.4.3.1)
• What is the result
of that?
• What can go
wrong with
estimation?
9  10  11
-2 standard
deviations from the
mean
+2 standard
deviations from the
mean
6  10  14
Create
module 1
Explain the
difference between
the scenarios
What are the
implications for
project planning?
• For the triple constraint?
• For allocating resources?