Project Management:
A Critical Skill for Princeton
Presented by Hetty Baiz
Princeton Project Office
OIT, Princeton University
Background

Multiple Projects
 Cross-functional
 Mutually Interdependent
Success and failure is no longer within the total
control of that project.
What’s A Project?
What’s A Project?
A “project”

Will deliver
– Business and/or technical objectives
 Is made up of
– Defined processes & tasks
 Will run for
– Set period of time
 Has a budget
– Resources and $’s
What is Project Success?
What is Project Success?
Project success occurs when we have:
I
Objectives
I
I
The 'Golden Triangle' of
Project Success
I
A delighted client (expectations met)
Delivered the agreed objectives
Met an agreed budget - $, resources etc.
Within an agreed time frame
and
I
Time
Cost
Done it all professionally &
without killing the team
Why Do Projects Fail?





Changing scope
Insufficient planning
No risk or issues management
Poor communication
Lack of commitment and responsibility by
stakeholders
Who Are Stakeholders?
Steering
Committee
Senior Mgmt
Academic &
Business Units
Clients & Users
Project
Interdependent
Projects
Outside Groups
(Vendors)
Information
Technology
Team
Members
Project Management
A Maturity Model
best practice
competent
Success rate better
than 75%
aware
aware
e
seat
seat
ofofthe
pants
pants
Success rate less
than 30%
Success rate of 30
to 45%
Success rate of 45
to 75%
Seat of Pants

Seat of
pants
Success rate less
than 30%
Projects happen without correct initiation
– Planning is insufficient
– Benefits are unknown
– There is often inadequate buy-in
 Communication is poor
 Interdependencies are not managed
 Standards, if any, are poorly defined or
unenforced.
Aware





aware
Success rate of 30
To 40%
Projects are formally initiated & plans
endorsed but with varying standards and few
disciplines
Methodology has been introduced
Stakeholders support projects overall
The number of projects is rationalized
Projects are explicitly associated with
business planning
Competent





competent
Success rate of 45
To 75%
Methodology and standards are well
established and supported
Stakeholders understand and accept roles
Discrete measures support good
management
Projects are set up and managed end-to-end
Risks are clearly defined and controlled
Best Practice

best practice
Success rate better
than 75%
Improvement programs are formal
 Good measurement enables optimization
 Level of confidence sees organization taking
on high risk projects successfully
 Respect and support of projects and project
managers
Why Should We Care?

To Increase the likelihood that projects will :
– be done on time and within budget
– meet people’s expectations
– be done well
Project Office Mission
To enable the successful implementation of OIT
initiatives in a way that establishes a project
management culture so that we deliver projects
on time, within budget and with expected
results.
How?

Define a Princeton Project Management
Methodology (PPMM)
 Support and Mentor
 Offer Training
 Facilitation, Audit, Review
P2K Project Office
Methodology
Continuous
Improvement
Consulting/Mentoring
Education/Training
Project Management Process
Tracking
& Control
Initiation
Complete
Planning
Reporting
&
Assess
Review
Initiation
Plan
Detailed
Plan
Status
Report
Post
Project
Review
Report
Management Techniques
To increase the likelihood of project success you
must manage:

Stakeholders
 Risks
 Issues
 Change
How to Manage Stakeholders
A stakeholder is any person or group who, if
their support were to be withdrawn, could
cause the project to fail.
- Get them involved
- Keep them informed
- Gain their endorsement
How to Manage Stakeholders








Identify stakeholders
Involve in planning
Establish expectations / accountabilities
Formal communication
Gain sign-off
Change and issues resolution
Project reviews
Define project completion
Risk Management
What is “risk”?

Any factor capable of causing the project to
go off track.
– Develop and monitor a Risk Plan
Issues Management

Unresolved issues will drive a project towards
failure and consume a significant part of a
project manager’s time.

Stakeholders play key role in issues
management and resolution
- Establish Issues log, review, escalation
process
Change Management

Uncontrolled changes to a project will
probably account for up to 30% of a project’s
total effort.

If these changes are not managed, the
project will be viewed to be over time and
over budget.
- Establish a Change management process
PPMM Summary Overview

The Process
– Initiation
– Planning - Track/Control - Report - Review
– Completion and Assessment

Management Techniques
– Stakeholder Management
– Risk Management
– Issues Management
– Change Management
PPMM Deliverables

Project Plans
 Status Reports
 Audit & Review Report
PPMM Tools

Office 2000
– Word
– Excel
– Access
 MS Project 2000
For more information…...



Call the Princeton Project Office at
8-6335
Send e-mail to hetty@princeton.edu
Visit our web site at…
www.princeton.edu/ppo
Recommended Best Practices
Project Planning and Management

Follow proven methodologies
 Active Executive/Project Sponsor
 Identify / revisit “critical success” factors
 Document assumptions
– Business process change vs.
customization
Recommended Best Practices
Project Planning and Management







Have technical staff in place at start-up
Plan for backfill
Involve Steering Committee early
Plan production support in central offices
Plan for applying fixes
Plan for “end of project”
Plan for vacation/sick time
Recommended Best Practices
Scheduling, Tracking and Control






Break large projects into phases
(no > 18 - 24 months total)
Control phase “bleed over”
Post phase assessments
“Go/No Go” decision points
Sponsor sign-off
Review Scope periodically
Recommended Best Practices
Scheduling, Tracking and Control

Building learning curve into plans
 Weekly team meetings
 Detail planning in 1-2 month segments
 Define and manage to “critical path”
– What’s important
– Prioritize
– Who, what, when
Recommended Best Practices
Reporting

Establish monthly status reporting
 Hold monthly status reviews with key
stakeholders
– Oral status reports are effective
 Keep users of system (middle managers)
informed
Recommended Best Practices
Resourcing








Resource Plan
Cross functional teams work
Co-locate teams
Projects are full time job
Complete training before prototyping
Have full team train together
Leverage investment
Build team spirit
Recommended Best Practices
Managing Expectations








Communication Plan
Make major policy decisions up front
Don’t make promises to users up front
Monthly status report and review
Monthly / bi-monthly presentations
Articles, web pages, newsletters
Special communications from sponsor
Focus groups, demos, town meetings
Recommended Best Practices
Promoting the System






Focus Groups during gap analysis
Demos for every user after first release
Active Executive Committee showed
support
Town meetings to endorse system
Major presentation to users
“Pretzel stick” advertisement
Recommended Best Practices
Methodology





Follow proven methodologies
Consolidate methodology ( pre-kick off )
Functional reps go to all prototyping
Use standard report formats
Co-locate developer with tester (short term)
Recommended Best Practices
Managing the Consulting Partner

Selection criteria should include
– Ability to transfer knowledge
– Help organize team
– Follow proven methodology
– Provide good implementation tools
– Ability to form good working partnership
– Higher Education experience
– Work locally (near by or on-site)
Recommended Best Practices
Managing the Consulting Partner







Take time to define contract
– Terms and conditions / Statement of work
(metrics)
Review by Legal, tech., bus., purchasing
Veto power to select / reject resources
Fixed price gives University more control
Tie payments to acceptance of deliverables
Review quality plans
State that the University has methodology
Recommended Best Practices
Managing the Consulting Partner







Form partnership - make part of team
Have single point of contact
Build one project plan
Consultant defines phase objectives
Build in reviews with decision points
– Meet expectations / Go-no go decision
Plan for early transition of knowledge
Implementation done by Princeton
Recommended Best Practices
Managing the Vendor





Have single point of contact
Include RFP responses / bind vendor to meet
Cap maintenance fees (post impl. Phase)
Don’t presume product works from day 1
– Fixes required?
Review Quality Plans
Recommended Best Practices
Managing the Vendor

Know package after prototyping (not sales)
 Include vendor milestones in project plan
 Build “decision points” into plan where tight
vendor dependencies
 Have contingency plans in place
For more information…...
Visit our Web site at…
www.princeton.edu/ppo