Information Technology Project

Management – Third Edition

By Jack T. Marchewka
Northern Illinois University

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Developing the Project Charter & Baseline
Project Plan

Chapter 3
Learning Objectives
Describe the five project management processes and how
they support each phase of the project life cycle.
Define the project management knowledge area called
project integration management and describe its role in
project plan development, project plan execution, and
overall change control.
Develop a project charter and describe its relationship to
the project plan.
Identify the steps in the project planning framework
introduced in this chapter and describe how this
framework links the project’s measurable organizational
value (MOV) to the project’s scope, schedule, and budget.
An IT Project Methodology

Figure 2.1
The Business Case has been approved, but…
Who is the project manager?
Who is the project sponsor?
Who is on the project team?
What role does everyone associated with the project play?
What is the scope of the project?
How much will the project cost?
How long will it take to complete the project?
What resources and technology will be required?
What approach, tools, and techniques will be used to develop the
information system?
What tasks or activities will be required to perform the project work?
How long will these tasks or activities take?
Who will be responsible for performing these tasks or activities?
What will the organization receive for the time, money, and resources
invested in this project?
project charter defines the project infrastructure
Identifies the project manager,
The project team,
the stakeholders
the roles each will play within the project.
formalizes the project's MOV
Scope
supporting processes and controls
required resources, risks, and assumptions.
PMBOK - Definition
Process
A set of interrelated actions and activities that are performed
to achieve a pre-specified set of products, results, or services
Projects versus Processes
Processes are ongoing

If you’re building cars on an If you’re designing and building

assembly line, that’s a a prototype of a specific car
process! model, that’s a project!
 Project Management Processes
Project vs. Product Management processes

As Figure 3.1 suggests, there must be a balance between project

management processes and product-oriented processes.

Figure 3.1
Project vs. Product Management
project management processes are concerned with defining and coordinating the
activities and controls needed to manage the project.

product-oriented processes focus on the tangible results of the project, such as the
application system itself.

The product-oriented processes require specific domain knowledge, tools, and

techniques in order to complete the work.

For example, you would need completely different subject matter experts (SME), tools,
and methods to build a house than you would to build a spacecraft to land on Mars.
Project Management Processes and ITPM Phases

Figure 3.2
Project Management Process Groups
Initiating
Signals the beginning of the project or a phase
It requires an organization to make a commitment in terms of time and resources.
For example, the first phase of the IT project methodology recommends the
development of a business case to identify several viable alternatives that can support a
particular organization‘s strategy and goals

Planning
Supports planning of the entire project and each individual phase
project manager and project team develop useful project plan.
Supporting processes include scope planning,activity planning, resource planning, cost
estimating, schedule estimating, organizational planning, and procurement planning.
Iterative process
Executing
Focuses on integrating people and resources to carry out the planned activities of the
project plan or phase
The product-oriented processes play an important role when completing the project
plan activities
Supporting processes include quality assurance, risk management, team development,
and an implementation plan

Monitoring & Controlling

Allows for managing and measuring progress towards the project’s MOV and scope,
schedule, budget, and quality objectives.
Also allows the project manager and team to measure and keep an eye on project
variances between actual and planned results so that appropriate corrective actions can
be taken when necessary.
Closing
Provides a set of processes for formally accepting the project’s product, service, or end
result so that the project or phase can be brought to an orderly end
The project team must verify that all deliver-ables have been satisfactorily completed
before the project sponsor accepts the project‘s product.
the final product—the information system—must be integrated successfully into the
day-to-day operations of the organization.
Closure of a project should include contract closure and administrative closure.
Contract closure ensures that all of the deliverables and agreed upon terms of the
project have been completed and delivered so that the project can end.
It allows resources to be reassigned and settlement or payment of any account, if
applicable.
Administrative closure, involves documenting all project documents.
Evaluate project to check MOV is achieved or not
Project Integration Management

as one of the most important knowledge areas because it

coordinates the other eight knowledge areas and all of the
project management processes throughout the project's life
cycle.
Integration, in the context of managing a project, is making
choices about where to concentrate resources and effort on
any given day, anticipating potential issues, dealing with these
issues before they become critical, and coordinating work
for the overall project good.
 project integration management includes:
(1) project plan development
(2) project plan execution
(3) overall change control
project plan development
to create a useable, flexible, consistent, and logical document that will guide the work or
activities of the project.
the project plan provides a control mechanism for coordinating changes across the
entire project
A first draft of the project plan is developed based on the businesscase and any other
information ,past history as it becomes available
the policies and procedures of the organization must be considered
Various constraints and assumptions must be considered & documented
Constraints are things that can limit the project and usually can have an impact on scope,
schedule, budget, or quality.
For example, the project may have to be completed by a specific date or within a predefined
budget.
assumptions can be thought of as things that must go right in order for the project plan
to be completed as planned.
for example, a skilled and experienced programmer being available by a specific date or a
vendor delivering hardware and/or software in time for a development activity to begin.
Constraints and assumptions are closely related to risk. So development of a risk
management plan is required
Various software tools, such as Microsoft Project, can be useful for developing the project
plan
Project Plan Execution
project management software tools can be used such as Microsoft Project to manage and
control the project.
Project management software tools help to create and track a project's progress, but also act
as an information system for reporting project performance and making decisions
The execution of the project plan must also have some type of work authorization system in
place.
A work authorization system is just a way of sanctioning or authorizing project team
members to perform a specific activity or group of related activities to ensure that the right
things are done in the proper sequence.
specific activities must be verified as being complete before other activities can
begin.(gathering and documenting of requirements)
Status review meetings are a useful tool for coordinating the project processes and activities.
Overall Change Control
the project must have controls in place to manage change.
Overall change controls must:
(1) ensure that a process is in place to evaluate the value of a proposed change,
(2) determine whether an accepted change has been implemented,
(3) include procedures for handling emergencies—that is, automatic approval for defined
situations
(4) help the project manager manage change so that change does not disrupt the focus or work
of the project team.
Many organizations have a Change Control Board (CCB) made up of various managers
responsible for evaluating and approving change requests.
the project manager should develop change control process as a part of the project charter.
Project Integration Processes
Develop Project Charter
Develop Preliminary Scope Statement
Develop Project Management Plan
Direct & Manage Project Execution
Monitor and Control Project Work
Integrate Change Control
Close Project
The Project Charter
Together with the baseline project plan, provides a tactical plan for carrying out the project

Serves as an agreement or contract between the project sponsor and team

It documents project's MOV, defining its infrastructure, summarizing the project plan details,
defining roles and responsibilities, showing project commitments, and explaining project
control mechanisms.

Provides a framework for project governance

The Project Charter
Documents the project’s MOV
Defines the project infrastructure
The project charter defines all of the people, resources, technology, methods, project
management processes, and knowledge areas
Summarizes the details of the project plan
The project charter should summarize the scope, schedule, budget, quality objectives,
deliverables, and milestones of the project.
Defines roles & responsibilities
the project charter should specify the lines of reporting and who will be responsible for
specific decisions.
Shows explicit commitment to the project
the project charter should detail the resources to be provided by the project sponsor
and specify clearly who will take ownership of the project's product once the project is
completed.
Sets out project control mechanisms
The project charter should outline a process for requesting and responding to
proposed changes.
What Should Be in a Project Charter?
Project ID
Project Stakeholders
Project Description
MOV
Project Scope
Project Schedule (summary)
Project Budget (summary)
Quality issues/standards/requirements
Resources
Assumptions & Risks
Project Administration
Acceptance & Approval
References
Terminology (acronyms & definitions)
Project ID

It is common for all projects to have a unique name or a

way to identify them.

Naming a project can also give the project team and

stakeholders a sense of identity and ownership.

Often organizations will use some type of acronym for

the project's name.

For example : Flight Reservation System in 1965,

American Airlines named its system SABRE.
Project Stakeholders

project charter specifically name the project sponsor and

the project manager
the project team should be named along with their titles
or roles in the project, their phone numbers, and e-mail
addresses
Formal reporting relationships can be specified and may
be useful on larger projects
Project Description

description of the project include a brief overview or

background of the project as to the problem or
opportunity that became a catalyst for the project
include the reason or purpose for taking on the project.
include the vision of the organization or project and how
it aligns with the organization's goal and strategy
project description focus on the business and not the
technology
Measurable Organizational Value (MOV):
the project‘s MOV should be highlighted and easily
identifiable in the project charter.
Project Scope
The project's scope is the work to be completed
The project's scope should, therefore, define key deliverables
and/or high-level descriptions of the information system's
functionality
what will be produced or delivered by the project team, but
also what will not be part of the project's scope
the creation of additional work for the project team will
extend the project's schedule and invariably increase the cost
of the project
the likelihood of confusion and misunderstanding is reduced
Project Schedule
summarize the detail of the plan with respect to the
expected start and completion dates.
In addition, expected dates for major deliverables,
milestones, and phases should be highlighted and
summarized at a very high level.
Project Budget
A section of the project charter should highlight the total
cost of the project.
The total cost of the project should be summarized
directly from the project plan.
.
Quality Issues Although a quality management plan should be in place to
support the project
A section that identifies any known or required quality standards should be
made explicit in the project charter.
For example, an application system's reports may have to meet a
government agency's requirements
Resources
Resources may include people, technology, or facilities to support the
project team.,
explicitly outlining the resources needed and who is responsible for what
can reduce the likelihood for confusion or misunderstanding
Assumptions and Risks
Assumptions may include things that must go right, such as a particular
team member being available for the project, or specific criteria used in
developing the
project plan estimates.
Risks,, may be thought of as anything that can go wrong or things that may
impact the success of the project.
Risk management plan should be in place to support the project team,
Key situations or events that could significantly impact the project s
scope,schedule, or budget
Any known constraints that may be imposed by the organization or project
environment should be documented
Dependencies on other projects internal or external to the organization
Subsequently, dependencies between projects may exist, especially if
different application systems or technology platforms must be integrated.
It may also be important to describe the project's role in relation to other
projects.
Impacts on different areas of the organization
It is important to describe how the project will impact the organization in
terms of disruption, downtime, or loss of productivity.

Any outstanding issues

These may be issues identified by the project sponsor, the project
manager, or the project team that must be addressed and agreed upon at
some point during the project.
They may include such things as resources to be provided or decisions
regarding the features orfunctionality of the system.
Project Charter Template
Project Planning Framework

Figure 3.4
Project Planning Framework
The MOV
Define the Project’s Scope
Initiation
Planning
Definition
Verification
Change Control
Project Planning
Framework – cont’d.
Subdivide the Project into Phases
Tasks-Sequence, Resources, and Time Estimates
Sequence
Resources
Time
Schedule and Budget-The Baseline Plan
The Kick-Off Meeting
Officially starts the work on the project
Brings closure to the planning phase
Communicates to all what the project is about
Energizes stakeholders
Engenders positive attitudes