Identifying project tasks: Analyzing

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0:01 Hi there. In this video, you'll learn to analyze project

documentation, including documents from previous projects, to identify
tasks for a new project. This documentation includes project charters,
emails, and old project plans which a business may have available
when you join a new organization or switch to a new project. Then, in
 the upcoming activity, you'll begin building the project plan for Sauce
and Spoon's tablet rollout by adding project tasks to a spreadsheet
that will serve as your project plan. I recommend that you use the
provided project plan template to start your document, but you're also
welcome to create your own spreadsheet or use your preferred project
management software.

0:43 Let's get started. First, we'll review the purpose and function of a
project plan. A project plan is useful for any project, big or small, since
it helps you document the scope, tasks, milestones, budget,
and overall activities in order to keep the project on track. At the center
of the project plan is the project schedule. The schedule is your guide
for making time estimates for project tasks, determining milestones,
and monitoring the overall progress of the project. One of your main
jobs as a project manager is to identify all of the project tasks, estimate
how much time each task will take, and track each task's progress. So
how do you go about adding tasks and milestones to the plan for the
very first time? The first thing I do is review the goals and deliverables
in the project charter. Then, I make a list of all the items that have
tasks or milestones associated with them. As a reminder, milestones
are important points within the schedule that indicate progress. They
usually signify the completion of a deliverable or phase of the
project. And project tasks refer to activities that need to be
accomplished within a set period of time. They're assigned to different
members of the team according to each person's role and skills.

2:00 In order to reach a milestone, you and your team must complete
certain tasks. For example, one of the deliverables of the Sauce
and Spoon project is promoting the new tablet menus with table signs
and email blasts. In this instance, a milestone could be the completion
of this deliverable, which would include all of the tasks that are
required for getting sign offs on the final versions of the marketing
materials and confirming the dates of the email blasts. Some of these
tasks would include writing multiple drafts of the different
marketing materials, generating an email list, and programming the
 emails to be sent on the correct dates. For each deliverable, ask
yourself: What steps do we need to take in order to achieve this? The
steps will become the individual tasks that need to be completed. Let's
turn our attention to another deliverable for Sauce and Spoon: the
implementation of a post-dining survey to assess customer
satisfaction.

2:56 What steps do you need to take in order to achieve this

deliverable? You might need to assign a team member to develop a
survey. You'll also need to determine how you'll deliver the survey
and create a process for carrying it out.

3:10 These are just a couple of examples of the many tasks you'll need to
complete in order to achieve the deliverable. It's your job to help
uncover the rest of the tasks. How do you uncover more tasks? In
addition to the project charter, there are other common forms of
documentation that can help you identify tasks. For example, you
might ask your stakeholders or colleagues to share emails or an older
project plan for a similar project. Let's discuss how these might be
useful as you build your list of tasks. Emails that relate to the project
can provide lots of helpful information for you to pull tasks from. Since
so much communication in the workplace happens over email, ask to
have relevant emails that contained discussions about the
project's details forwarded to you. These emails can help you uncover
tasks, and they can also help you identify team members to connect
with further if you have additional questions.

4:04 It's also helpful to review an older project plan for a similar initiative to
find out what kind of tasks were included. For example, if you are a
project manager tasked with launching a new product, you might ask a
colleague with experience launching other products for the same
company to share their project plan as an example. Or, if your project
includes some construction work, you might ask colleagues about
unrelated projects that also had construction components.
4:32 Previous project plans can provide helpful inspiration as you create
your own list of tasks. They can also help you identify possible task
durations, subject matter experts, and even suppliers that may be
helpful to your project. As you review project documentation, take note
of information that suggests other tasks your team will need to
complete in order to execute on project deliverables. During this
process, ask yourself questions like: Is there a large task being worked
on by many people that could be broken into smaller tasks assigned to
individuals? Are there signals that imply prior tasks need to be
completed first? For example, a deliverable like "install tablets" might
imply selecting a tablet vendor as a prior task. Great! We've covered a
lot in this video, so let's review. The project plan helps document the
scope, tasks, milestones, budget, and overall activities in order to keep
the project on track. To add tasks to your plan, search for useful
information from existing project documentation, such as the project
charter, email threads, and old project plans from a similar project. As
you review project documentation, take note of information that
suggests additional tasks and milestones that your team will need to
complete in order to meet project deliverables. Great! In the next
activity, you'll review the supporting materials to start building the
Sauce and Spoon project plan. Once you're finished, I'll meet you in
the next video.