Introduction to Project Management

BUS1040 Online – Spring Summer 2021

All about me
Nadine Leggett
Nadine.Leggett@georgebrown.ca

20 years of experience working in the software sector as consultant,

trainer, team manager, project manager, and program manager.

Connect with me on linkedin,

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-leggett/
Key Course Milestone Dates
Date Topic Grades
Week 1 Introduction Overview Participation Activity 2%
Week 2 Project Selection Participation Activity 3%
Week 3 Project Definition Participation Activity 2%
Week 4 Project Planning Participation Activity 2%
Week 5 Project Planning (cont’d) Participation Activity 2%
Week 6 Midterm Exam Review and Team Meetings Project proposal due - 5%
Week 7 Midterm Exam 25%
Week 8 No Class - Intersession Week
Week 9 Project Monitoring Participation Activity 2%
Week 10 Project Quality / Close
Week 11 Team Meetings - Project Health Checks Participation Activity 2%
Week 12 Team Project: Written Reports Due 20% (5% + 20%= 25%)
Week 13 Team Project: Videos Due 15%
Week 14 Final Exam Review
Week 15 Final Exam 20%
Today’s Agenda
Introduce you to your instructor
Review expectations for the semester
Learn what a career in project management entails
Introduce the project lifecycle and the role of a PM
Discuss the significance of managing trade-off’s
Explore PMI
Course Content
All on Blackboard – no textbook
Bb Collaborate
◦ All lectures through Bb collaborate

Weekly Learning Materials

◦ PowerPoint slides and additional resources in

Assignments / Exams
◦ All weekly assignments, projects, midterm and final exams
Class Expectations
•You will maximize your learning by attending live lectures –
opportunity to ask questions and work with your peers
•However, all lectures are recorded and found in Bb collaborate
•Weekly participation assignments – full marks for effort
•Deadlines and due dates are real
•Peer evaluation of team project contribution will influence your
grade
•You’re going to bring and be your best each week
Grades Breakdown
•45% Exams (Midterm 25% - Final 20%)
•40% Team Project (Report 25% - Video 15%)
•15% Participation (2-3% each week in class)
Technology that we will use

MS Teams MS Project
• Weekly Content • Team Project: • Project Plan
• Announcements Communication Schedule
• Grades and Drafts
• Submitting
Assignments
• Feedbackhttp://www.google.ca/imgres?
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Applied focus for the class
The Team Project Assignment (40%) focuses on developing a
Project management plan for a real project need that involves
GBC in some way
Team Project
All team project information will be on Blackboard
1. Setting up Your Project Team Hub
2. Team Project Instructions and Marking Scheme
3. Step by Step Guide
4. Video instructions
5. Instructions for submitting project report
Group Project Examples
2020 Examples
Library
Clean Toronto
Affordable Parking
Biodegradable Soap
Charity Book Sale
Online Social Lounge
What is Project
Management?
OVERVIEW
What is a Project?
Definition
Every project has a beginning and an end
Usually a high degree of coordination and
interdependencies between tasks & resources
Usually “Produces something unique” – Done One Time
Differs from “Ongoing Operations” which have no end
date and are fairly routine & repetitive
What do Project Managers Do?
The Need for Project
Management
United States spends $2.3 trillion on projects each year
(PMI)
Studies show that most of these projects will not succeed
29% of all projects are actually delivered on time, within
budget, and to specification (Standish Group)
Only 17.6% of companies have standard project
management processes in place (PMI)
Although these statistics appear grim, there is
opportunity
…that Opportunity is YOU!
Why is Project Management
Important?

Control / Employee Customer Improve

Coordinatio ROI
Satisfaction Satisfaction Quality
n
Project Managers
THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER
What Does a Project Manager
Do?
Project Manager Role
A detailed job description for a Project Manager can be
found in the this free publication by PMO Solutions
https://www.pmsolutions.com/articles/PM_Roles_and_Responsibilities
_2ed.pdf
 Career Tracks
Typical Job Titles that Lead to Project Management
•Project Coordinator
•Project Scheduler
•Assistant Project Manager
•Business Analyst
•Program Management Officer
•Team Lead
•Senior Manager (In a specific subject area)

http://www.wetfeet.com/careers-industries/careers/project-management 21
What
Industries
Typically
Employ Project
Managers
• Financial Services
• Technology
• Construction
• Event Planning
• Health Care
• Government
• Marketing
• Advertising
• Entertainment/Film
• Design
• Events

glassdoor.ca
Project Management Career
Considerations
CHALLENGES REWARDS

Workload
High Impact
pressure

Lack of Transferrable
Funding Skills
Recognition
authority

Customer Team
Diversity High profile
expectations conflicts
Project Lifecylce
FOUR STAGES OF EVERY PROJECT
The Project Lifecycle
Typical Stages
Project Project Project Project
Definition Planning Execution Close-Out

What are we How will we Let’s Do It How do we

trying to Achieve this? close the
Achieve? project off?
• Project Resources
• Who is work • Transitionin
Goals
needed? towards g
• Stakeholde completing
• What will • Formal
r Goals the plan and
they do? goals that Closure
• Consistent
expectation
• When will have been • Review
s of high- they do it setup in the “Lessons
level previous 2 Learned”
scope, phases
budget,
and time
Stage Summary of Key Project Management Questions
Define What is the need for this project?
What are the goals of this project?
What are the benefits this project will bring?
Who has authorized this project to proceed? (Sponsor)
Who are the stakeholders involved or impacted by this project? What are their key requirements for this
project? “Musts”, “Shoulds”, “Must nots”
What is the project scope (What will be included?). Does this scope align with the goals & requirements?
How will we define success for this project?
Is everyone on the same page? Have we documented the expectations for this project and secured sign-off
from key stakeholders? (Project Definitions Template)
Plan How are we going to deliver this project?
What are the deliverables driven by the project scope?
What activities are necessary in order to project the deliverables? (WBS)
How can these activities be sequenced and resourced to form our project plan? (Critical Path)
What are the key milestone dates from this plan?
What costs are mapped to this plan? (Final Budget)
Execute What is our framework for monitoring the project?
What are the key milestones (KPI's) that we will track project progress against?
Are we communicating with stakeholders?
What do we want to show through project status?
How will we collect the information we need for status?
Are we monitoring and managing project risks?
Are we managing changes to the project?
Are we testing project quality throughout?
Close How can we train and transition so launch is a success?
How will we launch this project (soft-launch? beta?)
How will we know once it launches whether it is achieving the project objectives and value proposition?
Have we completed our final quality tests and are comfortable putting our names behind this?
Have we secured client-signoff and reference?
Are we dedicating time to debrief? (lessons learned)
How will we celebrate this project concluding and everything that went into making it a success?
Managing Project Trade-Off’s

A fundamental concept of
project management is that
there is a relationship
between the primary three
project objectives…all of
which define project
success.

Triple Constraints
Project Success
Success is not only determined by
the project managers ability to
manage the 3 objectives of
budget, scope and schedule.
•High staff morale (Low Burnout)
•Great relationship with the
customer
•Vendors that can’t wait to work
with you on the next project
PMI
PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
Project Management Institute
PMI https://www.pmi.org/
•Founded in 1969, 500,000 members worldwide
•The leading organization for project management
professionals
•Created the “PMBOK” book of project management

•Standardization
•Recognition
•Skill Development
•Networking
 PMI Toronto Chapter
•2nd largest PMI Chapter Worldwide with 4,700 members
•Opportunities to volunteer at
https://www.pmitoronto.ca/volunteer-at-pmi-toronto

Check it out @ https://www.pmitoronto.ca/

Weekly Participation Assignment:
Explore PMI
1. Visit www.pmi.org
Find 3 different certifications that PMI offers
2. Visit https://www.pmitoronto.ca/
List out 3 services that the PMI Toronto chapter offers it
members
3. Visit one of the Job Websites (e.g.
www.pmjobs.ca, workopolis, monster, etc.)
Find 1 project job posting for a “project” position that you
would be interested in. Copy the actual posting into the
assignment and provide a link
 For Next Week
1.Review the videos and links to additional materials
contained in slide deck.
2.Complete the Explore PMI participation assignment.
3.Start thinking about a Group Project idea.
4.Choose one partner (or more) you would like to work
with for your culminating project…I will assign the
partners into groups of 5-6 next week.
5.If you don’t have a partner, no problem, you will still be
assigned to a group.

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