Stage 1: Project Conceptualization and Definition

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Stage 1 Project Conceptualization and Definition

• James R. Burns

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Recitation

• Name the core knowledge areas
• Name the facilitating knowledge areas
• Name the five stages of the lifecycle
• How does PMBOK handle processes?
• Name some processes associated with cost
  management
• Name some processes associated with quality
  management

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Recitation

• What is the most important stage of PM?
• Which project team member is busiest during the
  1st Stage?
• What is the most important concern of the PM in
  this stage?
• Name some deliverables of the 1st stage?

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The Stages in the Project Management Lifecycle
STAGE 1 Conceptualizing-and-Defining
STAGE 2 Planning-and-Budgeting
STAGE 3 Executing
STAGE 5 Terminating-and-Closing
STAGE 4 Monitoring-and-Controlling
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Outline

• The First Stage
• Using a SOW
• Defining Project Boundaries/Scope
• Why getting this right is so important
• The use of surveys and interviews
• Definition of Deliverables and Due Dates
• Managing stakeholder expectations

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More outline

• What the deliverables of this stage are
• Why this has to be done expeditiously
• Why iterations between this and the next stage
  may be necessary
• How this stage gets done
• Using Goldratts Thinking Process
• Defining team roles and determining the
  organization
• Assess Feasibility

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Conceptualization and Definition
Definition and Conceptualization
Construct Statement of Work
Define Requirements
Determine Organization
Assess Feasibility
Ensure fit with business strategy and priorities
Assess technology consistency
Define scope, size and resource requirements
Identify dependencies with other projects
Assess overall risk
Test alignment with strategies
Test resource availability
Make GO/NO GO Decision
Planning and Budgeting
Planning and Budgeting
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Processes--Scope management

• Initiationdefining a project charter
• Scope planningscope statement
• Scope definitiondefining a work breakdown
  structure
• Scope verificationformalizing acceptance
• Scope change control

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The First Stage

• Analogous to a missile or rocket
• If the launch is bad, the project may have to
  be killed
• Just as a rocket that misfires must be detonated

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Deliverables of this stage

• Project stakeholders
• Consensus --vision
• Requirements document
• Project charter
• What the Project deliverables are
• Project team members??

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Project stakeholders

• This group must be molded into one in which there
  is a lot of cohesion and consensus
• If you cant get cohesion, then you may have to
  settle for a plurality or majority rule
• It is most important that everyone knows up front
  what this project is about
• Stakeholders who wont get what they want from
  the project need to know this up front

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Cohesion, Consensus and Commitment

• Youve got to get these prior to execution or
  youll never get them later on

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Requirements documentCONTENTS

• What the problem is
• What functionality is needed
• What inputs
• What outputs
• Write this section first
• What performance
• What reliability

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What kind of meeting is appropriate to begin
discussions?

• A Joint Requirements Definition Session (JRDS)
• To create a strongly held shared vision of what
  the project is all about

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Managing Different Views

• The problem of ends vs. means values
• This is relative to getting consensus
• Stakeholder analysis

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JIM
JACK
JOE
JOHN
 
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Project Charter

• Advantage here is that the rules are made
  explicit from the outset
• Helps remind the PM and team what the
  goals/objectives are
• ANNOUNCES THE PROJECT
• ANNOUNCES THE PROJECT MANAGER

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What else does the Project Charter announce?

• Project stakeholders
• Project scope
• Project deliverables
• Project assumptions
• Project rules/processes
• Project governance

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•  
• NAME
• OBJECTIVES
• STAKEHOLDERS
• PROJECT MANAGER
• SCOPE
• DELIVERABLES
• ASSUMPTIONS
• RULES/PROCESSES
• GOVERNANCE
• COMMENTS
• SIGNATURES/SIGN OFFS
•  

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Methodology for Facilitation of JRDS

• Goldratt Thinking Process
• Senges Systems Thinking and System Dynamics
• SWOT Methodology

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Goldratt Thinking Process

• What to Change
• What to Change to
• How to Cause the Change

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What to Change

• We talked previously about the problems with
  mainframe/glass house architecture
• Data were isolated/non integrated
• Centralized MIS shop had long lead times
• MIPS on mainframes were expensive and very much
  in demand
• MIPS in PC were dirt cheap and idle most of the
  time
• No WINDOWS/GUI Internet Interface

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Data from different applications cannot be easily
shared
The data management components of the various
applications were completely unique there was no
reuse
Each application was required to have its own
data management component
The technology of relational database engines as
data management components was undeveloped
Each application had to reside entirely on the
mainframe
The technology of reuse was in its infancy
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What to Change to

• Modern distributed computing architectures

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How to Cause the Change

• Perhaps the most important part

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Feasibility Assessment Process

• Identify Dependencies with other projects
• Assess overall risk
• Test alignment with/impact on strategies and
  plans
• Test resource availability
• Submit deliverables for a quality gate inspection

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MAKE GO/NO GO Decision
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More process steps

• Obtain funding
• Review alternative approaches
• Obtain necessary signoff signatures
• Move to next stage

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A Caveat

• As Project Manager, you should avoid making quick
  and dirty estimates of duration and cost in this
  stage
• You may be forced to abide by your first rough
  estimates which are usually way off
• Instead, quote ranges that err on the up side, if
  your superiors insist on estimates as to duration
  and cost

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Summary

• This is the most important stage
• There is a lot of PM involvement
• PM must be courageous
• Communicate
• Lead
• Negotiate
• Decide
• A most important focus
• Build Consensus