One of the challenges of explaining project management to people who are unfamiliar with the approach, is that descriptions are often either so high-level as to be meaningless, or so detailed that they are overwhelming. Over the years, I have come to use a model as a framework for introducing and discussing project management tools and techniques. It can be used as the basis for a five-minute explanation of what is involved in project management, but also as an outline for more detailed discussions. (The actual model can be found on the Key Consulting website under free templates and info.)

A brief description of each step follows:

Assemble Team

The project planning team will be assembled, including appropriate representation from customers/clients, and sometimes subcontractors and vendors. Initial roles and responsibilities will be defined.

Deliverables: Initial project setup documentation.

Define Project Objective

With the project team in place, the overall project purpose will be verified and detailed project objectives developed. A phase-exit review will be conducted to ensure that the project is ready to move into the next phase, which is planning.

Deliverables: project charter, phase-exit review checklist.

Define Project Scope

An appropriately detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be developed to ensure the project scope is properly agreed to and understood by all stakeholders. This also allows the complete project to be split into appropriate sub-projects and/or phases. Read the rest of this entry »