Defining the Project

Dr. M. Ramkumar
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Management Raipur
WHERE WE ARE NOW

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Defining the project
• In a research study involving mare than 1400 project
managers in the USA and Canada, Gobeli and Larson
(1986) found that approximately 50% of the planning
problems relate to the unclear definition of scope
and goals.
• Scope – what you deliver to your customer

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DEFINING THE PROJECT
Step 1: Defining the Project Scope
Step 2: Establishing Project Priorities
Step 3: Creating the Work Breakdown Structure
Step 4: Integrating the WBS with the Organization
Step 5: Coding the WBS for the Information System

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STEP 1: DEFINING THE PROJECT SCOPE
• Project Scope
– A definition of the end result or mission of the project—a
product or service for the client/customer—in specific,
tangible, and measurable terms.
• Purpose of the Scope Statement
– To clearly define the deliverable(s) for the end user.
– To focus the project on successful completion
of its goals.
– To be used by the project owner and participants
as a planning tool and for measuring project success.

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PROJECT SCOPE CHECKLIST
1. Project objective – (What, when and how much) – to
design and produce a portable hazardous waste
thermal treatment system in 13 months at a cost not
to exceed $1.5 million
2. Deliverables – early stage (specifications), second
phase (software coding & technical manual), third
phase (prototype), final phase (final tests and
approved software)
3. Milestones – significant event that occurs at a point in
time

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Project Scope Checklist
4. Technical requirements (for a PC, the ability to accept 120-
volt alternating current or 240-volt direct direct current without
any adapters or user switches.)
5. Limits and exclusions – (system maintenance and repair will
be done only up to one month after final inspection; client will
be billed for additional training beyond that prescribed in the
contract; house will be built – no landscaping or security
devices added; software will installed, but no training given)
6. Reviews with customer

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PROJECT SCOPE
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
• Scope Statements
– Also called statements of work (SOW)
• Project Charter
– Can contain an expanded version of scope statement
– A document authorizing the project manager to initiate and lead the
project.
– Risk limits, customer needs, spending limits, team composition
• Scope Creep
– The tendency for the project scope to expand over time due to
changing requirements, specifications, and priorities.
– Reduced by carefully writing the scope statement
– Broad cope statement invite scope creep

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STEP 2: ESTABLISHING PROJECT PRIORITIES

• Causes of Project Trade-offs

– Shifts in the relative importance of criterions related
to cost, time, and performance parameters
• Budget–Cost
• Schedule–Time
• Performance–Scope

• Managing the Priorities of Project Trade-offs

– Constrain: a parameter is a fixed requirement.
– Enhance: optimizing a criterion over others.
– Accept: reducing (or not meeting) a criterion requirement.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRADE-OFFS

FIGURE 4.1

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PROJECT PRIORITY MATRIX

FIGURE 4.2

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 CREATING THE WORK
STEP 3:
BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

– An hierarchical outline (map) that identifies the products
and work elements involved in a project.
– Defines the relationship of the final deliverable
(the project) to its subdeliverables, and in turn,
their relationships to work packages.
– Best suited for design and build projects that have tangible
outcomes rather than process-oriented projects.

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Hierarchical
Breakdown of the
WBS

FIGURE 4.3

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HOW WBS HELPS
THE PROJECT MANAGER
• WBS
– Facilitates evaluation of cost, time, and technical
performance of the organization on a project.
– Provides management with information appropriate
to each organizational level.
– Helps in the development of the organization breakdown
structure (OBS). which assigns project responsibilities to
organizational units and individuals
– Helps manage plan, schedule, and budget.
– Defines communication channels and assists
in coordinating the various project elements.
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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

FIGURE 4.4

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WORK PACKAGES
• A work package is the lowest level of the WBS.
– It is output-oriented in that it:
1. Defines work (what).
2. Identifies time to complete a work package (how long).
3. Identifies a time-phased budget to complete
a work package (cost).
4. Identifies resources needed to complete
a work package (how much).
5. Identifies a person responsible for units of work (who).
6. Identifies monitoring points (milestones)
for measuring success.

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 INTEGRATING THE WBS WITH
STEP 4:
THE ORGANIZATION
• Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
– Depicts how the firm is organized to discharge its work
responsibility for a project.
• Provides a framework to summarize
organization work unit performance.
• Identifies organization units responsible
for work packages.
• Ties organizational units to cost control accounts.

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Integration of
WBS and OBS

FIGURE 4.5
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 CODING THE WBS FOR THE
STEP 5:
INFORMATION SYSTEM
• WBS Coding System
– Defines:
• Levels and elements of the WBS
• Organization elements
• Work packages
• Budget and cost information
– Allows reports to be consolidated at any
level in the organization structure

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Coding
the WBS

EXHIBIT 4.5
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PBS FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT

FIGURE 4.6

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RESPONSIBILITY MATRICES
• Responsibility Matrix (RM)
– Also called a linear responsibility chart.
– Summarizes the tasks to be accomplished and who
is responsible for what on the project.
• Lists project activities and participants.
• Clarifies critical interfaces between units
and individuals that need coordination.
• Provide an means for all participants to view their
responsibilities and agree on their assignments.
• Clarifies the extent or type of authority that
can be exercised by each participant.

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RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX FOR A
MARKET RESEARCH PROJECT

FIGURE 4.7

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RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX FOR THE
CONVEYOR BELT PROJECT

FIGURE 4.8

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PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
• What information needs to be collected
and when?
• Who will receive the information?
• What methods will be used to gather
and store information?
• What are the limits, if any, on who has access to
certain kinds of information?
• When will the information be communicated?
• How will it be communicated?

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STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS

FIGURE 4.9

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INFORMATION NEEDS
• Project status reports
• Deliverable issues
• Changes in scope
• Team status meetings
• Gating decisions
• Accepted request changes
• Action items
• Milestone reports

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DEVELOPING A COMMUNICATION PLAN

1. Stakeholder analysis
2. Information needs
3. Sources of information
4. Dissemination modes
5. Responsibility and timing

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SHALE OIL RESEARCH PROJECT
COMMUNICATION PLAN

FIGURE 4.10
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KEY TERMS
Cost account
Milestone
Organization breakdown structure (OBS)
Priority matrix
Process breakdown structure (PBS)
Project charter
Responsibility matrix
Scope creep
Scope statement
WBS dictionary
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
Work package
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