Executing a Project Management Plan

In the executing process group, the work of the project takes place. The activities of the executing process group overlap with the monitoring and controlling process group (as well as the other process groups, to some extent). The specific activities that PMI identifies as part of executing are

• Direct and manage project execution

• Perform quality assurance

• Acquire the project team

• Develop the project team

• Information distribution

• Request seller responses

• Select sellers

Memorize which processes belong to the project executing process group (there are seven):

• Direct and manage project execution

• Perform quality assurance

• Acquire project team

• Develop project team

• Information distribution

• Request seller response

• Select sellers

Project Execution

PMI includes the direct and manage project execution process within the integration knowledge area and defines the process as "executing the work defined in the project management plan to achieve the project's requirements defined in the project scope statement."

The PMBOK includes a list of activities that are included in the direct and manage project execution process. The purpose of these activities is to produce the deliverables that are defined within the project's scope. The work also includes completed approved changes, corrective action, preventive action, and defect repair. Finally, work performance information is produced. This information is used to monitor and control activities against the project plan baseline.

The key output of this activity is the set of deliverables. They might be tangible deliverables, such as a road or computer software, or intangible deliverables such as training.

The project manager executes the project using the organization's project management methodology and project management information system. The methodology is the tools, templates, and procedures for executing projects. For example, it would include the change management process or status reporting process.

The project management information system (PMIS) includes the scheduling tool (such as Microsoft Project), tools for reporting, document repositories, and any other systems used in project execution. The PMIS also includes the techniques used for gathering, integrating, and disseminating process outputs. The PMIS can be both manual and automated.

As a result of monitoring/controlling activities, additional work might be required in execution. For example, a quality control activity might indicate that a deliverable does not meet the quality standards, which would cause rework. A summary of the controlling activities, potential impacts, and resulting work is found in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1. Impact of Monitoring/Controlling Activities on Project Execution

Monitoring/Controlling Process	Potential Output	Resulting Work in Execution
Monitor/control project work	Corrective action to bring actual results in line with planned activities	Implementation of corrective action
Integrated change control	Change request	Implementation of approved change request
Scope verification	Change request	Implementation of approved change request
Scope/schedule/cost control	Change request	Implementation of approved change request
Perform quality control	Identification of deliverables not meeting quality standards	Rework to bring deliverable up to quality standards, preventive action to eliminate cause of problem
Manage project team	Team member not completing work activities per project management plan	Corrective or preventive action to align team member performance with plans
Performance reporting	Forecast indicating project is behind schedule	Corrective action to bring performance in line with plans
Manage stakeholders	Issue raised by stakeholder	Corrective action to resolve issue
Risk monitoring/controlling	Planned risk emerges	Application of risk response, risk reassesment
Contract administration	Seller's deliverables completed	Payment to seller

Understand the difference between corrective action and preventive action. Preventive action is anything done to prevent, or avoid, a specific situation. Corrective action is anything done "after the fact" to fix an issue after it has occurred.

Ensure you have a clear understanding of the activities and the interfaces that are part of the direct and manage project execution and the monitoring and controlling project work processes.

Ensuring Quality

Quality assurance is the planned, systematic, quality activities that are used to ensure the project will employ all processes needed to meet requirements. It differs from quality control, which is monitoring specific project results to ensure they meet quality standards.

Understand the difference between quality assurance and quality control.

PMI stresses the importance of continuous improvement, which is an iterative process for improving quality. Continuous improvement is an ongoing cycle of process analysis leading to process improvements at which point further process analysis is undertaken. Process analysis is an in-depth look at what processes are being executed, how they are executed, by whom they are being executed, and related processes.

The benefits of continuous improvement include reduced waste and reduction in non value-added processes, leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Work performance information is an important input to quality assurance. Work performance information is defined as data on the status of project schedule activities. This information can be used in audits, quality reviews, and process analysis. Other important inputs to quality assurance include approved change requests and quality control measurements. Approved change requests are any change requests that have been processed through the change management process and approved by the proper authority. Quality control measurements are the results of quality control activities.

Memorize all the inputs to quality assurance.

The tools used in quality planning and quality control can also be used in quality assurance. Refer to Chapter 4, "Elements of Project Planning," and Chapter 6, "Project Control," for more details.

Along with the tools used in quality planning and quality control, two other tools in quality assurance are quality audits and process analysis. Quality audits are independent reviews to verify compliance with quality standards. For example, a review team would look at control charts to determine if the processes were being controlled properly and if proper actions were taken when processes fell outside control limits. Process analysis supports continuous improvement, as explained in the previous section.

Root cause analysis is a technique to examine a problem, determine the underlying cause of the problem, and implement corrective action to prevent further occurrence.

The application of quality assurance might result in changes to the project, which take the form of change requests or recommended corrective action. Updates are made to the project management plan and/or organizational process assets.

Acquiring and Developing the Project Team

The project cannot be completed without people. Using the procedures defined during planning, the project manager acquires the necessary resources. Note, however, that the project manager may not have direct control over what resources are assigned to the project. When the project manager does have the ability to influence or direct staff assignments, the following should be considered:

• Availability Does the person's schedule allow him to support the project?

• Ability Does the person have the proper skill set?

• Experience Will the project require an individual with significant experience?

• Interest An important factor in motivation. Will the person want to work on the project?

• Cost How much will the person cost? This can be in terms of hiring a contractor. If the resource is internal, other factors might be considered, including the impact on another project that the individual might support.

A number of tools may be used in acquiring human resources; they are summarized in Table 5.2.

Table 5.2. Summary of Human Resource Acquisition Tools

Tool	Description
Preassignment	Assignments made prior to beginning of execution. They might be named in the proposal, contract, or charter; or assigned because of a specific skill.
Negotiation	The project manager/team negotiates with functional managers or other managers for the resources they want. Organizational politics might be a factor in obtaining the desired resources.
Acquisition	Outside resources, such as consultants or contractors, are brought in through the acquisition process.
Virtual team	A team that is not located together and relies on electronic tools (email, conference calls, and so forth) for communication. With decreasing communication costs and improved reliability, virtual teams have become more prevalent. This can also include offshoring, where some of the project work is done in a separate country.

The use of virtual teams requires additional work during the communication planning process to ensure all the communication needs of the virtual team are met.

Team Development

Team development has two facets: increasing the competency of the team and improving the interaction among team members. Although team development should occur throughout the project, it is most effective when conducted early in the project life cycle.

PMI lists a number of tools for team development, including general management skills, training, teambuilding activities, ground rules, co-location, and recognition and rewards:

• General management skills These skills are sometimes referred to as soft skills and include empathy, creativity, influence, and group facilitation skills.

• Training This is used for increasing competency, might be formal or informal, and includes classroom training, computer-based training, and coaching/mentoring.

• Team building This is any activity used to improve team cohesiveness. Team building can encompass anything from a short activity at the beginning of a meeting to an offsite event. Even team participation in a project activity such as risk identification can serve to build team cohesiveness.

• Ground rules These dictate the expected behavior of the team. Having the team develop the ground rules can serve as a team building activity.

• Co-location This is the opposite of virtual teams. PMI uses the team war room to describe a room where the team activities take place. Critical projects might use co-location to improve communication among team members.

• Recognition and rewards These are used to motivate the team and reinforce positive behavior. The approach should be developed during planning and take into account the culture of team members, the type of behavior to be rewarded, and the budget.

Power is an important concept within the team environment. Although the project manager is in charge, he might not have legitimate power over all team members. Other team members must also rely on some power to accomplish their tasks. A summary of the types of power is presented in Table 5.3.

Table 5.3. Summary of Types of Power

Type of Power	Description
Legitimate	Power based on position or title, such as senior executives.
Referent	Power transferred from someone with legitimate power. A project charter approved by a vice-president assigning the project manager gives the project manager referent power.
Expert	Power based on knowledge. A team leader might have expert power because of her knowledge in a programming language.
Reward	Power based on the ability to give or hold back rewards. A project manager who can award performance bonuses has this type of power.
Coercive	Power based on force or intimidation.

Referent power is important for project managers. Often their authority does not equal their responsibilities on the project. This is especially true in a matrix environment when they don't have direct authority over team members.

Team Motivation

As mentioned previously, recognition and rewards are used to motivate the team. Knowledge of motivation theories is often tested in the PMP exam. A summary of the leading theories is presented in Table 5.4.

Table 5.4. Summary of Motivation Theories

Theory	Developer	Description
Hierarchy of needs	Abraham Maslow	People have a hierarchy of needs, described as a pyramid. When one level is satisfied, they move onto the higher level needs. The base is physical needs (food, shelter), and then progress through safety and security, social needs (love, friendship), esteem, and finally self-actualization. On a project team, a worker would very likely be motivated by esteem, which can be self-esteem for mastery of a task or the esteem that comes from recognition by others for accomplishments.
Motivation-hygiene theory (or the two factor theory)	Fredrick Herzberg	There are motivators and hygiene factors. Hygiene factors (pay, adequate supplies) prevent dissatisfaction but otherwise don't motivate. Motivation comes from factors such as learning new skills or being promoted. A project manager must ensure hygiene factors are present and create the motivators as part of the assignment.
Expectancy theory	Victor Vroom	People are motivated by the expectation of being rewarded for their work. In addition, if a team is told they are high performing, they will act that way, with the corollary for low performance also being true.
Achievement theory	David McClelland	The three motivators for people are power, affiliation, and achievement. A person might not have one of these factors, and therefore is not motivated in his job.
X and Y theories Theory Z	Douglas McGregor William Ouchi	Theory X states people are lazy and need autocratic leadership. Theory Y states people are generally hard workers and do not require constant supervision. Theory Z is not related to McGregor's work. It states people are not only self-motivated to do their work, but also have a desire to help the company succeed.
Contingency theory	Fred Fiedler	The most effective leadership style is contingent on the situation. It is influenced by the leader's relationship with the team, the task to be completed, and the positional power of the leader.
Situational leadership	Ken Blanchard	Individuals move through four stages of development, and leaders need to apply the correct leadership style. The progression of leadership styles is directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating.

Understand how the project manager would use the theories of motivation to influence team members.

Expectancy theory believes motivation is a factor of valence (the value of the reward), expectancy (belief in the ability to complete a task), and instrumentality (belief you will receive the reward if you complete the task).

Team Formation

The theories presented in Table 5.4 focus primarily on development of individuals. PMI also discusses how the team forms as a cohesive unit. A leading theory in team development was developed by Bruce Tuckman . His theory states that teams go through stages; forming, storming, norming, and performing. He later added a fifth stage, adjourning. His model is summarized in Table 5.5.

Table 5.5. Tuckman's Model on Team Formation

Stage	Description
Forming	Initial stage when team is first brought together. Team goals and individual roles are unclear. High dependence on the project manager for direction.
Storming	Team members attempt to establish themselves within the team. Cliques might form. Still some uncertainty in goals.
Norming	Roles are accepted. Consensus exists. May be social interactions outside the project.
Performing	Very clear focus. Little direction is needed from the project manager.
Adjourning	Break up of the team after completion of the project. Feelings of insecurity might exist.

Blanchard's situational leadership model, seen in Table 5.4, can also apply to teams. The four leadership styles can be used in Tuckman's four stages of development. Figure 5.1 compares these two theories.

Figure 5.1. Comparison of situational leadership and team formation.

Distributing Information

Information distribution is the task of keeping stakeholders informed. This includes communication outlined in the communication plan as well as responding to ad-hoc requests. The communication must be both timely and accurate. A project manager spends a large portion of his time communicating.

The number of communication channels is an exponential relationship. See Figure 5.2 for the formula and examples for calculating communication channels. In the example, the first team has three people (N=3), so the formula is

Figure 5.2. Communication channels.

3 x (3 - 1)/2 = 3

In the second figure , there are six team members, so the formula is

6 x (6 - 1)/2 = 15

Be able to calculate the number of communication channels given the number of team members.

Tools and Techniques for Information Distribution

The tools and techniques for information distribution include communication skills, information gathering and retrieval systems, information distribution methods, and lessons learned process.

Communication Skills

Communication skills are a part of general management skills. Communication is comprised of a sender, a receiver, and the communication channel. The sender is responsible for making the message clear and accurate. The receiver is responsible for understanding the message. Communication can include the following:

• Written and oral

• Listening and speaking

• Internal and external

• Formal and informal

• Vertical and horizontal

Issues can result if communication is not managed effectively on the project. For example, because email cannot easily convey emotions, an email could be sent with a comment meant to be sarcastic, but the receiver doesn't understand that and is upset based on the content of the email. The project manager should plan out communication to avoid these types of issues, including the best method for delivering messages based on the audience and content.

Information Gathering and Retrieval

If there are unique needs for information gathering and retrieval systems, they should be identified during planning. As an example, a project that involves subcontractors might need a document repository that exists outside the company's computer network. These tools allow anyone with permission to access documents through a common web browser, even from remote locations. A summary of possible tools is provided in Table 5.6.

Table 5.6. Information Gathering and Retrieval Tools

Tool	Description
Manual filing system	When printed documents exist, they must be filed so team members have access to them. If a war room is used, they would be stored in the war room.
Project management tools	Enterprise level project management tools store project information on servers that team members can access and update. For example, a team member can update the status of her tasks and have it automatically available to the project manager.
Electronic databases	Often databases are used to track issues and risks. The information from these databases can be used in status reporting.
Document repository	Project documents such as reports, design documents, other technical documents, and other project deliverables can be stored electronically in a document repository. The repository may be web based or use other computer filing conventions and exist on a company server or intranet, or on an extranet accessible by remote users.

Information Distribution

The project manager must ensure that information is effectively collected and distributed to project stakeholders. There are a number of methods to accomplish this:

• Face-to-face project meetings

• Virtual meetings using conference bridges, web conferencing, or video conferencing

• Distribution and filing of printed documents

• Shared access to electronically filed documents and document repository tools

• Email and fax

• Telephone and voice mail

• Access to project scheduling and other project management tools

Lessons Learned

Lessons learned are specific items captured throughout the project that can help improve either the current project or future projects. An effective lessons learned process helps the project manager and team with continuous improvement. Lessons learned sessions should be conducted throughout the project, not just at the conclusion. The end of project phases or the completion of key milestones are opportunities to conduct lessons learned meetings.

The focus of lessons learned meetings should be on both the positive and negative aspects of the project. Processes that went well should be documented as best practices. Improvements to processes that didn't go well should also be documented.

In order to be effective, the lessons learned sessions cannot be a blame session. The focus has to be on process improvement, not identifying whose fault an issue might have been.

Capturing the lessons learned is not the final step. The information has to be stored in a way that perpetuates the information. This might include a lessons learned database or other knowledge management system within the organization. The results might also result in changes to corporate policies and procedures.

Managing Project Procurement

During planning, the procurement approach was mapped out. PMI identifies two steps to be completed during execution: requesting seller responses and selecting sellers. In addition, contract administration, discussed in Chapter 6, is performed as a monitoring/controlling activity.

Request Seller Responses and Selecting Sellers

Using the procurement management plan and other procurement documents (such as the invitation for a bid, a statement of work, or a request for quotation) developed during planning, the project team seeks out potential sellers for the items being procured. request might be made via a bidder conference, advertising, or through use of a qualified seller list. The most important output from this process are proposals from potential sellers.

The bidder conference is also known as the contractor conference, vendor conference, or pre-bid conference. Understand that these terms are interchangeable.

With proposals in hand, the project team must select the seller(s) that are best able to deliver the product or service. In addition to the proposals, evaluation criteria were identified during planning that are used to evaluate the proposals.

The evaluation criteria used can include any of the following:

• Seller's overall understanding of the need

• Price

• Overall life cycle cost

• History of seller with the company

• Seller capabilities and approach including technical, managerial, and financial

• Seller's production capacity, business size, and interest in the product/service

• Seller's desire to assert intellectual property or proprietary rights on the product or service

• References

PMI lists other inputs with which you should be familiar, including the procurement management plan, procurement policies, the procurement document package, proposals, qualified seller list, and the project management plan.

There are a number of tools used during seller selection, which are summarized in Table 5.7.

Table 5.7. Seller Selection Tools

Tool	Description
Weighting system	A weighting system is used to quantify the importance to each evaluation criteria. Some criteria might be more important than others and therefore be weighted more. For example, if reliability is more important than cost, a seller with better reliability would score higher then one with better cost.
Independent estimates	Independent estimates are prepared by outside organizations or the procurement department as a check against the proposal pricing. These estimates are compared to proposals to determine if the proposals are within reason.
Screening system	A screening system is a way to set up minimum performance levels that must be achieved. Any proposals that don't meet the minimum are not considered further. This tool is effective to easily screen out some of the bids when there are a large number of bids to evaluate.
Contract negotiation	Contract negotiations are used to provide clarification on the proposals. This can become a process on its own in large procurement situations. Negotiations cover technical details, financing, pricing, payment schedules, responsibilities of both parties, change and conflict resolution processes, and rights to intellectual or proprietary property. The result of contract negotiation is the signed contract. These negotiations may be lead by someone other than the project manager.
Seller rating system	A seller rating system is used by an organization to track seller performance based on past contracts.
Expert judgment	A review team with expertise in the items being contracted use their expert judgment to evaluate the proposals.
Proposal evaluation techniques	Proposal evaluation techniques can incorporate the other tools, such as a weighting system or expert judgment, as well as the process that will be used to evaluate proposals. Often scorecards are used as part of the process. The technique includes the overall process for comparing results of screening processes, weighting results from multiple contributors, or using expert judgment to make the final decision.

The proposal evaluation technique should be able to take into account both objective and subjective criteria. The technique incorporates the weighting system for the evaluation criteria. The proposal evaluation is conducted by multiple reviewers. An example of a proposal evaluation scorecard is shown in Table 5.8. In this example, Vendor Two had the higher score and would be selected as the seller.

Table 5.8. Sample of Proposal Evaluation Scorecard

	Vendor One			Vendor Two
Criteria	Raw Score	Weight	Weighted Score	Raw Score	Weight	Weighted Score
Price	4	.7	2.8	5	.7	3.5
Delivery Schedule	3	.5	1.5	4	.5	2.0
Technical Knowledge	3	.5	1.5	2	.5	1.0
Experience	1	.3	0.3	3	.3	0.9
Total			6.2			7.4

Understand the concept of using a source selection weighting system for the exam.

The weighting system is developed based on the criteria that the organization determined was important for the project. In Table 5.8, price received the highest weight, while experience received the lowest weight. Using that scorecard, a vendor with a lower price receives a higher weighted score than a vendor with significant experience. The raw scores are determined by the individuals or team reviewing the proposals.

The weighting system can be used to either select a final seller or to prioritize the list of sellers for contract negotiations. If a satisfactory contract cannot be arranged with the seller receiving the top score, contract negotiations could begin with the next seller.

The process for selecting a seller can be repeated. An initial proposal can be evaluated to reduce the number of vendors. The vendors selected for the next round of evaluation can then be given a more detailed request for proposal (RFP) and evaluated on more criteria.