Planning


The Planning phase of a project is where a project manager can utilize guidance from the PMBOK in order to professionally control the overall planning of the project. This means learning what documents are needed as well as forming a cohesive project plan.

Because this phase is so important, we are going to look at it several times in the book. The other times will be in relationship to knowledge areas. In this section, we are going to examine some key documents you need to produce and the relationship between them. Without these key planning documents, it is almost impossible for a project manager to maintain control over time. It's possible to leave out a few of the documents we are going to discuss, but we will focus on the ones that absolutely, positively must be done for project success. These are also the ones that are most commonly covered on the exam, and you will see why as we go through this chapter.

Scope Statement

The Charter is the first major document that is produced in the Initiation phase. After the Charter, the next important document in sequence is the Scope Statement. According to the PMBOK, "Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully." The key phrase in this definition is meant to ensure that you aren't adding anything to the project that shouldn't be there. When the definition says, "only the work required," it means that you as the project manager know the boundaries of the project, and in fact the scope of the project. The process is called Project Scope Management; the major document is the Scope Statement.

You should note that there are actually two types of scope: product scope and project scope. Product scope determines the features and functions of the output of the project. Project scope determines the work to be done in order to deliver that output. The exam will have questions on both, so it is necessary to have these two clear in your mind before you take it.

Q.

______ scope determines the features and functions of the output of the project.

 

A.

Management

 

B.

Control

 

C.

Project

 

D.

Product


The answer is D. The Product Scope is written confirmation of what the output of the project is going to be. It then shows the features and functions, or in other words, the scope of the output.

And:

Q.

The work that needs to be done to produce a product/service is included in the:

 

A.

Execution Plan

 

B.

Product Scope

 

C.

Project Scope

 

D.

SOW


The answer is C. Be sure to be able to differentiate between Product Scope and Project Scope. One describes the features and functions (Product Scope), and one defines the work that must be done for the project to be completed (Project Scope).

Make sure you know the difference between the two; they will be on the exam.

In the Planning phase, you begin with a scope statement that is built from the original Charter. You will have a list of high-level deliverables that will determine whether you have successfully completed the project. PMBOK 3rd edition defines a deliverable as "any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that must be produced to complete a process, phase, or project." You need to know this definition for the exam. The key to this particular phase is that there must be a single final deliverable that signifies that the project is finished. Without this, the project can go on interminably. This is discussed at length in Chapter 5, "Control and Closing."

It's important to note that there are several different levels of deliverables. In a project lasting for six months, you may find that you have deliverables for each week or for every two weeks. Certainly you do not want to have only one big deliverable for the project because you can't manage six months of time without something against which to measure progress. So you should always manage deliverablesthat is, you should be focusing on intermediate deliverables that you can manage and measure. Doing this will make it easier on you as the project manager, and easier on the sponsor and the project team as well.

Q.

The tangible measurement or outcome that must be produced to complete a part of a project or the project itself is called a:

 

A.

Work Statement

 

B.

RFP

 

C.

Deliverable

 

D.

Project Plan


The answer is C. Having deliverables formally stated throughout the project is one of the traits of a well-run project.

Q.

A description of the final deliverable is one of the best ways to make sure that you are in control of the project in the ________ phase.

 

A.

Initiation

 

B.

Closing

 

C.

Execution

 

D.

Planning


The answer is B. You should formally describe the final deliverable of the project at the beginning of the project. This way, there is formal acceptance of the final output of the project, and you can measure the project's progress against that goal.

The Scope Statement describes what the final output of the project will be, and just as importantly, it states what will be left out. A common mistake for first-time project managers is to accept changes to the scope after it has been finalized and put under version control. What happens in this case is known as Scope Creep. We will discuss this further in Chapter 4, "Execution and Control," but it's never too early to make sure that you are working only on the product or service that was defined first in the Charter and again in the Scope Statement. The most common mistake is to accept small changes in the scope without changing the version number. You will soon find that just a few small changes will add up to make a completely different project output. Bewareyou won't be the first project manager to be approached by management and asked if you would be willing to make "just a small change" in the scope. Do not do it.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Of all the documents used in project management, none is more important than the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It is this document that determines how you will manage all the aspects of the project, and this document is absolutely necessary if you want to be a professional project manager.

The WBS comes after the Scope Statement, and it "decomposes" (sic) the scope statement into tasks that form the basis for all the work on the project. The breakdown structure actually takes the larger sections of a project and breaks them into smaller tasks so that the project manager can control and manage the project.

You can do a WBS with one of two methods. The first method is to use yellow sticky notes that are given to the team members. The project team meets in a room and begins by putting together a tree-like diagram. Each level of the diagram represents more detail about the task above it. The visuals vary as the breakdown structures vary, but in general it looks something like Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1. A task structure diagram.


This is a very simple WBS for painting a room. The second task level begins to break down what the project manager will have to do to get the room painted. To more clearly establish the project needs, you will probably need breakdowns in the second level, too. For instance, under the task "Prep Walls," you could have the subtasks to "Clean Walls," "Sand Walls," and "Apply Primer."

The more detail you have for project tasks, the better off you are. I have worked with dozens, even hundreds of different people who prepared a WBS for a given project. One thing you should not do is to get too detailed. Usually four or five levels of tasks are sufficient to give the project manager a complete view of the work to be done. Detail beyond this level is usually not helpful. Using common sense is a good idea. Also using someone who has done WBS before can be helpful.

Remember that the WBS is written by the team and comes after the scope statement is delivered to the team. In the systems approach that is used in PMBOK, 3rd edition, the place where a scope statement is constructed is in section 5.1, titled "Scope Planning." The section where the WBS is detailed is in section 5.2, titled "Scope Definition." The section where major stakeholders accept the WBS is section 5.4, titled "Scope Verification." And finally, for the scope process, the last section, numbered 5.5, is "Scope Change Control." We will deal with these in more detail in the knowledge area section of this review book.

Q.

The Work Breakdown Structure is done by:

 

A.

The Sponsor

 

B.

Senior Management

 

C.

The Project Manager

 

D.

The Project team


The correct answer, D, indicates that the building of the WBS is an important part of the initial bringing together of your project team. This is the first action that the team can complete together and is the basis for building a team on the project.

Q.

The WBS is done during Scope Definition; Scope Definition comes between:

 

A.

Scope Planning and Scope Change Control

 

B.

Scope Verification and Scope Change Control

 

C.

Scope Planning and Scope Verification

 

D.

Scope Management and Scope Planning


The answer is C. Scope Planning and Scope Verification are sections that you will see in the PMBOK. It is not necessary to memorize all of the sections, but there are ones that often are asked about on the exam. We will note those. We will also look at the knowledge areas using the systems explanations in the PMBOK so that you will be familiar with them as they pertain to the exam.

There are several different ways to develop the WBS with your team. One of the most common is to use yellow sticky notes on a board to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. Make people write down their ideas for tasks to be included in the WBS and get them up on the board. It doesn't matter at first pass how right or wrong the WBS is. You are certainly going to make several versions before putting the WBS under version control, so at the beginning, let everyone have input. If one dominant person is controlling the conversation, you can ask everyone to write down their ideas on the notes, put them up on the board in silence, and only then allow people to critique ideas. By doing this, everyone has an equal chance of showing their concepts about the project and the tasks in which they will be involved.

Here are the key parts so far of developing a WBS:

  • Everyone is involved.

  • No one person dominates.

  • The PM doesn't dominate but rather leads the group through the task at hand.

  • There are no bad ideas at the beginning.

  • In order to make sure tasks do not slip through the cracks, you need to get everyone thinking about their own tasks.

  • Doing this one time isn't enough.

This last point is extremely important. Some first-time PMs go through the WBS process with the team once and believe they have a complete, working WBS. This is usually not true, particularly if the project team hasn't worked together before. Many times, only the major tasks are identified. It may take several days until all of the subtasks are recognized and remembered. A project team with many veterans will probably be able to do a WBS in a shorter period than a team doing something like this for the first time.

Q.

Most projects need ________ meeting(s) to do a good WBS.

 

A.

One

 

B.

Multiple

 

C.

Long

 

D.

Interactive


The answer is B. It is very rare that a good WBS can be written in one meeting. I have found it is often best to give the team some time to think about the WBS after the first meeting. There are often omissions and misunderstandings that clear up with follow-up meetings.

One of the techniques is to develop the WBS on a whiteboard with the team and then let it sit for a day or two. Perhaps even have a scribe write out what is on the board and then take down the WBS. This means that any new ideas about tasks will be allowed to come out at the next meeting. Remember that each project is unique, so it is extremely important to think and rethink those tasks that will be unique to the project at hand. If everything on your new project is the same as one before it, you do not have a project at all. It is the changes that make the project a project.

Another major consideration is the final format of your WBS. People on the team should be able to see the WBS and request changes to it, and it should be portable enough so that people do not have to walk to the same place to look at it. The answer to this question is simple.

Microsoft Project is the program of choice for most people working on a breakdown structure. Other excellent ones are available for engineering and construction, such as Primavera. For the standard practicing PM, though, MS Project is the best choice.

So after you have had your team together to create a WBS and put it up on the board, the scribe needs to translate that into MS Project, which isn't a very hard task. Because this is electronic, you can email it to all of the team, changes can be recorded, and version control can be maintained. Not only can version control be maintainedit must be.

We will look at this topic again when we cover the Time knowledge area, but here are some questions that will appear on the test.

Q.

A good WBS:

 

A.

Helps pull the team together

 

B.

Is a roadmap for the project

 

C.

Defines the scope

 

D.

All of the above


The answer is D. There are multiple uses for a WBS, and all of them help a project manager gain control of his or her project and manage it professionally.

Q.

Getting the WBS done is the responsibility of:

 

A.

Senior Management

 

B.

The Project Team

 

C.

The Project Manager

 

D.

The Sponsor


The answer is C. Although the project team helps do the WBS, the responsibility for getting it done lies with the project manager.

In the Planning phase of a project, the single major deliverable is the project plan. This will be discussed in the chapters on the knowledge areas because the project plan includes: Schedule, budget, quality plan, procurement plan, risk management plan, change control plan, communication plan, HR plan, and others that will be discussed within the knowledge sections of this book.

The important first parts of planning are to have a clear scope statement and a comprehensive WBS. With these two documents you can begin to control how the project is to be managed and have the most important information about the project in front of you.

Here are some other questions to be considered.

Q.

The project team is created in the ________ phase.

 

A.

Initiation

 

B.

Control

 

C.

Execution

 

D.

Planning


The answer is D. Although you do not always have everyone on the project team participating on the planning, the sooner the team members can be brought together, the better for the project.

Q.

The document that shows the tasks needed to complete the project in detail is the:

 

A.

Statement of Work

 

B.

Schedule

 

C.

WBS

 

D.

Network diagram


The answer is C. This is your road map and your bible. Failure to do a WBS almost always means a schedule failure of some sort. The detail in the WBS lets you manage a project professionally.

Q.

The single most important position for completing a project successfully is the:

 

A.

President of the company

 

B.

Sponsor

 

C.

Project Manager

 

D.

Scribe


The answer is C. The default answer for PMI is almost always the project manager. If you see it on the test, use it as the answer. Project managers are apparently wondrous people who can do just about anything. Hooray for project managers!

One key for preparing for the test:

Do not just learn the answers to questions; learn what the questions mean.

Most of the questions on the test will look something like the questions you see in this book, but they are not going to be exactly the same. If you know the material, you will be able to do very well on the test. Study the material, not the questions.

In the next chapter, we will look at different issues concerning the Planning and Execution phases of projects. Remember, we will look at projects and questions for the exam from various perspectives. By the time you finish this book, you should be able to walk in and pass the test. Let's keep going.



Passing the PMP Exam. How to Take It and Pass It
Passing the PMP Exam: How to Take It and Pass It: How to Take It and Pass It
ISBN: 0131860070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 167
Authors: Rudd McGary

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