2.05 - Programme and Project Management - Summary

Definitions

Project Manager

Has line responsibility for planning and control of activities in the project team and its sub-contractors. S/he is responsible for achievement of time milestones and working to an agreed budget. S/he ensures that a specification is agreed with the customer and keeps agreed changes up-to-date and commercially viable (whether the customer is internal or external).

Programmes Manager

Provides a best practice support role and an independent quality of performance audit role for all projects including an escalation procedure up to the business executive committee against agreed criteria and when key milestone achievement is in danger, ensure early action. S/he is involved in the start-up of all projects to ensure that best practices, controls, and procedures are used. Audits project reviews, assists with, and audits, recovery programmes for risk or milestone slippage. Provides single point executive view for all important projects as well as new product projects. Develops and maintains a master plan of all projects together with the consolidated resource plans.

Project Structure

• A project is structured into a set of work packages comprised of sets of tasks.
• All work packages require terms of reference (TOR), an agreed specification with deliverables, measures of performance and an owner.
• Work packages have two categories of ownership
  • Those managed within the full time project team
  • Those that are the responsibility of the project manager and his / her team and are subcontracted against agreed time and cost milestones to:-
    • External contractors
    • Internal specialist contractors, for example, specialist in-house support departments or groups

• Runners, repeaters and strangers classification for projects and or work packages must be done at project initiation.

Matrix Management

The allocation of staff from other business unit areas to temporary natural groups or project task force teams requires staff performance appraisals to be carried out by two people:

• The Project manager
• The resource line manager

Note: Resource managers are often responsible for staff training, planning, developing skills and career / experience recording and planning.

Typically, a matrix structure will exist within a business with project teams formed from representatives of different specialist functions

Important Best Practice Project Management Principles

• Classify work projects and work packages into runners, repeaters and strangers (see guide 2.04) and allocate ownership.
• Written signed-off specifications and terms of reference (see guide 2.07) or statement of work for all projects and work packages
• Formalised project planning structures and visible plans including plan cascades
• Forward justification and appraisal of projects
• Install effective organisation with visible ownership of each work package
• Full-time teams with good formalised resource management
• Formal project launch with team building and training
• Regular time and cost milestone reports
• Standard procedures for hazard escalation and recovery planning
• Formal project completions, handover, sign-off and review reports
• Use standard planning and reporting systems, computer based but with minimum bureaucracy
• Involve the customer in key meetings. Involve the sub-contractors in key meetings.
• Involve both when hazards threaten – communicate!
• Use Potential Problems Analysis (see guide 2.14) to anticipate and plan for problems and risks.

Notes:

“Good luck is the residue of careful planning and design”

Vince Lombardy Football Coach