项目管理

Why are people spending more work time on projects?With increased international competition, customers are demanding to have their products and services developed and delivered better, faster, and cheaper. Since project management techniques are designed to manage such factors as scope, quality, cost and schedule, they are ideally suited to this purpose.There are though a number of tradeoffs which may need to be made when managing a project. These include time but may also involve tradeoffs being made among the scope (size), quality (acceptability of the results), cost, and schedule.What does bottom-up estimating involve?Bottom-up estimating is a method of estimating a component of work. The work is decomposed into more detail. An estimate is prepared of what is needed to meet the requirements of each of lower, more detailed pieces of work, and these estimates are then aggregated into a total quantity for the project. For a bottom-up estimate, the WBS needs to be broken down to the most detailed level and the specifications need to be very clear. In the elevator example, bottom-up estimates were created in Kansas City. Details to be estimated included exactly how many buttons the control panel had; exactly what kind of high fixtures were mounted in the ceiling, what kind of finish was requested, and so on. The cost was estimated for each item. For example, for the process of installing the guide rail, first there was a small amount of time, such as one hour, to set up or get everything in place to do this step. Then, it took a certain fraction of an hour of labor to secure each foot of the rail into position. A material charge was incurred for the guide rails themselves and the fasteners that held them in place. The cost of supervision was charged for the foreperson that ensured work was scheduled and performed properly. Finally, over costs were allocated to each of fixed costs.Bottom-up estimating is the most detailed, time-consuming, and potentially accurate way to estimate. Most projects use this method eventually to serve as a basis for estimating cash flow needs and for controlling the project. One important caution on bottom-up estimating is to ensure that every item is included. If a portion of the project is left out, that portion is underestimated by 100 percent.Why is a risk register so important in project?Risk register is the primary output of risk identification. It is a living document with much information regarding risks. A risk register should be maintained, detailing all identified risks, responsibilities, actions required and decisions made. Keep the risk register updated with any results from risk response planning. The purpose of a risk register is to record details of all risks that have been identified, together with their analysis and plans for how those risks are to be treated. The risk register is an important component of the overall risk management framework. It will include ALL risks - not just operational risks, and can be focused either on the enterprise as a whole, or on specific projects where it is used to maintain the register of project risks over the lifetime of the project.What does the process of outsourcing involve?Many times if all of the necessary resources cannot be found within the organization, additional resources are hired from outside. The entire project can be outsourced or some activities on it can be outsourced. Outsourcing isn’t a simple way to have a project done. The resource needs, schedule, clear expectations regarding time frames and deliverables must be communicated if outsourcing is to succeed.Step 1: The measure of outsourcing your company whether it is meaningful. In analyzing the need for your stage of outsourcing, the company's existing business to do a benchmark survey to determine the extent to which they comply with industry standards.Step 2: Make sure the partners. When you start your operations or a specific part of the project outsourcing, you must be straightforward and honest with your team and discussion. You should also consider the introduction of a third-party outsourcing specialist to help you do choose to carry out negotiations.Step 3: contract negotiations. Keep in mind three key elements of the contract negotiations: the outset of the contract termination of a good planning; outsourcing partners must also be profitable; negotiations based on cost, the final decision, focus on quality and people. Needless to say, this stage is the drafting of all parties to abide by the unbreakable service agreement.Step 4: maintain cooperative relations soundly. To make each of the participants are happy to accept outsourcing projects or services and frank, considering the introduction of an independent company to carry out quality assessment. Also, do not forget even if you are outsourcing, you're still its owner. As CIO, you must always process supervision, project sequencing and overall direction to take full responsibility.The strategic planning processIn the course of normal business activity, a company’s leadership p erforms strategic planning to set direction in line with the organization’s vision, mission, goals and objectives. This strategic planning process generally features:Strategic analysis–analyze strengths and weaknesses within the organization and opportunities and threats external to the organization. Guiding principles–create statements of organizational vision,mission, purpose and/or values to guide decision-making. Strategic objectives– often annual are planning to establish short and long term results that will support guiding principles. Flow-down objectives –optional for large or complex organizations to ensure that appropriate goals are established. Portfolio alignment– selecting a set of projects to support organizations’ goals.When defining scope, why is it important to clarify objectives? Scope Planning is a statement encompassing the project justification, the deliverables, and the objectives. The primary purpose of project scope management is to ensure that all the required work and only the required work is performed to complete the project successfully. This is accomplished by defining and controlling what is included in the project and what is not. Scope planning is the process of creating a project scope management plan. Scope planning = product scope + project scopeScope definition is an important part of project planning because all other planning is based upon the project scope. While the requirements collected represent the customers’ statement of what they need, the defined scope is the project team’s response—asking the customer, ―if we provide this, will it solve your problem?‖ it is impossible to estimate how much a will cost, how many workers will be needed, how long a project will take, what risks are involved, or what quality standards will be involved without first understanding what the project includes.Scope definition also is vital in preventing scope creep. Scope creep happens for two common reasons. First, if the scopes not clearly defined and agree upon, it is easy to add to the project work without realizing that more time and money will be required. Second, sometimes when a project is going well, a customer is so excited that he or she asks an innocent-sounding question：can the project output also do…..? The pe rson performing the project work is often flattered and agrees with understanding the implications. In contemporary business, pleasing the customer is desirable. However, the best time to gain customer understanding is when the project team id defining the scope—not while working to implement it.Why is knowledge management important?If a company does extensive project work and uses project management capability as an organizational strength, it is important to keep developing expertise in it. One way to develop and expand expertise is to capture and reuse the knowledge developed. Knowledge is ―a conclusion drawn from information after it is linked to other information and compared to what is already known.‖ In order to increase knowledge and successfu l use and reapplication of it, organizations often create a lessons learned knowledge base.For this database to be useful, it is important to communicate project successes and failures from all aspects of the project process. Captured throughout the life of the project, recommendations to improve future performance can be based on technical, managerial, and process aspects of the project. In addition, part of the project closeout process should include facilitating a lessons earned session for the entire project, especially on unsuccessful projects.The process of project management also consists of a number of various and related knowledge and skills areas. Scope management–determining all the work that is necessary for project completion; Time management–defining, sequencing, and estimating duration, and resourcing work activities as well as developing and controlling the schedule; Cost management –planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs; Quality management–involving quality planning, assurance, and control; Human Resource management –acquiring, developing, and managing the project team; Communications management – generating, collecting, disseminating, storing, and disposing of timely and appropriate project information; Risk management – risk identification, analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control; Procurement management–purchasing or acquiring product and services as well as contract management; Integration management–unifying and coordinating the other knowledge areas by creating and using tools such as charters, project plans, and change control.Project roles: Project executive, managerial and associate rolesThere are three project executive level roles: the steering team, the chief projects officer, and the project sponsor.The four project managerial level roles are the project manager, functional manager, facilitator, and senior customer representative.The project manager: is directly accountable for the project results, schedule, and budget; is the main communicator; and often must get things done through the power of influence since his or her formal power may be limited. The functional managers are section, division or department heads that determine how the work of the project gets accomplished; often supervise that work and often negotiate with the project manager regarding which workers are assigned to the project. A facilitator is sometimes assigned to complex or controversial projects to assist the project manager with the process of running meetings and making decisions. The senior customer representative ensures that the needs and wants of the various constituents in the customer’s organization are identified and prioritized and that project progress and decisions continually support the cust omer’s desires. Senior Customer Representative represents the project customer – to whom the outcomes of the project are handed over to at completion of the project.The two associate level project roles are core team members and subject matter experts. Core team members are assigned to the project for its entire duration if possible and jointly make decisions with the project manager. Subject matter experts are brought in as needed to help with specific project activities.Again, it is important to understand though that there is a difference between the two roles.Core team members are ideally assigned to the project for its entire duration. They work with the project manager to make decisions, perform hands-on work, and sometimes supervise the work of subject matter experts. However, subject matter experts are brought onto the project when needed to perform specific activities. They are not normally involved in making project-wide decisions or in supervising the work of others.A significant challenge for global managers in the management of projects both domestically and worldwide is that it requires that they possess both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills.These soft skills may include communication and leadership – often seeking to understand various stakeholders’ needs and persuading people to do work. In addition, projects are often conducted within an interdisciplinary situation in which no one person knows everything and the project manager often lacks or does not have the formal authority or power within the company to order people to perform.In terms of hard skills needed in managing projects, these skills can include risk analysis, quality control, scheduling, and budgeting work. Most projects have many ‘unknowns’ risks. Projects are subject to quality expectations –often formal standards, but at least expectations. And, of course, it goes without saying that projects almost always have limits of time and money!The project life cycleProject life cycles provide a guiding point for determining the scope and resource requirements of specific projects. By outlining a project’s life cycle, many challenges and potential pitfalls can be pinpointed. More generally, an understanding of project life cycles lends itself to a better understanding of how projects function within an organization and how they differ from conventional forms of corporate process.There have been identified a number of features/issues that pertain to each stage of the project life cycle. These are as follows: Initiating– when a project is proposed, planned at a high level, and key participants commit to it in broad terms; Planning–starts after the initial commitment, includes detailed planning, and ends when all stakeholders accept the entire detailed plan; Executing–includes authorizing, executing, monitoring, and controlling work until the customer accepts the project deliverables; and Closing – all activities after customer acceptance to ensure project is completed, lessons are learned, resources are reassigned, and contributions are recognized.What is a project? How are projects different from ongoing operations?A project is an endeavor that requires an organized set of work efforts that are planned in a level of detail that is progressively elaborated as more information is discovered. Projects are subject to limitations of time and resources such as money and people.The enterprise internal research work can be divided into two parts: one is the daily operation, is a project. The daily operation and project the main difference between: daily operation is continuous and repetitive, and the project is one-time and unique. The basic characteristics of project performance in: 1, it has a clear goal. Each project is a particular project products, is for a clear goals and set up. 2, it is by a series of interrelated tasks to form. 3, the entire project has a finite resource. For example, time and manpower cost, etc. 4, project is a one-off and uniqueness of activities. It has clear start and end time with makeshift.。