Category: Project Management

Project Management mindset, 8 thought processes

Project Management mindset, 8 thought processes

Product and Project Management

Product and Project Management

Cost Estimating vs Cost Planning

Cost Estimating vs Cost Planning

In professional project management and construction, cost estimating and cost planning are complementary processes that occur at different stages to ensure a project remains financially viable. 

1. Cost Estimating: “What will it cost?”

Cost estimating is a technical assessment used to predict the expenditures for a project. 

  • Early Stages: Estimates might be “rough orders of magnitude” based on square footage or historical data (e.g., cost per hotel room).
  • Later Stages: Estimates become precise “tender figures” used by contractors to bid on work, factoring in current market rates for labour and materials.
  • Function: It answers the question: “Is this specific plan affordable?”. 

2. Cost Planning: “How do we stay on budget?”

Cost planning is a strategic framework that manages a project’s financial health from start to finish. 

  • Iterative Process: It is a “living document” that is updated as the project moves from concept to detailed design.
  • Allocation: It breaks down the total budget into “elemental” targets (e.g., spending £X on the foundation and £Y on finishes).
  • Control: If an estimate for one part of the project exceeds its target, the cost plan guides the team to adjust the design or find savings elsewhere to keep the overall project on track. 

Standard Professional Guidance

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) provides the New Rules of Measurement (NRM 1), which standardises how these processes work together: 

  1. Order of Cost Estimate: Establishing the initial viability of a project.
  2. Elemental Cost Plan: Breaking the estimate down into functional parts.
  3. Cost Checking: Continually comparing design changes against the cost plan to prevent overspending.
Cost Estimating vs Cost Planning

Benefits Realization Process is a structured framework

Benefits Realization Process

The benefits realization process is a structured framework used to ensure that projects and programmes deliver the tangible value and strategic outcomes intended by an organisation. Unlike traditional project management, which focuses on outputs (deliverables like a new software), benefits realization focuses on outcomes (the actual value derived, such as a 10% increase in efficiency). 

Core Stages of the Process

While various frameworks exist, most follow three or four primary stages:

  • 1. Identification: Defining the expected benefits at the start of a project. This involves aligning benefits with the organisation’s strategic goals and identifying “benefit owners” who will be accountable for their delivery.
  • 2. Planning: Developing a Benefits Realization Plan that establishes metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and timelines for when benefits will be achieved.
  • 3. Execution & Delivery: Monitoring and managing the project to ensure it stays on track to deliver the planned benefits. This includes managing risks that could negatively impact benefit delivery.
  • 4. Sustainment & Review: Occurring post-project completion, this stage focuses on ensuring benefits are fully realized and sustained over the long term. A final review is conducted to compare actual results against the original business case. 

Key Components and Tools

  • Benefits Register: A central document used to track and manage all identified benefits, their owners, and their current status.
  • Benefit Profiles: Detailed records for individual benefits, describing what they are, how they will be measured, and who is responsible for them.
  • Benefit Dependency Map (BDM): A visual tool showing the links between project outputs, organizational changes, and final strategic objectives.
  • Benefit Owners: Individuals (usually from the business side) who are accountable for ensuring a specific benefit is achieved and sustained after the project team disbands. 

Why It Matters

Organizations that mature in benefits realization management are significantly more likely to meet their original goals and business intent. It bridges the gap between high-level strategy and tactical project execution, ensuring that investments translate into actual business value. 

Benefits Realization Process is a structured framework

Project Quality Plan PQP in QA/QC Overview

Project Quality Plan PQP in QA/QC Overview

The primary purpose of a Project Quality Plan (PQP) is to define the standards, tools, and processes required to ensure a project’s deliverables are “fit for purpose” and meet all stakeholder expectations. It serves as a strategic roadmap for the project team to maintain consistent quality throughout the project lifecycle rather than treating it as an afterthought. 

Core Objectives

A PQP is designed to achieve several critical goals: 

  • Define “Quality”: Translates vague stakeholder needs into measurable criteria and specific benchmarks.
  • Prevent Defects: Establishes Quality Assurance (QA) processes to proactively “build in” quality from the start, reducing the risk of errors.
  • Detect and Correct Issues: Outlines Quality Control (QC) activities, such as testing and inspections, to identify and fix defects before they reach the customer.
  • Clarify Accountability: Assigns specific roles and responsibilities so every team member knows who is responsible for performing, checking, and approving work.
  • Ensure Compliance: Guarantees the project adheres to relevant internal policies, legal regulations, and industry standards like ISO 9001. 

Strategic Benefits

Implementing a structured quality plan provides tangible advantages for project management: 

  • Reduced Costs and Rework: By catching errors early, the team avoids expensive last-minute fixes and wasted resources.
  • Improved Efficiency: Standardised workflows and clear metrics allow the team to focus on production rather than constant troubleshooting.
  • Increased Stakeholder Trust: Providing objective evidence through audits and reports gives sponsors and clients confidence in the final outcome.
  • Continuous Improvement: The plan often includes feedback loops and lessons-learned processes to refine and enhance quality for future project phases.

Project Quality Plan PQP in QA/QC Overview

Technical Program Manager Roadmap

Technical Program Manager Roadmap

Agile Scrum Methodology Summary Breakdown Overview

Scrum is a lightweight framework within the broader Agile methodology used to manage complex work through iterative, incremental delivery. It organizes work into fixed-length cycles called sprints, typically lasting two to four weeks, to deliver a usable “increment” of value at the end of each cycle. 

Core Components (The 3-5-3 Structure)

The framework is built around three accountabilities, five events, and three artifacts. 

1. Three Accountabilities (Roles)

  • Product Owner: Represents the customer and stakeholders. They manage the Product Backlog and prioritize work to maximize the value delivered by the team.
  • Scrum Master: A servant leader who coaches the team on Scrum theory and removes impediments that block progress.
  • Developers: A cross-functional, self-managing team that does the actual work to create the product increment. 

2. Five Events (Ceremonies)

  • The Sprint: The container for all other events; a time-boxed period where work is performed.
  • Sprint Planning: The team defines what will be delivered in the sprint and how the work will be achieved.
  • Daily Scrum: A 15-minute daily check-in for developers to synchronize progress and plan the next 24 hours.
  • Sprint Review: Held at the end of the sprint to inspect the outcome with stakeholders and adapt the Product Backlog.
  • Sprint Retrospective: An internal team meeting to reflect on the process and identify improvements for the next sprint. 

3. Three Artifacts

  • Product Backlog: An ordered, evolving list of everything needed for the product.
  • Sprint Backlog: The subset of product backlog items selected for the current sprint, plus a plan for delivering them.
  • Increment: The concrete sum of all completed backlog items that meet the Definition of Done. 

The Three Pillars of Empiricism

Scrum is founded on empirical process control, which relies on: 

  1. Transparency: The process and work must be visible to everyone involved.
  2. Inspection: Frequent checks of artifacts and progress to detect variances.
  3. Adaptation: Adjusting the process or product if an inspection reveals unacceptable deviations. 

Key Values

Success with Scrum depends on the team’s commitment to five core values: Commitment, Courage, Focus, Openness, and Respect. 

Agile Scrum Methodology Summary Breakdown Overview

PRINCE2 Management Stages Overview

In PRINCE2, a project is managed through a series of management stages, which are discrete sections of a project that the Project Board authorises at specific decision points. Every PRINCE2 project must have at least two stages: an initiation stage and at least one further delivery stage. 

PRINCE2 Management Stages Overview

A detailed breakdown of these stages, aligned with the seven core PRINCE2 processes, is provided below. 

1. Starting Up a Project (SU)

This is a pre-project process designed to determine if the project is viable and worthwhile before committing significant resources. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Appointing the Executive and Project Manager.
    • Developing an Outline Business Case.
    • Creating a Project Brief which defines objectives and scope.
    • Planning the initiation stage itself. 

2. Initiating a Project (IP)

This represents the first management stage of the project. It establishes the firm foundation for the project’s execution. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Creating the Project Initiation Documentation (PID), which includes the full Business Case, Project Plan, and management strategies for risk, quality, and communication.
    • Setting up project controls and refining the project approach.
    • Securing formal approval from the Project Board to proceed. 

3. Directing a Project (DP)

This is an ongoing process that spans the entire project lifecycle, focusing on high-level decision-making by the Project Board. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Authorising the project to start and approving each subsequent stage.
    • Giving ad hoc direction and advice to the Project Manager.
    • Making the final “stop/proceed” decisions at stage boundaries.

4. Controlling a Stage (CS)

This covers the day-to-day management of each delivery stage by the Project Manager. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Assigning work to teams via Work Packages.
    • Monitoring progress and managing risks and issues.
    • Reporting status to the Project Board through Highlight Reports. 

5. Managing Product Delivery (MP)

This process manages the link between the Project Manager and the Team Managers who are actually building the products. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Teams accepting and executing Work Packages.
    • Ensuring work meets the specified quality standards.
    • Delivering completed and tested products back to the Project Manager. 

6. Managing a Stage Boundary (SB)

This occurs at the end of each stage (except the final one) to help the Project Board decide whether to continue. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Reporting on the performance of the current stage.
    • Creating a detailed Stage Plan for the next stage.
    • Updating the overall Project Plan and Business Case with the latest information. 

7. Closing a Project (CP)

This is the final part of the last management stage, ensuring the project is shut down in a controlled manner. 

  • Key Activities:
    • Confirming all products have been accepted by the customer.
    • Capturing Lessons Learned for future projects.
    • Preparing an End Project Report to evaluate performance against the original plan.

PRINCE2 Management Stages Overview