Project Management Basics for Libraries **NEW AND IMPROVED!**
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A new and improved version of my "PM Basics for Libraries" presentation, put together for the NYLA Public Libraries Section Mini Conference June 10, 2016 http://www.nyla.org/max/userfiles/uploads/PLS_Spring_Break_2016_Registration.pdf
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Project Management Basics for Libraries **NEW AND IMPROVED!**
- 18. NO MORE, NO LESS
Editor's Notes
- Introduction PMP info
- My definition of a Project, for the purposes of today’s session PMI Definition + Cooperative (mine)
- Discussion: What kinds of library activities constitute projects? What are some recent projects you have worked on? What are the hardest parts of making your projects successful? What’s different about library projects ROI measured in Value, not Profit
- What is Project Management and why do we need it? Greater chance of Project Success What defines project success? Miss one of these, and you do not have a successful project
- Resources People, equipment, material Time Task durations, dependencies, critical path Money Costs, contingencies, profit Scope Project size, goals, requirements Time, Money, Resources – “Triple Constraint” What is your Primary Project Driver? The constraint that absolutely can’t be altered? (Don’t always assume budget!)
- Given these responsibilities, What makes a good project manager? Who normally manages projects in the library? What skill set should we be working on to make ourselves better PMs? What are some challenges a PM might face in the library environment?
- Project phases Initiate – Get the idea, present business case (ROI), get sponsorship, create charter Plan – Outline entire project, taking into account ALL aspects *** most important part Execute – Do the Work Control – Monitor and correct the work (These two done simultaneously) Close – Sign off on deliverables, close procurements, release resources, lessons learned
- DON’T JUST START GIVING PEOPLE STUFF TO DO PLANNING – The most important part of the process. Do this well, and your project is much more likely to be successful. Start with the stuff here, then move on to procurement, task assignment, etc. FOLLOW THE PLAN – including plans to change the plan I always recommend a formal process with lots of documentation. Well worth the time and effort for this project, as well as future ones.
- Defining the Project If you can not clearly state WHY you are doing this project, THEN DON’T DO it This should be related back to larger organizational goals and ultimately the mission of your organization Goals and Objectives developed based on this (will talk about later) Base everything you do on the PURPOSE
- Once you have defined your Purpose and Goals Three parts of planning: WHO, WHAT, HOW (People, Product and Process) Planning of these usually happens somewhat simultaneously, so it’s a little artificial here
- PEOPLE We are a people-oriented profession, and most projects in libraries need to revolve around taking care of the stakeholder’s needs first and foremost. Complete list of who will be impacted (Or thinks they’re impacted) Modify this for every project, but keep a template on hand because your list is likely similar each time.
- Establish expectations early on – for responsibilities and communications (BOTH WAYS) Forms the basis for Communication Needs, which in turn is basis for communication plan
- COMMUNICATION PLAN = Make or break in most projects Communication is more complicated than we usually think AND MUST BE MANAGED CAREFULLY to ensure project success Take time to define: Communicating with Whom? About What? Frequency Method Special considerations Exceptions Use this to set and maintain expectations with all stakeholders
- Communication is more complicated than we often give it credit for. 5 team members = 10 communication paths 6=15 7=21 8=28 9=36 10 team members = 45 n*(N-1)/2
- Take time to define: Communicating with Whom? About What? Frequency Method Special considerations Exceptions Use this to set and maintain expectations with all stakeholders, keep project moving along
- PROCESS PRODUCT and PEOPLE lead to PROCESS Essential questions: WHAT & WHY Define these formally. Makes a good group activity with your project team. Give them a basic outline and let them flesh it out. This is HARD Back to the Purpose – Goals – Objectives – Requirements
- PRODUCT REQUIRMENTS Purpose – Formal Purpose statement saying why you’re doing the project. This should relate to the organizational mission Goals – SMART Goals specific, measurable, attainable (assignable), realistic, timely Define these carefully – they are the basis for your project Objectives – concrete “stuff” that has to happen to reach your goals – Goals are principles, objectives are steps to reach goals Requirements – Specific outcomes Example- Web design Goal: Provide intuitive access to library holdings information Objective: Make finding the catalog intuitive, Choose a user-friendly search interface, cataloging Requirements: To consider Objective 1 complete: User testing results, load times, etc Should be able to track back from Requirements to Purpose Once you outline these, the tasks (project activities) can be defined Once Requirements are established, Make a list of ALL ACTIVITIES needed to meet those requirements Activity Register is one option.
- PROCESS Development PROJECT SCOPE (Activities and Deliverables to meet Requirements) This is what you are going to DO Define clearly and have it approved. DO NO MORE OR LESS. Changes to scope have to go through a process of analysis and approval.
- SCOPE CREEP – one of the most dangerous things for your project. Libraries are customer service oriented = “Above and Beyond” But this can set a project back in schedule, budget, or resources (triple constraint) This doesn’t mean you can’t add things or make changes, but there should be a process in place for doing so. Change Management Plan is essential – it makes sure that anything added is NECESSARY TO THE OVERALL PURPOSE Keep people happy by responding positively to suggestions and keeping them for consideration in future projects
- Now we get to the part where People and Product Req’s really combine to create your PROCESS DO NOT SKIP AHEAD or you will do rework and/or cost the library money and time Form into WBS that will help organize the tasks into an efficient order of operations Priorities Dependencies Account for Time (work vs. Duration and Schedule constraints) Account for Resources
- Starting with your activities, we can morph them from a pile of things that need to get done into an outline for the most efficient way to do so with given resources….
- What could possibly go wrong??? Use the dots to mark placed on the schedule where you might for see a potential problem When in the schedule could something threaten the budget or schedule? Where might communication fail (or be extremely critical) – Make a list of these to be sure extra effort is made Where might quality get messed up and requirements missed? – List these to make sure QA is performed at these points.
- Consider these element and how they work together to impact your project Plan for all of the elements of each one, as well as how they interact. This forms the basis for a comprehensive Project Plan
- Take all of the documents you’ve amassed so far, and compile them into a single document that covers everything. This is something any stakeholder should be able to understand, any team member should be able to follow and implement.
- Depending on the project, you may need to have additional documents Discuss some of these and why you might want them included. Look at a sample template DON’T DO ANYTHING UNTIL THE BOSS SIGNS OFF ON IT
- Revise that plan over and over if you need to. Always get changes approved, though. What do we do now? Discuss Questions, concerns, other things that came up Additional time: Look at some tools for managing this (Asana, Trello, Gantter, Slack, etc)