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Program / Project Management
Table of Contents - Detailed Version
My project management approach
Project management objectives
Scope of my project management activities
Project management deliverables
Approach to managing project activities
Project development phases
Project management key aspects
Project monitoring and control – multiple levels
Project quality assurance activities
Project management tools
Acting in the dual capacity for technical leadership of product development / project management
§ My project management approach
× To envision the entire project from start to finish and to have the ability to ensure that this vision is realized.
§ Project management objectives
× Perform and deliver project under contract to agreed customer specifications within defined constraints (performance / quality; time / schedule; costs), as recorded in the agreed Project Management Plan (PMP).
× Optimize allocation and integration of inputs / resources (money, people, material, energy, space, provisions, communication, etc.) needed to meet pre-defined objectives.
× Provide on-going assurance that the quality is according to agreed specifications, and that execution is on-track, on-time, and within budget, and that, above all, customer satisfaction can be realized.
§ Scope of my project management activities
× Analysis and design of objectives and events.
× Planning the work according to the objectives.
× Assessing and controlling risk (Risk management).
× Estimating resources.
× Allocation of resources.
× Organizing the work.
× Acquiring human and material resources.
× Assigning tasks.
× Directing activities.
× Controlling project execution.
× Tracking and reporting progress (Management information system).
× Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved.
× Defining the products of the project.
× Forecasting future trends in the project.
× Quality management.
× Issues management.
× Issue resolution.
× Defect prevention.
× Identifying, managing and controlling changes (Configuration management).
× Project closure (and project debrief).
× Communicating to stakeholders.
× Consulting and training services.
× Coordination across all involved major functions and for all parameters.
§ Project management deliverables – include
× Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule.
× Customer requirements specifications.
× Feasibility study.
× Project management plan / project initiation form.
× Quality assurance plan and assignment.
× Work breakdown structure.
× Risk breakdown structure / risk management plan.
× Project change (update) control plan / project configuration management.
× Issue log.
× Action item list.
× Acceptance test specifications / acceptance test report.
× Production instructions.
× Data sheets.
× Resource management plan.
× Project schedule.
× Status reports.
× Responsibility assignment matrix.
× Performance evaluation.
× Release notes.
× Support material, marketing support material.
× Project debrief report.
× Project process audit report.
× Database of lessons learned.
§ Approach to managing project activities
× Within recognized project development phases, considered to be sequentially connected through gates to be reached / milestone criteria to be passed for entering into the next development phase
× To provide better management control and appropriate links to the ongoing operations
§ Project development phases
× Concept / feasibility (project initiation), to include a cohesive plan, encompassing the following areas
› Study analyzing the business needs in measurable goals.
› Outline project management plan.
› Determination of the customer requirements specifications / Technical feasibility study.
› Equipment requirement.
› Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget.
› Select stake holders, including users and support personnel for the project.
› Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables and schedule.
× Specification and planning, including milestone passing criteria / deliverables, such as:
› Approved Project Management Plan (PMP) and associated Quality Assurance Plan.
› Updated project charter.
› Functional requirements specifications.
× Design and implementation (execution of the project activities) including passing criteria / deliverables
› Updated Project Management Plan / Project Charter.
› Detailed design specifications, prototype design and construction, acceptance test specifications.
× Verification and validation / preproduction, including milestone passing criteria / deliverables, such as:
› Updated PMP / Project Charter.
› Acceptance test report.
› Production instructions.
› Data sheets.
× Release preparation phase including preparing the product delivery to the customers and transfer of responsibilities, including milestone passing criteria / deliverables such as:
› Updated PMP / Project Charter.
› Support material / marketing support material.
› Product audit reports.
× Closure phase, including evaluation of the project for objective performance figures and future reference, including milestone passing criteria / deliverables, such as:
› Project debrief report
› Project process audit report
› Customer satisfaction review
§ Project management key aspects
× Project planning
› Laid down in writing in the approved Project Management Plan (PMP / baseline) along with quality assurance planning, and assignment – both under configuration control. The PMP considers:
- How the project will be managed and controlled.
- What interfacing relationships are necessary.
- How the project organization should be structured.
- What the goals, objectives and deliverables are.
× Project and product lifecycle
› Project lifecycle: describing the overall phasing of the project, determining gates, milestones and key deliverables over time
- Milestone is a marker with pre-defied passing criteria, indicating a lifecycle progress point, where deliverables are made / received.
- Gate is a point in time where the business decision is made to continue with the project into the next phase.
› Product lifecycle: aligned with the project lifecycle phases
- Defines phases and applicable checkpoints intended for a specific development point.
- Without a proper view of the product lifecycle, project planning and project monitoring and control are not effective.
× Project monitoring and control
› To assure that the project is on-track, on-time, and within budget.
› To maintain close information flow, to have continual risk assessment and progress tracking during the life of the project. The tracking information is used to define and undertake corrective action when necessary,
- Along with the revision of the PMP and Project Charter.
› Directed at measuring the three fundamental project parameters
- Schedule, in terms of lead time and effort.
- Performance, in terms of quality of deliverables ( = product quality).
- Costs, in terms of man-labour expenses, and other costs.
× Project quality assurance in compliance with the QA plan
› To ensure that the product is developed in compliance with the relevant processes and standards.
› To guard the quality of the processes used in the project and assure that the associated process standards and procedures are adhered to.
§ Project monitoring and control – multiple levels
× At gate / milestone passing points (project lifecycle) through gate reviews, to cover compliance of design with requirements for function, quality and reliability, and other fitness-for-use parameters.
× At defined checkpoints (product lifecycle) in-between gates and milestones, for intermediate tracking and control, through progress meetings, for risk assessments and progress tracking, based on required deliverables.
× In-between checkpoints through regular project meetings of project / product manager with project teams, to discuss / resolve technical problems / project issues, and track / support individual daily activities of project members (mentoring and performance coaching).
§ Project quality assurance activities
× Project / product quality assurance
› To assure, on an ongoing basis, project execution in compliance with the agreed, relevant processes and or standards, including Project Management Plan (PMP) and Quality Assurance Plan, involving
- Ongoing intrinsic quality assurance, including progress meetings at checkpoints or at moments in time, for immediate tracking and control, feedback, corrective action / verification.
- Independent pre-gate audits to check correctness of the reported status of each project deliverable at a gate.
- Independent project process audit, at least performed in the closure phase of the project, to check that a product is developed in compliance to the relevant processes and/or standards that have been set, and including any additions or deviations described in the PMP.
- Providing client with access to information of all sorts including audit / progress / test reports.
- Project Assurance to upper management and stakeholders through executive reports on a regular basis.
× Project / product assurance coordination
› Across all involved major functions and for all parameters, so that the overall risk of failure can be reduced.
§ Project management tools – include:
× Cause and effect charts.
× Lifecycle models, incl. V-shape, waterfall.
× PERT charts.
× Gantt charts.
× Run charts.
× Value engineering / cost - effectiveness concept.
× Project management software packages.
§ Acting in the dual capacity for technical leadership of product development, and project management
× Acquiring material resources, including
› Design, procurement, setting-up of product / process measuring and test equipment (QIE).
- Planning for product effectiveness parameters of the QIE, such as
ê Reliability, maintainability, accuracy and precision, operating instructions and training of personnel.
× Quality management, including
› Establishment of quality and reliability program requirements for suppliers, including supplier evaluation and qualification programs.
› Development of QA plans and planning the activities of the designated resources for QA.
› Improvement of effectiveness of individual designers: hands-on, mentoring, training sessions. Subjects include:
- Use of the relevant basic reliability models, formulas and procedures. Quantification of reliability.
- Concept of process capability, as an input in the setting of tolerances through improving the designer’s understanding of the relationship of process variables to product results.
- Problem-solving methodology, including 8D approach.
× Controlling project execution, including
› Project monitoring, control and quality assurance.
› First line project process support.
- Consultancy and coaching with regard to process understanding, interpretation and application.
› Review of project management processes at gates and milestones.
× Tracking and reporting progress
× Issues management. Issue resolution. Defect prevention, including
› Technical issue resolution throughout product development, spanning device design, characterization / testing, design realization including growth, processing and process certification and control, and with
- Intensive focus on prevention and correction of defects, on quality improvement, and highly qualified people.
› Investigations, hands-on, of issues in manufacturing, measurement and testing.
› Analysis of chronic quality problems, reliability analysis, data collection and analysis.
› Analysis of QA and manufacturing data to uncover needs for corrective actions.
› Troubleshooting.
› Analysis of costs of poor quality. Identification of major opportunities for improvement.
× Configuration management, including
› Conducting the function of engineering change management.
- Investigation of producibility problems. Failure analysis. Generation of corrective or product improvement design changes.
› Project management deliverables.
× Coordination across all involved major functions and for all parameters, including
› Coordination for control:
- Setting up numerous feedback loops and alarm systems for detecting quality deficiencies.
› Quality / reliability assurance coordination.
› Coordination of critical programs to be established, such as:
- Reliability engineering program.
- Manufacturing data system, adequate to report defects and yields, or a
- Quality assurance failure analysis system.
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