Do you have a project to complete?

In the community?
In a club?
At home?
At church?
Are you uncertain where to start?
Will you know when
you are successful?

Project Management

PMI Educational Foundation SkillsLife

“Lighting the Lamp of Knowledge”
® “Empowering the future of project management” ®

www.pmi.org/pmief
This is confidential and propriatary information and is property of The PMI Educational Foundation.
For
© 2006 PMI Educational Foundation. All rights reserved.

This short course will provide you with tools and techniques to help
The “PMI Educational Foundation logo” and “Empowering the future of project management” are registered trademarks of the
PMI Educational Foundation, Inc.

you work effectively. Simply follow the steps as outlined in this

“PMI” and the PMI logo are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

document and work with your team to manage activities and

expectations.A basic understanding of project management concepts
will help your team effectively create a plan, organize activities and
train individuals to complete simple to very complex projects. Learn
how to develop skills to become a great project manager leading
successful projects.
PMI Educational Foundation
Educational Enrichment Program
Project Management Skills For Life
fe Training Booklet fe
Li Version 6.0 Li
For For 3
Project Management Skills 015-016-2005 Project Management Skills
 Table of Contents

What is Project Management?.......................................... 4

What is a project?........................................................ 4
What makes each of these examples a project?.................... 5
Exercise 1............................................................ 5
What is a Project Manager?............................................. 5
®

PMI Educational Foundation What is a Stakeholder?................................................... 6

Four Campus Boulevard What is a Sponsor?........................................................ 6
Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA Who are the Team Members?........................................... 7
Tel: +1-(610)-356-4600 x.1128
Project Management Process Groups ................................. 8
Fax: +1-(610)-356-0357
E-mail: [email protected] 1. Initiating ................................................................ 9
Internet: www.pmi.org/pmief Exercise 2 ........................................................... 11
2. Planning................................................................. 12
© 2006 PMI Educational Foundation
Project Scope....................................................... 13
Project Checklist................................................... 13
Project Schedule................................................... 13
Project Quality...................................................... 16
Project Communications.......................................... 16
Project Risks........................................................ 17
Project Procurement .............................................. 17
3. Executing ............................................................... 18
4. Monitoring & Controlling............................................. 21
Exercise 3 ........................................................... 22
5. Closing................................................................... 23
Lessons Learned.................................................... 23
Final Work........................................................... 24
Contract Closeout ................................................. 24
Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate! .............................. 24
Summary & Review of the Manual .................................... 25
Worksheets................................................................. 29
Skills for Life Bingo................................................ 30
Team Directory Template......................................... 31
Project Charter Template ........................................ 32
Checklist/Schedule Template.................................... 34
Project Status Report Template................................. 35
Project Change/Issue Request Log Template................. 36
Lessons Learned Template ....................................... 37
Training Evaluation Form......................................... 38

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 What is Project Management? What makes each of these examples a project?
Project Management is a set of processes used to ensure that various Each of the previous examples is expected to have a definite beginning and
elements of work are coordinated, that all the work to be done is an end date that produces a deliverable or outcome. A similar activity may
understood and can be completed within the constraints of time and be necessary at a later time resulting in the need to start another project.
budget. There should be an agreed upon method to ensure expectations List some projects you have completed that are different from those
are met, and that the need for resources are identified and assigned. Risks mentioned. If you are uncertain whether it was a project, think about
must be identified and a means to manage those risks should be defined. whether it had a definite beginning and anticipated end date and if it had a
Communication of progress to all stakeholders on a scheduled basis should deliverable. These may be from your personal, work or volunteer
be documented and reported. experiences. If in doubt, list it anyway, and we can discuss. Take a few
minutes now.

A project is
What is a project?
We all do projects throughout our lives,

temporary
sometimes without realizing it. The
Exercise 1
definition of the word “project” may be

and unique.
new to you, but the actual doing of a
project is probably very familiar.
NUMBER PROJECT DELIVERABLE(S)
1.
A project must meet two requirements:
• It must be temporary (have a specific start and a specific end).
2.
• It must have an end result - something must be 3.
completed or created.
4.
This is a diagram to show the team how each
area is important to monitor and control.
5.

There are usual constraints and restrictions 6.

with executing projects. Find out if you are Let’s talk about some of the projects you listed and their deliverables.
under a strict deadline or limited funding or the

CO
E
TIM
scope/quality is critical to the customer. These

ST
are four crucial factors which can impact the Exercise 1 Completed: estimate 10 minutes
outcome of the project. Just keep in mind
these factors when planning and developing the Now that we have identified some types of activities from your experiences
SCOPE & QUALITY
project and most importantly you want to satisfy the that qualify as projects, let’s begin to look at managing the project and the
customer expectations to have a successful experience. role of a project manager.

Here is a list of projects you may have completed in the past:

A project
What is a Project Manager?
• Renovated a kitchen
A Project Manager is the person assigned by the
• Planned a company function

manager
performing organization to achieve the project
• Refinished a piece of furniture
objectives. A sponsor, group of peers or other
• Planned a vacation

leads the
stakeholders will usually assign this person.
• Developed a Business Plan

project.
Professional project managers manage projects at varying levels of
complexity and work in many different industries.

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 Some of these might include: Examples of a sponsor could be: a minister or elder of a church; board
• Constructing buildings, bridges or creating space stations of directors or association member; or even a silent partner in the
• Installing a new computer system in a small office or connecting organization. This person may only want to provide funding and
hundreds of company offices located across the world into a then have no daily involvement in the development of the project.
network Often times, the sponsor will want to know the progress of the
• Creating a new class to develop an international training program project and may offer help to develop a budget to set-up a plan to
• Planning a fund raising event or company picnic utilize the monies to ensure there will be ample funding.

Regardless of the size and complexity of the deliverables, these are

all examples of projects.
Who are the Team Members?
Project team members are the persons who report directly or indirectly to
the project manager, and who are responsible for performing project work
Although the size of your projects may be smaller than those
as a regular part of their assigned duties.
mentioned above, you have likely acted in the role of project
manager during your lifetime. Just as those practicing in the
Effective collaboration of team members is critical to
professional role of project management, you probably followed a
the performance and successful outcome of the
set of work processes to complete this effort. Drawing on proven
project. The project manager and sponsor will decide
methods one can further increase effectiveness in managing projects.
and communicate the roles and responsibilities of each
individual early in the planning phase. Some team
During this program we will provide you proven methods of successful
members will be required to attend all regularly
project managers. First, success will depend on effective communication,
scheduled meetings to discuss the project status.
identification of stakeholders and understanding their expectations.
Other team members such as vendors, suppliers, contractors may attend
meetings occasionally when invited by the project manager.

What is a Stakeholder? Team members should express relevant skills and qualifications to the
Stakeholders are persons or organizations that project manager. Upon delegation of assignments, the project manager
are actively involved in the project, or whose will select the individual with the ability to complete the task on time and
interests may be positively or negatively affected meet the customer’s requirements satisfactorily. The project manager is
by execution or completion of the project. A responsible to ensure all team members report the status of their tasks.
stakeholder may also exert influence over the project and its deliverables. Usually, one person is assigned to a task but more complex tasks may
require additional resources. Individual assignments must be thoroughly
Stakeholders may include customers, supplies, vendors, end users, team explained to eliminate any duplication of efforts. Mentoring or training may
members or other members of your group and other interested parties; they be needed for this type of situation and the team member should feel
could be external or internal to the organization or group. Their comfortable asking for assistance.
responsibilities may vary from occasional contributions to full sponsorship.
Remember to reward and recognize all team members for their input and
Stakeholders will be involved in defining the scope of effort and will need to contribution to the project. This can be accomplished in various ways so
be kept informed of progress throughout the project. Some individuals will use your creativity and resources available to you. As one example, during
be key stakeholders and may have greater involvement and influence over a meeting the project manager or sponsor can verbally thank the person for
the outcome. It is important to recognize these individuals early in the helping with the assignment.
project to ensure their expectations (requirements) are met.
Refer to Team Directory Template in Appendix A

This template provides the team pertinent information about how to reach
What is a Sponsor?
A sponsor is the person or group that provides the financial resources for
members and should be distributed to all stakeholders.
the project. This is a person who is interested in providing assistance and
wants to see the project accomplished. This individual can be internal or
external to the organization.

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 Project Management Process Groups
Five process groups are commonly used to manage/
organize projects and are summarized below:

Step 1. Initiating is the point where we start

considering an idea and further refine that Project Management
idea. It is also when the group agrees and
authorizes additional research toward the
completion of an outcome. SkillsLife
Step 2. Planning is extremely important to define the objective and
understand stakeholder needs and their involvement on the project.
Without proper planning one should not expect success. Even the
For
best planning might require some rework as the project evolves and
new information is identified or issues are encountered.

Step 3. Executing the process following the path that was defined in 1. Initiating
planning. At any time during execution it may be necessary to
reconsider the required effort to meet desired outcomes and/or
constraints the need to modify the original plan.

Step 4. Monitoring & Controlling is to monitor the progress of the plan, identify
and correct any variances. This ensures that the project objectives The first step in initiating a project is to create a business case for why the
are met. project is necessary.

Step 5. Closing is the formal process of accepting the outcomes of the During the first step of the process, individuals will research, analyze and
project as appropriate and bringing the project to an orderly end. collaborate to clarify the need. Effective communication is critical during
this time and might be accomplished by e-mail, phone calls and meetings.
During the initiating process the group will agree on the need for work and
obtain approval to create. The team will decide upon a clear statement of
Ongoing Project Functions

There are also other functions that the project manager will perform purpose with anticipated deliverables. Someone should be appointed as
continuously throughout the project. These functions include: project manager to lead this effort and begin to document this information.

• Change Control
• Scope Control There are some basic questions that need to be answered when we start any
project and the answer to these questions should be considered throughout
• Schedule Control
the life of that project.
• Cost Control
• Quality Control
• Communications – reporting status/information distribution
• Risk Monitoring/Control

In the following sections we will explain the five groups and

ongoing project functions in more detail.

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 • What – are we going to deliver and what work must be done to Exercise 2
accomplish these outcomes? Think about a project you are about to work on or may have previously
completed and how you would respond to these questions. Complete this
• When – will we produce these deliverables, when will the exercise in 10 minutes as a group or individually.
deliverables be reviewed and verified and when will
they be accepted/validated by the stakeholders? • What are you going to deliver or accomplish?

• Who – are we doing this work for and who are the • When will you produce deliverables?
stakeholders (customers, sponsors, end users, team
members) that may use this product or service?
• Who are your stakeholders?
• Why – is the work being initiated? This should be discussed by
• Why is the work necessary?
and agreed on by all stakeholders assigned to the project?
• Where will the product be used (and/or delivered or built when
• Where – will the product be used?
appropriate)?
• How – are we going to accomplish the objectives and how will
• How will you accomplish and manage the objectives?
the project be controlled and monitored?

Answering each of the questions will provide the necessary information to

launch the project and enable movement forward to the next phase –
Planning.
What:

Let’s take a look at this example project. To plan an annual corporate

When:
picnic that will be held during June. All corporate employees and their
families will be invited to enjoy activities, food and share stories with
Who:
associates and other families in a local park.
Why:

Where:

What: Plan a corporate picnic

How:

When: The corporate picnic will be held during June

Who: Corporate employees and family

To bolster employee/company relations Now, that there is enough information to start the project, let’s move to the
next phase - Planning. Early definition of the project boundaries have been
Why:

Local park defined; they may be further refined during this phase. High-level
requirements have been identified and from here the scope will be more
Where:

Coordinate family activities and food to accommodate clearly defined.

the size of the group
How:

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 Project Scope
A scope statement will help in documenting a basis for making future
project decisions and for confirming or developing a common
understanding of expectations among stakeholders. Together,
stakeholders and the project team should review the initial agreed upon
requirements and confirm what the deliverables (the finished
Project Management product or solution) will be. During these discussions, it is often found
that expectations vary making it necessary to redefine deliverables and
SkillsLife sometimes schedule and budget. It is important to meet expectations
within the constraints of time and budget.

For Throughout the planning process of defining the project scope,

communication is essential to gathering and documenting the scope
definition. The scope definition is developed from the scope statement,
the identified constraints, assumptions and lessons learned from previous
2. Planning experience. This information is used to define and improve cost, schedule
and resource estimates. It establishes the baseline for measuring success
and for controlling the project, and clearly allows the team to document
responsibilities and to assign resources.

Refer to the Project Charter Template in Appendix A.

At this time it would be appropriate to develop the project plan. The
project manager and team will identify the tasks to accomplish the scope of
work. The scope needs to be very clear so the stakeholders will plan their
Project Checklist
project according to what they have listed. This list will have identified Project managers develop a checklist to ensure that all tasks
tasks and major deliverables for each step of the project. The schedule will have been identified and the team will prioritize activities in
have resources and completion times assigned to each task. There will be order of completion. Some activities will need to occur before
more discussion on how to develop a scope statement, create a checklist the start or completion of some activities. Some tasks can start
and identify resources, estimate times and completion dates. at the same time. The checklist is a tool to help this effort.

Referencing the example identified earlier, let’s practice writing a scope Identify the project deliverables and define:
statement and remember to include the following:
• What tasks should be completed?
• What is the project objective or goal and what is the
product description? • How and what order these tasks should be done?

• When will you begin and when do you anticipate

completing the work? Project Schedule
Time management is important to complete the
• Who are your stakeholders? project successfully. Do not underestimate the
amount of time required to accomplish the tasks.
• Why are you doing the project? Provide some Identify specific activities necessary to produce
reasons or justification. the project deliverables and the dependencies to accomplish the objectives.
It is important to understand what work can be done and to work toward
• How will you accomplish the work (what tools, resources and meeting the timeline. This knowledge will provide the basis for developing
materials are necessary to deliver the product)? and controlling the project schedule.

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 Stakeholders and the project team will understand the project schedule In developing the project schedule include an outline identifying:
and what is expected of them. The schedule will be your guide • Each deliverable and its associated tasks
throughout the project for keeping you and the whole team on track. • Priorities
• Deliverable/task name
Identify and define: • Duration (amount of time that is anticipated to complete effort;
this information should be posted in hours, days, weeks
• When should each task and deliverable be completed? timeframes)
• Expected start and end date
• Who is responsible for each deliverable and for each task? • Actual date of completion
• Individual(s) responsible for the deliverable/task (It may be
Professional project managers use a work breakdown structure to track necessary to have concurrent activities assigned to the
tasks, time, dates and resources of the project. Those who aren’t using a individual.)
standard project management tracking tool may want to use the • Any notes that might be applicable for the team
Work Breakdown Structure Template in Appendix A.
The Critical Path Method provides the project manager information about
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) A WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical the duration of the tasks and shows the longest path of the project. The
decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to model below graphically depicts the sequence of the tasks and indicates
accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. possible delays of tasks that eventually could cause delays to the project
It organizes and defines the total scope of the project. schedule.

Example of a Project Schedule

This diagram shows how Task A took longer than expected,
Project Title: Plan a Corporate Picnic which affected when Tasks C & F could start and added
(Tracking 1 Deliverable with associated tasks) 1.5 weeks to the original schedule.

WBS # Task Name / Start Finish Resources

Deliverable Duration Date Date week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7

1.0 Identify Location 5 days

week 1
Start Finish

of facility 04/01/05 04/5/05 Suzy Que

1.1 Call local parks 3 days 04/01/05 04/03/05 Johnny Oho
A A

1.2 Determine budget 1 day 04/03/05 04/03/05 Larry Dean

B B

for renting space

1.3 Design a map 1 day 04/03/05 04/03/05 Michael Smith
C C

1.4 Print activity list .5 day 04/04/05 04/04/05 Michael Smith D D

1.5 Receive approval .5 day 04/04/05 04/04/05 Mr. Finely

E E

and signoff
1.6 Sign contract 1 day 04/05/05 04/05/05
F F

Purchasing
with facility

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 Project Quality Project Risks
Throughout the project planning process it is critical to consider the quality It is important to understand events or conditions that might impact the
of the project. Ensuring stakeholder expectations are being met by defining outcome of the project. There are usually some triggers or early warning
processes to verify and validate successful product completion will aid in signs that an outside event or condition could possibly impact the outcome
ensuring quality deliverables. Quality planning and review should be of the project. Risk identification may point out the need to take further
performed regularly and run parallel with other phases of the project. action to avoid project failure. The team and stakeholders should brain-
It is also important for the stakeholders to agree on storm and continuously communicate to identify and document possible
the criteria for measuring project success. While risks and how those risks will be addressed and work together to reduce or
there are many tools to assist in measuring quality, eliminate the negative impact of risk occurrence. Once again a checklist
a simple yet effective tool is a checklist to verify can be used to aid in risk avoidance.
that a set of required steps has been performed.
There is much that can be said about the quality
processes and each project will offer its own unique
set of requirements. It is important to work closely with the stakeholders
Project Procurement
Most organizations have a defined method for
throughout the project to ensure their expectations are met and to avoid
procuring products and services; it is important
any “unpleasant surprises” at the end.
to understand that procedure. Should the
process not be documented, it may be advisable
to develop that formal process and to include it
Project Communications in the planning.
Successful project completion will be more readily
accomplished when the available resources and the
specific skills they bring to the project are understood. Once the stakeholders and project team agree on the scope, expected
Communicate with the project team to ensure each deliverables and clearly define the schedule and other planning activities,
individual is assigned to tasks that are within the scope of the project plan can be executed. If at anytime during the Executing process
their knowledge base or that can be readily learned given or later phases it is determined that additional deliverables or tasks are
the time available to accomplish. appropriate, planning can be reconvened and changes managed. Changes
during these later phases provide an opportunity to revisit previously
Communication has been discussed throughout this session as being critical defined deliverables, timelines, budgets and other project planning
to the successful completion of the project. It is important for the team activities. It is also important to document all changes throughout the
and all stakeholders to understand how communications will occur project and to revise previously generated documents to reflect those
throughout the project. changes. We are now ready to begin the Executing process.

A documented communication plan outlining the following information is

recommended:

• What information is to be communicated and in what format?

• When will the information be communicated and in what intervals?

• Who will be responsible for building and managing the information

and which stakeholders will receive it?

• Where will the information be stored (in file cabinets, notebooks,

computers or Web sites)?

• How will the information be distributed (memos, e-mail, mail,

phone messages, meetings, fax, reports)?

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 It is equally important to ensure that the non-core team members
understand what is expected of them as relates to their assigned tasks.
Including them in the written status updates helps keep them engaged.

Project Management Refer to Appendix A: Project Status Report Template to record pertinent
current details about the project.

SkillsLife As you begin executing the plan you must also begin controlling and
managing it. To ensure effective project completion Controlling of the
project is essential.
For In the Executing phase, project managers present the status of the project to
the stakeholders, customers and team members of your organization, club
or church. Be sure that you present the information in a format that is
relevant to your particular audience. During the executing phase is when
the majority of organizations procure products and services from the
suppliers. Professional project managers have defined a workable process
3. Executing
for procurement. It is important to understand any contract or solicitation
processes in place in your organization; in the absence of such processes you
During the should work to define a method for obtaining products and services that is
suitable to those leaders and stakeholders within the organization.
Remember as you begin to work the plan you’ve formulated that you may
identify the need to change or add additional items to that plan and Executing Process,
subsequently to your schedule. Your plan and schedule are important tools
you should use and update throughout the project.
the project manager Some recommendations to follow:
ensures the tasks • Understand any product and/or service requirements
As you execute the plan and make appropriate changes to the schedule, you
should determine who on the team is assigned specific tasks and monitor for are being completed • Follow a process for soliciting bids (your process may require a bid
assurance that these tasks are being completed. by team members. only if the amount expected to be spent exceeds certain limits)
• Negotiate terms of any vendor or supplier contract
Team members, the project manager and stakeholders should have the • Have a legal expert sign and approve contractual agreements
same expectations of the schedule and work toward completion while • Once approved ensure a billing and payment method is in place
keeping to the timeline that has been established. If at anytime it is noted and appropriately communicated to involved parties
the time defined is not sufficient, the project manager and the team mem-
• Ensure that all schedule and quality requirements that apply to the
bers, in collaboration with appropriate stakeholders, should work toward
negotiating necessary changes. Any such changes should be incorporated in service or product being procured are clearly described and
your project plan and may also require changes to the scope and charter are understood and accepted by the supplier
documentation.
As you begin executing the plan you must also begin controlling and
Earlier, we mentioned in the communication plan, it is essential that regular
managing it. To ensure effective project completion controlling of the
meetings be held to ensure the project is proceeding as expected, to bring
project is essential.
team members up to date on the status of the project and to identify and
work toward resolving any issues. It is also important to understand who
within the team should be present at these meetings and to include that in
the communication plan. Depending on the size of the effort and the
number of individuals lending assistance on your project, there may be a
differentiation between individuals core to the project and others who do
work that is facilitated or managed by another individual (non-core
member). Life
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 Communication continues to be important
throughout the project; ensure you are
keeping the stakeholders and team apprised
of activities and status.
Project Management
Despite best planning there are often things
that can go wrong on any project. It is
important to remember that these issues must
be addressed promptly. You should remain flexible and adapt to change
SkillsLife
that might be necessary and keep a good sense of humor. Controlling the
project doesn’t mean “not allowing” any change! For
Let’s look at some good practices to follow during the Monitoring &
Controlling process.
4. Monitoring & Controlling

As previously mentioned executing and controlling are actually done

simultaneously and continuously throughout the project to make certain
that scheduled tasks are completed on time and that the expectations are
being met. While the project manager has the ultimate responsibility for
project completion and delivering the expected product and service within
the constraints of time and budget, it is also the responsibility of the team.
The team should ensure they are starting and completing their assigned
tasks on time and let the project manager know if any issues are
encountered while doing so. A project management “best practice” is to
assign tracking and reporting of task completion and status to an individual
on the team.

It is necessary to continue to monitor and ensure that the scope of the

project is on track and that what is being delivered is consistent with the
Managing changes anticipated deliverables. Meeting expectations requires continuously
to the project is reviewing and monitoring for success. It may be necessary during the
review process to make a change in the scope of work. While this is not
crucial to ensuring necessarily desired, it can happen and should result in another step in
planning. Remember to update documentation to include these changes.
the project is
completed on time. Refer to Project Change/Request Template in Appendix A

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 Exercise: 3
This exercise will help you better understand how
an unexpected change can affect the entire
process. Select a past project in which changes
which occurred during the project,
Project Management
(1) How did the changes impact the scope and/or
schedule of the project?

(2) What could happen to a project to cause the

SkillsLife
project schedule to slip or incur scope creep?

Once the project has been completed and the deliverable accepted by the
For
sponsor/customer, the team and stakeholders will collaborate to ensure
that all project requirements and deliverables were successfully achieved. 5. Closing
This begins the Closing process, one that is very important to complete.

The closing process is done at the end of each project phase and at the end
of the project. At the end of the project, the following activities are
conducted:

• Lessons Learned
• Final Work
• Contract Closeout

Lessons Learned
At the end of the project it’s beneficial to hold a final team meeting where
the project can be reviewed and discussed and any lessons learned can be
identified. This type of meeting is commonly referred to as a wrap-up or
lessons learned meeting.

This provides a great opportunity for team members to share their thoughts
on what went well with the project and what they would change if the
project was to be done again. These thoughts, or lessons learned, are both
positive and constructive. Write them down, organize them by topic then
share them with the next project team.

Refer to Lessons Learn Template in Appendix A

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 Final Work
Any paperwork related to the project – completed
schedule, budget, team minutes, lessons learned, etc. –
should be placed in a file, notebook or some other storage
medium. Identify a gatekeeper for the documentation.
Future teams can reference all this information and Project Management
potentially save considerable time when starting up the
next project.

It is important to get good feedback from the customers and

SkillsLife
the rest of the project team. In professional environments, project man-
agers typically have a formal evaluation process they use to gain
feedback. The information learned from these evaluations becomes
For
additional lessons learned and provides a means for continuous improve-
ment. This is an essential part of ensuring satisfaction with the job. It also
helps determine whether all work has been completed or if more work is
still anticipated.

During the Closing process, if additional requirements were identified, it

would be appropriate to establish this work as another project. Summary Review of the Manual
1. Define project management
Contract Closeout
Another step often missed in closing out a project is the 2. Identify the components of a project
need to ensure contract closeout. Inform vendors or
suppliers, consultants or other stakeholders that the 3. Know the roles and responsibilities of a project manager, sponsor,
project is closing and ensure that payment for services provided are in stakeholders and team members and how they interact during a project
process or will be soon. Team members should sign off on the completion
of the project; it is common for the customer and sponsor to sign off on 4. Understand why a project scope and charter help in planning the project
behalf of the other stakeholders. This is an item that should have been
addressed earlier in the initiating and planning phases. 5. Learn how to develop a checklist, schedule and critical path method

Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate! 6. Show awareness in your project by building quality into the project
In addition to the lessons learned session and storing all documents, it’s 7. Identify risks that may be associated with the work effort and develop a
time for the team to celebrate! Regardless of how well the project went, plan for mitigation
celebrating the project’s end is an important way to wrap it up.
8. Determine any procurement and/or budget requirements
The celebration can be anything special you want to do, depending on the
budget available. 9. Train and mentor team members
• It might be as simple as a thank you at the end of the lessons
learned meeting along with presenting a certificate or ribbon 10. Communicate with all stakeholders throughout all phases of the project
to each team member.
• Food is always welcome. Whether it’s a dinner, a lunch, cookies or
a candy bar – your team members will appreciate it!
• Whatever you can do to say thank you to the team and celebrate
will be most welcomed by them!

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 A project must meet two requirements: When completing your project you will want to keep in mind the role of the
stakeholder. Stakeholders are individuals and organizations who will likely
1. It must be temporary (have a specific start and a specific end). be impacted and have expectations of outcomes and deliverables.

2. It must have an end result (a deliverable). We have discussed the importance of planning and organizing the work and
the need to involve stakeholders/team in that effort.
You are now aware of the five processes commonly used to manage
projects: It is important to train and mentor the individuals involved with
the project. Remember that those who might have future
1. Initiating responsibility to maintain or operate the product, service or other
activities once the project is complete will also need training.
Identify and agree on who will be the contact for future activity
and publish this information to the team.
2. Planning

Throughout the project it is extremely important to communicate

3. Executing
with all stakeholders and to document and share information regarding the
4. Monitoring & Controlling status of the project. Without communication you cannot be successful.

5. Closing Be sure that any contractual agreements used during the project are closed
and that all of the appropriate invoices are being processed for final
You’ve seen that we can use questions during each project phase to help us payments. Customers and project sponsors typically take responsibility
determine what needs to be done in that phase. for signing off on the completion of all the agreed upon work. Others
stakeholders may also wish to be involved in the signoff process. Those
The following basic questions need to be answered when starting expected to signoff on the final product would have been identified in the
any project: initiating and planning phases of the project.

• What are you going to deliver or accomplish? If at this time, additional requirements are identified it would be
appropriate to approach that work effort in another project. A new project
• When will you produce deliverables? would begin at the initiating phase.

• Who are your stakeholders (customers, The main difference between a professional
sponsors, end users, team members)? project manager and you is how projects are
managed. Follow these guidelines and you can
• Why is the work necessary? successfully manage your projects.

• Where will the product be used (and/or

delivered or built when appropriate)?

• How will you accomplish and manage the

objectives?

You’ve learned the importance of a project schedule and how to build one,
as simple or complex, as you need.

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Project Management Skills
 Project Management

SkillsLife
For

Worksheets
Appendix A

THESE WORKSHEETS CAN BE COPIED

and used for any project.

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Project Management Skills
 TEAM DIRECTORY TEMPLATE
Project Management

SkillsLife PROJECT TITLE:___________________________________________________

PROJECT MANAGER:_____________________________________________

For NAME HOME WORK CELL E-MAIL ADDRESS

Life Skills Bingo PHONE PHONE PHONE
Here’s your chance to learn about your fellow students. When you have
completed a square, have the person sign the square. As soon as you get 5
squares in a row (diagonal, across or down), yell “BINGO!”

B I N G O

Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone
who loves to who can who has who is going who can whistle
cook. turn a managed a to school. theBanner.
Star Spangled
Join
cartwheel. project. them in a duet.
Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone
who has whom you who knows who scuba who likes
traveled to don’t know. your state’s dives. to go camping.
Europe. Do something capital.
about that.
Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone
who recently who is left who has a pet. who is currently
moved from handed. Find out the working more
another state. FREE SPACE pet's name(s) than one job.
and why that
name was
chosen.
Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone
who loves who who has a who has worked who Ioves to
chocolate. volunteers in birthday this with at the play tennis.
their month. same company
community. at least 10
years.
Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone Find someone
who has just who can say who loves their who has kids in who knew what
started a new a greeting in job. school. they wanted
job. another to be when
language. they grew up
and actually
became it

.
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 PROJECT CHARTER TEMPLATE PROJECT CHARTER (PAGE 2)
(Includes the Project Scope Statement)
PROJECT CONSTRAINTS:
PROJECT TITLE:_________________________________

PROJECT MANAGER:_____________________________

PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS:
CUSTOMER: (WHO)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: (WHAT) PROJECT RISKS:

Written by: ______________________________ Date: ____________

PROJECT START AND END DATE: (WHEN)

Approved by: ____________________________ Date: ____________

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION: (WHY)

PROJECT DELIVERABLES: (HOW)

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Project Management Skills Project Management Skills
 CHECKLIST/SCHEDULE TEMPLATE PROJECT STATUS REPORT TEMPLATE
(Includes the Project Scope Statement)
PROJECT TITLE:___________________________________
PROJECT TITLE: _____________________________________
PROJECT MANAGER:_______________________________
PROJECT MANAGER:__________________________________

PRIORITY TASK/ START END RESPONSIBLE ISSUES/ REPORT DATE:_______________________________________

CURRENT STATUS:____________________________________
ACTIVITY DATE DATE PARTY COMMENTS

Activities completed during this period:

Activities planned until the next meeting:

Identify any issues and resolutions:

Identify any changes to the project scope:

List any problems, concerns or recommendations:

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Project Management Skills Project Management Skills
 PROJECT CHANGE/ISSUE REQUEST LOG TEMPLATE LESSONS LEARNED TEMPLATE
The project manager should conduct a meeting to openly discuss the entire
PROJECT TITLE: _____________________________________ project beginning with the initiation phase through to the final close-out
phase. This meeting is to be in a positive environment without accusing or
PROJECT MANAGER:__________________________________ finding fault with team member’s project involvement. Talk about any issues
or concerns that occurred during the project and recommend ways to make
improvements. Consider some of these questions to ask the team for their
honest comments and document the responses to be used for future similar
ID TASK/ OPEN CLOSE REPORTED CURRENT ISSUES/ projects.
# ACTIVITY DATE DATE BY STATUS COMMENTS
Initiation
Was the project sponsor identified?
Was adequate information given about the idea?
Did the team performed ample research?

Planning
Was the project manager or team members identified early in the planning
process?
Did our team identify the customer’s requirements?
Were the project deliverables and milestones identified?
Was the schedule determined with timeframes?
Were the cost estimates accurate?
Were the project plans executed correctly and integrated on time?
Was the project budget met?
Were risks identified early in the project?
Were vendors and supplies kept informed about the project status?
Were communications performed to the satisfaction of the stakeholders?

Executing and Controlling

Did key team members provide input into the design specifications?
Was the implementation strategy effective?
Did the project management tools and templates help during these
processes?
How can the work environment improve?
Was the communication plan carried throughout the entire process?
Was the change committee able to execute the change orders efficiently?

Closing
Was the customer satisfied with the final results?
Were the contracts closed out with supplies and vendors?
Was the administrative documentation performed?
Did you obtain the sign-off approvals for the project?

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 TRAINING EVALUATION FORM PM SKILLS FOR LIFE MANUAL
Student Name: ____________________________ Executive Sponsor: Michael Branch
Date: ________________

Instructor’s Name: _________________________

Co-Authors:
(Instrumental in the development, framework and the content of the manual.

Please evaluate using the following scale:

These volunteers spent over 400 hours in editing and writing the manual.)

5 = Strongly Agree, 1 = Strongly Disagree, NA = Not Applicable Marsha Gilbert

Renee Robinson
1. Presentation was well organized, clear, in logical sequence. 5 4 3 2 1 NA
Donna Swaim
2. The instructor explained things clearly. 5 4 3 2 1 NA
3. The instructor made the session interesting. 5 4 3 2 1 NA Contributors:
4. There was sufficient time to meet the objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 NA (Reviewed the manual for grammar, clarity, style and wrote some content.

5. The session materials aided in the learning process. 5 4 3 2 1 NA

These volunteers spent from 10 - 50 hours.)

6. I found the class practical and useful. 5 4 3 2 1 NA Shirley Edwards

7. I would recommend this class to others. 5 4 3 2 1 NA Diane Fromm
Murray Grooms
What sections of the class should be given more emphasis? Angela Grett
______________________________________________________________________________ Don Hardin
Bill Happock
What sections of the class should be given less emphasis? Chester Hood
______________________________________________________________________________ Melissa Rucker
Faye Smith
How was the class beneficial? Ty Tabernik
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
Content Reviewers:
(Reviewed the manual for content, clarity, grammar, graphics, standards and style.)

What did you like most about the class? PMI Standards Committee
______________________________________________________________________________ PMI Marketing Staff
PMI Educational Foundation Oversight Committee
What did you like least about the class? PMI Educational Foundation Board of Directors
______________________________________________________________________________

Other organizations you think might be interested in this class:

______________________________________________________________________________

Additional Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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