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Project Management
With the right tools and leadership, your organization can better define the scope of projects, timelines, resources and budget. Whether it’s a small or large project, the same methodologies apply.
Using the ‘project lite’ approach, you use the elements of project management that apply to your project without getting bogged down in the process.
For larger projects that involve more groups within the organization, the same tools work – only with more depth.
The following documents describe tools that work well in managing business process and software application projects. Some documents work for any size project and others work best for larger projects. The content of some documents, such as the Project Charter, can be used on a limited basis – meaning use what you need, you don’t have to use the entire document.
The purpose of this collection of documents is to manage the time and cost expenditures on a project – and most importantly to complete the project.
Agenda (project template) – the content of this document can be simple or complex depending upon the requirements. Basic information includes meeting objectives and invitees. It is a guideline so that meetings are productive. Additional information that can be added to the agenda includes:
• Desired outcome of meeting
• Project Schedule reference number and/or brief details
• Allotted time for each topic
• Discussion leader for each topic
• Action items, responsible party and due dates
Business Process Documentation – although not specifically a ‘project’ document, the existence and quality of business process documentation is always involved in defining new business processes that are brought about by implementing new projects.
Business Requirements Document – this document is used in the assessment portion of the project to thoroughly define the business requirements and generally contains a high level of detail. It is typically used in sessions where multiple departments need to define their piece of the requirements. The document works well for large projects but can be used for smaller projects to define business process flow, business process assumptions and test scenarios.
Communication Matrix – identities core team members, participants and those who are only to receive project reports (i.e., project sponsors or other management). This document is prepared at the beginning of a project. The document may be more useful when external resources are involved in a project. Information on this document includes
• Designation of core team, participant, report only
• Name
• Project role
• Department
• Office phone
• Email
Issues Log – consolidated document that includes Issues, Risks and other key project topics that need to be tracked and monitored. The purpose of this document is to have one document that provides a reference for all project members and one point of management for project activities. Think of this document as the next lower level of detail from the Project Schedule, which list tasks but not specific activities to achieve them.
• Open issues
• Closed issues with notes on resolution for future reference
• Flexible structure to meet organizational needs
Minutes (project template) – the primary purpose is to state the decisions and identify issues. This is a management tool. The document includes invitees, attendees, topics, decisions, status, action items, due dates and more.
Project Charter – this is a document for a large project that is intended to address management topics to support cost justification. The document includes project vision, high-level methodology, positive and negative (process) impact, financial impact (costs incurred, cost savings), the purpose for the project, departments impacted, success factors, project scope [a critical statement as the project moves forward], assumptions, milestones, related projects, constraints, risk factors and key resources.
It is common to take portions from the Project Charter that are needed and pare down the document to fit the current projects requirements. Another practice is to take the portions of this documents that are needed and add them to the Project Plan, which reduces the overall number of project documents.
Project Plan – this is a high-level reference document that can be used to reference other project documents. It is intended to be a central gateway to project information. For smaller projects, much of the detail can be contained in this document.
Project Schedule – this is a critical project document that helps manage the tasks and timeline. This document shows dates, elapsed and working time, resources, cost and more
• Dates for individual tasks include start date, end date
• Concurrent and sequential tasks
• Task relationships and dependencies
• Resource utilization
Resource Plan – identifies project resources by role, persons assigned to the roles, scope of work (activities they will be performing in the project) and estimated time requirements. This document is optional and would likely not be used for smaller projects.
Risk Plan – provides a high-level overview of project risks and mitigation options. Depending upon the size of the project, a tab for Risks may be added to the Issues Log. This document is intended for larger projects where business process failures need to be anticipated and mitigation plans must be prepared.
Test Scenarios – most projects are expected to produce changes to work flow and business processes. These must be tested through different scenarios. The business users need to define and test the scenarios. Cross functional testing produces the best results. IT typically supports this effort.
For information on Project Management services, please contact us at inquiry@ssgnet.com.
ERP LN Evaluation
Is ERP LN the right solution for your organization? SSG can help you evaluate the application to see how well it fits your business requirements.
Project Management
Do you have a large, multi-site project coming up that needs an experienced Project Manager? SSG can help you develop the basic skills internally or we can perform PM tasks for you.
Time and cost spent planning are rewarded by having a plan that can be followed, which in the end saves time and money.
Contact SSG to ask how we can help.
Here are some tips to make an implementation run smoother.
Training and Education
Do your business users need training or re-training? Does your IT staff need to update their skills? SSG can deliver what you need to help your employees optimize their application experience and leverage the application featrues.
SSG has been conducting training for business users and IT staff for many years and can make this a successful experience for all. We offer training in:
- Applications
- System Management
- Network Security and Management
Data Migration
Do you have questions about which data migration approach will work best in your organization?
SSG has been performing data migrations for years and has some great insights to share.