Actually "getting work done" can be extremely difficult if a project is bogged down by politics, bureaucracy, poor planning, a shortage of resources, or other external factors.
The Practical Project Manager actually gets work done by ensuring execution of day-to-day work activities, both Planned and Unplanned Work, with clear communication, deliberation, and enthusiasm.
- Planned Work is documented in a Project Schedule (for example using Microsoft Project). When work is planned, it is then "baselined", and provides the initial Estimate At Completion (EAC).
- Unplanned Work comes in two forms:
- action items associated with issue and risk management
- tasks that probably should be in the Project Schedule, that is, work that is required, but not previously planned.
If Unplanned Work is significant, it may require a Plan Change, which would require an Updated Baseline and will provide a new Estimate at Completion (EAC).
Planned Tasks: Project Scope is broken down into discrete work streams and work elements using a work breakdown structure (WBS) method. These planned tasks include no more and no less than the work effort required to meet Project Scope.
Project Schedule: a collection of tasks that include resources, start and end dates, dependencies, level of effort, and percentage of work completed for each activity. There are many methodologies and software packages to create and maintain the schedule. Typically the graphical representation of the schedule is a GANTT CHART.
Plan Baseline: once a project schedule is completed and approved it is said to be "baselined": an agreed-upon plan for completing work. With this original plan, performance of actual work can be compared to baseline as data points for Earned Value Management and to provide better estimates for future projects.
Estimate at Completion (EAC): If you plan the work, work the plan, and maintain status of work completed in the project schedule, you will always know total project cost and timeline. EAC is a critical project metric and is determined by adding the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) plus the estimate to complete (ETC) for remaining work.
Unplanned Tasks: some work cannot be foreseen, however the Practical Project Manager knows work will arise from Action Items and Additional Tasks and provides enough "head room" in the plan for this inevitable work.
Plan Change: the plan may need to change if work required is greater than expected, if there is a resource constraint, or there is an external force that causes and impact to the project. A governance process should be in place to control changes to the plan.
Updated Baseline: upon approval of plan changes, the project schedule is updated and re-baselined.
Updated Estimate at Completion (EAC): The new EAC is communicated and work commences against this new plan.
Always refer to your company's methodology or the Project Management Institute for specific how-to.
Always refer to your company's methodology or the Project Management Institute for specific how-to.
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