1. C1 - Project Management Approaches
1.1. 1.1 - Nature of Projects
1.1.1. Projects with defined scope, schedule and budget.
1.1.2. Operations activities (In a project format)
1.1.2.1. Scope of work
1.1.2.2. The outcomes desired from that work
1.1.2.3. Risks associated
1.1.2.4. The timing of certain activities
1.1.2.5. How best to organizationally align
1.1.2.6. The costs
1.1.3. R&D activities
1.1.3.1. May or may not have defined goals or outcomes.
1.1.3.2. Management has expectation of what outcomes will ensue from the development.
1.2. 1.2 - The Formality of Project Management
1.2.1. Formal projects, requiring the implementation of all standard project management processes
1.2.2. Semiformal, typically less complex or less risky.
1.2.3. Informal, which use standard PM processes, however, without significant oversight.
1.3. 1.3 Traditional Project Management
1.3.1. Methodical, sequential approach to reach a defined target.
1.3.2. An initiation phase to develop the scope, stakeholders and define the goals or outcomes;
1.3.3. The formalization of a plan (requirements, budget, schedule)
1.3.4. Active management of the plan
1.3.5. Waterfall method
1.4. 1.4 Flexible Project Management
1.4.1. Methodical, cyclical, and iterative approach to reach a succession of defined targets.
1.4.2. The interpretation of user stories that define functionality;
1.4.3. Close collaboration with a customer;
1.4.4. Phases of development and user-involved testing;
1.4.5. The formalization of a budget and schedule;
1.4.6. Active management of the plan, including change management, risk management, performance measurements, and communications.
1.4.7. Spiral Method, RAD, ASD, FDD, Agile, EVO, etc.
1.5. 1.5 Program Management
1.5.1. Compilation of multiple "related" activities under a common umbrella.
1.5.2. Can contain projects, other programs, R&D, etc;
1.5.3. Is managed by a program manager who is:
1.5.3.1. Responsible for ensuring all elements of the program;
1.5.3.2. Responsible for ensuring the program's mission is in alignment with the organization's strategic vision and mission.
1.6. 1.6 Portfolio Management
1.6.1. Refers to the compilation of multiple "related and unrelated" activities within the whole organization.
1.6.2. May contain projects, other programs, R&D, and a variety of other work elements;
1.6.3. is managed by a portfolio manager, who is responsible for ensuring all elements of the portfolio support the organization's strategic goals, mission and vision.
1.6.4. Developing a portfolio that maps to the strategic plan of the company allows for allocation of percentages against four quadrants of activities:
1.6.4.1. Operations and production
1.6.4.1.1. The level that will be expended to keep things as they are (repeatable and predictable).
1.6.4.2. Life Cycle projects that address upgrades and optimizations
1.6.4.2.1. Implements existing technology to incrementally improve a current capability. Risk is low.
1.6.4.3. Incremental R&D that leads to evolutionary progression for key capabilities
1.6.4.3.1. Some level of applied research, but much more emphasis on development.
1.6.4.4. Radical R&D that leads to new capabilities that may even supplant current capabilities
1.6.4.4.1. Requires heavy theoretical or basic research.
1.7. 1.7 The hierarchy of Project versus Program versus Portfolio Management
1.7.1. A project's goal is to successfully achieve the delivery of the requirements and outcomes defined by the project plan.
1.7.2. A program's goal is to successfully achieve the integrated capability described in the overarching organization's plan and to achieve greater benefits than if the projects and operational work were managed as stand-alone activities.
1.7.3. A portfolio's goal is to achieve an overall level of success for the organization as a whole.
1.8. 1.8 Life Cycle Approach to Project Management
1.8.1. Can be used to facilitate decisions on when to invest in new technology that will either replace or rejuvenate the existing capability;
1.8.2. Has phases that provide structure and a focus.
1.8.3. In an R&D project, the beginning of the life cycle may be basic research.
1.8.3.1. Generally an informal and collaborative process.
1.8.3.2. Sometimes organizations try to capture ideas in this phase through employee suggestion forums.
1.8.3.3. This phase must remain completely flexible because this process cannot be forced.
1.8.3.4. The next stage is where ideas begin to take form.
1.8.3.4.1. Discussions start evolving into hypotheses about how something would be done
1.8.3.4.2. This stage does not necessarily end in a product, but could end in a decision to pursue a new process.
1.8.3.4.3. It is difficult to control this stage because it is highly fluid and depends heavily on the individual that has the initial idea.
1.8.4. The middle, might contain some experiments or development activities.
1.8.4.1. An idea is defined enough to start thinking about application;
1.8.4.2. Often single prototypes are designed and tested, or a model is developed.
1.8.4.3. Feedback process
1.8.4.4. It is the point where the prototype has validated the design, and production can begin.
1.8.4.5. This part of the life cycle is difficult to navigate.
1.8.4.5.1. To determine when enough is enough
1.8.4.5.2. When to move forward looks differently to different individuals
1.8.4.5.3. The amount of risk that can be tolerated
1.8.5. The end, or closure phase, could be writing up the results in a journal paper or turning over the capability to production or operations.
1.8.5.1. Control phase: Attempts to keep the design the same or to carefully control change as it is implemented.
1.8.5.2. The design is being held constant, processes adhered to, and operations are being kept on track
2. C2- Project Management as an Enabler
2.1. 2.1 Traditional Project Management
2.1.1. Controlling projects that have a low level of risk, and have stable and unambiguous, clearly defined requirements;
2.1.2. Addressing an activity that is unique and not repeated, with a defined beginning and end;
2.1.3. Includes the activities of setting the scope, requirements and deliverables, and developing a schedule and a budget.
2.2. 2.2 R&D Project Management
2.2.1. Minimize the dividing line and strict categorization for what constitutes a project;
2.2.2. Constrain the typical R&D activities into a time frame;
2.2.3. Identify the basic outcomes that are desired, either from a tactical or strategic perspective;
2.2.4. Define success differently than within a standard project.
2.2.4.1. R&D success is in the decisions that move the experiments along and prove or disprove the theory or hypothesis within some set of constraints.
2.3. 2.3 Disciplines that complement Project Management
2.3.1. Flexible methods (Spiral, Agile)
2.3.1.1. Ambiguity in requirements is significant
2.3.1.2. Customer involvement is heavy
2.3.1.3. Level of experience with the tools and techniques is minimal
2.3.2. Management Frameworks
2.3.2.1. Incorporate a holistic view of the development cycle
2.3.2.2. Scrum
2.3.2.3. Unified Process
2.3.2.4. Dynamic Systems Development Methods
2.3.2.5. Product Lifecycle Management
2.3.3. Systems engineering
2.3.3.1. Assures the many stand-alone development activities come together as a cohesive whole
2.3.4. Industrial engineering
2.3.4.1. Focuses on efficiency, optimization, and impacts throughout the entire demand and supply processes.
2.4. 2.4 Driving Innovation With Project Management
2.4.1. Innovation is inclusive of many activities, including:
2.4.1.1. Process
2.4.1.2. Research
2.4.1.3. Application
2.4.1.4. Design