Project Definition
During this phase, you establish the framework for the project,
including:
Project scope, describing the work to be done,
defining objectives and clarifying them against other organizational
priorities
Resources, identifying the people, equipment
and materials you will need
Project limits, describing project assumptions,
determining constraints such as cost or schedule, and clarifying
risk
Project Planning
An effective plan provides the direction for a project, maintaining
information about scope, resources and schedule in one place.
Developing a project plan involves the following steps:
Work breakdown, identifying project tasks and
determining the skills required to accomplish each one
Time estimates, determining the time involved,
or duration of each task
Task dependencies, establishing how tasks relate
to each other and the order in which they must be completed
Task constraints, identifying specific task issues,
such as schedule constraints or lack of certain people or skills
Performance Tracking
Tracking mechanisms help you evaluate your project's progress
by analyzing performance against specific criteria. By regularly
reviewing results, you can better direct and refine the project.
Tracking performance involves the following:
Comparing actual progress against planned
estimates. Comparing where you are with where you planned
to be can pinpoint areas that may put your project at risk, such
as slower-than-expected progress.
Identifying issues. Identifying issues as they
arise helps ensure that you are aware of potential problems that
may affect the project scope, resources or schedule.
Reviewing resource and schedule requirements.
Overloading one or more members of the project team is one of
the most common causes for schedule delays.
Project Closure
Spending the time to close a project properly gives you the opportunity
to analyze your results and apply what you learned to future projects.
To close a project, you can do any of the following:
Compare your original plan to the actual
course of events. What elements of the plan didn't match
the reality of the project?
Review and analyze problems. What issues might
recur in future projects?
Archive project information. Previous project
results are an important source of information for similar projects
in the future.
