EPM5 Exercises De

Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme

Presented by(facilitator name)

Managing Complexity in the Face of Uncertainty

Individual, class and team exercises

There are more than 30 exercises in this file. I have collected these exercises together in one place for your use. They are a mixture of individual, team and class exercises. Most are team exercises because that is the format I use for all of my teaching and training courses. I have used these exercises for several years with great success. Feel free to modify them and integrate them into your slide presentations for use in class. Many of them draw upon the PDQ Case Study and tend to be the more difficult exercises.

They are numbered consecutively for easy reference.

Note to the instructor

Introduction

Create the Hot Topics List

Here is your opportunity to contribute any topics or issues you have that you would like discussed.

We’ll list your contributions and integrate them into thecourse as appropriate. As part of our course wrap-up,

we will return to the list to make sure all items have been addressed to your satisfaction.

Individual Exercise #1

Introduction

Class Exercise #2

Read the Case Study and Form Teams

Pizza Delivered Quickly (PDQ) has fallen on hard timesand needs your help to survive. Read the Case Study inyour book and be prepared to ask questions forclarification.

Once the Case Study has been clarified, teams will bechosen. Teams will work on the same Case Study butindependently of each other. Team size should bebetween 4-6.

Introduction

Is everything a project?

Some organizations are projectized. That is, every business activity is defined as a project. Suppose your organization were to consider being projectized. What obstacles and issues would you see having to be resolved? How might they be resolved? Identify advantages and disadvantages to this form versus the traditional functional or matrix organization.

Team Exercise #3

Ch01: What Is a Project?

Define the Quality Metrics for your Project

Define the specific quality metrics you will use for PDQ. What values will you set as trigger values? Give

examples of trigger values and how you would react tothem, i.e., what corrective measures might you take?

You have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint aspokesperson to present the metrics to the class.

Team Exercise #4

Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups

Team Exercise #5

Create the outline of an RFP


Your company is seeking a vendor to design, develop, and implement a comprehensive Project Support Office (PSO). This will include three major goals: Establish the mission, objectives, functions, roles, responsibilities, and organizational structure of the PSO and implement it Design and implement a project management methodology Design, develop, and offer a project management training curriculum including a train the trainer component

Develop an RFP outline for one of the goals. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s findings.

Team Exercise #6


Choose the contract type for your project

The purpose of this exercise is to decide which type of contract is best for PDQ. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of each and choose the one you will use. What type of payment schedule will you use? Should there be any incentives? If so, define them. You will have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s decisions.

Team Exercise #7

Involving the vendor in planning


Make a list of all the planning activities that the vendor should be involved in and specify a strategy for getting that involvement. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s findings.

Team Exercise #8

Identify the Risks

Using Figure 4-26 identify the top ten risks in your project. Prioritize them from A to J. You will have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your list to the class.


Team Exercise #9

Quantify the Risks

Using a Risk Assessment Worksheet like the example shown on the following slide, assess the current risks in your project. Use your own process steps to define the rows of the matrix. The columns identify your prioritized risk events (A through J). Establish your own metric for risk assessment. The example uses 1 (low) to 3 (high). You will have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present this information to the class.


Team Exercise #9 – Risk Assessment Worksheet


Team Exercise #10

Building Risk Mitigation Plans

Using the risks previously identified, select 2 “show-stoppers” and develop complete mitigation plans. Include the strategy and implications of resources, costs, schedule, and any risk that this mitigation measure will generate.

Deliverables: Detailed Plan, Assumptions and Risks, Cost and Schedule Estimates

You will have 60 minutes. Choose a spokesperson to present your mitigation plan to the class.


Team Exercise #11

Create the RBS

Generate the RBS for the PDQ project. You have 60 minutes.

Appoint a spokesperson to report your RBS.

Ch03: How to Scope a Project

Write the POS for the Case Study

Each team will complete a POS for the PDQ Project.Appoint a spokesperson to present the POS to the class.The class will critique the POS paying particularattention to the language used.

1. Could anyone in your company understand it?2. Is it too technical? 3. Will it convince Dee that your idea is worthy of support to

the next level?

Team Exercise #12

Ch03: How to Scope a Project

Build a Complete WBS for the PDQ Project

Using the RBS as input build as much of the WBS as you can. You may use either the indented outline or graphical format.

Appoint a spokesperson to present your WBS to the class.

Team Exercise #13

Ch04: How to Plan a Project

Team Exercise #14

Build the Dependency Diagram for the PDQ Project

Follow the steps discussed above to build the dependency diagram for your project.

Once the dependency diagram is complete, load the predecessor and successor relationships into MS Project.


Estimate Task Duration

You may use any method available to you for this exercise. Do not spend a lot of time on any one estimate. Remember, we just want to get it roughly right. Later in the project these estimates may be updated with new information.

Team Exercise #15


Project Manager Skills Assessment

Complete the PMSA in your book. How do your team members’ skills align with the needs of the project?

Appoint a spokesperson to present your analysis to the class.

Individual Exercise #16

Ch05: How to Launch a Project

Team Exercise #17

Prepare the Project Impact Statement

Dee has just discovered a third carry out restaurant that has gone out of business. She would not have been interested in it at this stage of the project except that it was in an excellent location to serve the outer fringes of the PDQ market in a section of town where middle class homes were being constructed. Design has been completed on all subprojects and coding is nearly complete. A Scope Change Request Form has been completed by Dee and will be distributed to your team.

Complete the Project Impact Statement. You have 60 minutes to complete this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson from your team to report your results to the class.


Team Exercise #18

Building Your Effective IT Project Team

Your team is now together for the first time. Begin with the Assessment Stage and discuss the inventory of skills on your team from the PMSA you conducted in Exercise #16. Identify the major tasks that your team will have to execute and build the RASCI Matrix for your team.


Getting Clients Meaningfully Involved

Make a list of all those initiatives you have taken to get your clients meaningfully involved.

Which ones have been successful? Which haven’t? How would you approach them now?

You have 60 minutes. Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s initiatives.

Team Exercise #19


Class Exercise #20

Client Scenarios

Respond to the issues shown on the following slides.

For each issue, identify what you could do to prevent the issue from arising and what you would do if it has already occurred.


Class Exercise #20

Note to Instructor

The following slides should be shown to the students one at a time. First you display the slide that shows only the issue. Have the students suggest possible preventative measures. Then show the slide with your preventative measures and discuss. Next have the students suggest prescriptive measures. Then show your slide with your prescriptive measures and discuss. Feel free to substitute any of your own measures.


Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement

ISSUE #1The client changes requirements frequently.

ACTIONPreventative measures:

Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Become more proactive at beginning of the project.2. Negotiate requirements.3. Base requirements on business rules and processes.4. Keep the client meaningfully involved in the project.5. Establish a change request bank and make a deposit. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Become more proactive at beginning of the project.2. Negotiate requirements.3. Base requirements on business rules and processes.4. Keep the client meaningfully involved in the project.5. Establish a change request bank and make a deposit. Prescriptive measures:1. What was the cause of the change request?2. What if the change is not accommodated?3. What is the impact of the change on the project?4. Is there an alternative to the change?


ISSUE #2The client does not provide good people for theproject.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Ask for a junior member from the client

organization.





ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Ask for a junior member from the client

organization.

Prescriptive measures:1. Meet with the client manager and state your

minimum requirements.


ISSUE #3The client group cannot agree among themselves.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Meet with the client groups to identify potential

problems.2. Seek agreement on solutions in advance.3. Show how your approach meets the needs of each

group. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Meet with the client groups to identify potential

problems.2. Seek agreement on solutions in advance.3. Show how your approach meets the needs of each

group. Prescriptive measures:1. Meet with each client group independently to get

opinions.2. Formulate a solution all will accept.3. Follow up with sales efforts.


ISSUE #4Client managers and staff lack technical knowledge.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Present technology as it impacts the client’s

business process. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Present technology as it impacts the client’s

business process. Prescriptive measures:1. Explain use and benefits of the technology.


ISSUE #5Client management is replaced.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Anticipate change.2. Introduce project to as wide a group as possible. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Anticipate change.2. Introduce project to as wide a group as possible. Prescriptive measures:1. Be proactive.2. Introduce new managers to benefits of project.3. Involve new managers in the issues.


ISSUE #6The client has no interest in the project.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Point out benefits early in the project.2. Seek to establish support from top management. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Point out benefits early in the project.2. Seek to establish support from top management. Prescriptive measures:1. Involve client groups that will benefit.2. You may want to change the project.


ISSUE #7Team members resist project management.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Discuss how the project will be managed.2. Lay out the role of each team member early in

planning stage. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Discuss how the project will be managed.2. Lay out the role of each team member early in

planning stage. Prescriptive measures:1. Talk one on one about past projects.2. Show how your approach is different.3. Reinforce methods described earlier.


ISSUE #8Team members are overcommitted to projects.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Be informed of all team members’ commitments.2. Identify realistic minimum expectations.3. Monitor how their time is spent. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Be informed of all team members’ commitments.2. Identify realistic minimum expectations.3. Monitor how their time is spent. Prescriptive measures:1. Approach the individual and review their

commitments.2. Work out a compromise with other managers.


ISSUE #9There are missing skills on your team.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Assess skill levels of the team.2. Identify outside contractors. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Assess skill levels of the team.2. Identify outside contractors. Prescriptive measures:1. Involve the team in solution identification.2. Look for outside help.3. Plan ahead for bringing new people on the project.


ISSUE #10A team member leaves and produces a gap.







ACTIONPreventative measures:1. As a risk mitigation strategy consider back up for

critical skills.2. Use cross training whenever possible. Prescriptive measures:




ACTIONPreventative measures:1. As a risk mitigation strategy consider back up for

critical skills.2. Use cross training whenever possible. Prescriptive measures:1. View vacancy as an opportunity and consult with

your team.2. Reformulate and reassign work until the vacancy is

filled.


Team Exercise #21

Conduct Stakeholder Analysis

Each team will identify their stakeholder groups and conduct a stakeholder analysis using the form on the following slide. You will have 30 minutes for this exercise.

Appoint a spokesperson from each group to report your experiences throughout the exercise.


Team Exercise #21 – The Communications Interfaces

TO WHOM WHAT WHEN HOW

Client

Functional manager

Team members

Outside contractors

The public

Sponsor

FROM WHOM: Project Manager


Team Exercise #22

Build a Communications Management Plan

A communications management plan should be part of the WBS. Use the stakeholder analysis generated in the previous module as input to this exercise and create your communications management plan. Use the template in the workbook as your guide to creating your plan. You have 45 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your plan to the class.


Team Exercise #23

Create a Project Status Report

Create a status report for your project. Appoint one or more spokespersons from your team to present your project status report to the class.

Ch06: How to Monitor & Control a Project

Class Exercise #24

Compare and Contrast Each Model

Now that you have been exposed to all of the models, it isworth the time to reflect back on what we have done andidentify where these models might have application inyour organization. Identify any obstacles you envision and

how you might mitigate them. Propose an implementation plan.

Ch08: Project Management Landscape

Using TPM for the PDQ Project

The PDQ Project has six subsystems to be developed. Which, if any, would lend themselves to a TPM approach. Defend your choices.

Team Exercise #25

Ch09: Traditional Project Management

APF Implementation Challenges

Your have assembled a team of the only three senior project managers who have experience using APF but not in your organization. They have the respect and credibility of the other TPM project managers. You have been asked by the PMO Director to develop an implementation plan for APF. To begin that planning activity identify three major obstacles you might face and define your strategy for overcoming them. You have 45 minutes to complete the exercise.

Appoint a spokesperson to report your findings.

Team Exercise #26

Ch11: Agile Project Management

Using xPM for the PDQ Project

If you had to pick a subsystem in the PDQ Project that was best suited for an Extreme PMLC model, which subsystem would you pick and why? How might you execute such a project?

Team Exercise #27

Ch12: Extreme Project Management

PSO Maturity

Describe how you would implement a PSO at PDQ. What programs would you implement to move the organization from Level 2 to eventually Level 4?

Team Exercise #28

Ch13: Establishing & Maturing a PSO

PDQ Project Portfolio Management Process

The PDQ team and its contractors do not have enough resources to complete the project as quickly as it could have been done. Establish a temporary portfolio management process for the PDQ project.

Team Exercise #29

Ch14: Establishing & Managing a PPMP

PDQ Process Improvement Program

Once the PDQ Project is complete and all six subsystems are working, there will be problems in the level of performance that actually occurs. Construct a PQM for PDQ. In other words what are the rows and columns of the PDQ PQM. Also determine the correlations (recall that these are the little squares). Be very specific. You do not have to define the process maturity level column.

You have 90 minutes to complete this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your PQM to the class.

Team Exercise #30

Ch15: Establishing & Managing a CPIP

Team Exercise #31

Ch16: Managing Distressed Projects

Root Cause Analysis

You have two development projects that have become distressed projects:

Project Alpha: Under budget and behind schedule Project Beta: Over budget and behind schedule

Create a Root Cause Analysis template for each project. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s templates.

PDQ Project Team Organization

Suppose that PDQ were a project whose team consisted of six independent teams – one for each subsystem. Which team structure would you use and why? Given that team structure how would you organize the project?

Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s analysis.

Team Exercise #32

Ch17: Managing Multiple Team Projects

Documents

EPM5 Exercises De