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Project
Management Guide |
| What if Your Projects
Always Succeeded? | What is the Project
Management Guide? |
| What are the Features of the Project
Management Guide? | How do we Evaluate the Project
Management Guide? |
Sample Template | Request
Form | Return to our Home Page |
What
if Your Projects Always Succeeded?
Do your IT projects succeed as a matter of course? Is it normal for them to come in on
time, on budget, in scope, and actually delivering value to your organization? If you
answered "no," youre not alone. There is no shortage of examples of IT
projects gone wrong. We are constantly reminded of the problems, to the extent that it
sometimes seems as if "IT project" and "overrun" are synonymous.
This does not have to be the case. If you make the decision to manage your projects
overtly and consistently rather than relying on a fervent hope for the best, you can join
the growing group of satisfied managers who sleep soundly at night, not staring at the
ceiling agonizing how to explain or minimize the latest fiasco.
The problem is how to manage projects consistently. Many organizations have sent their
project managers on courses, often with good results, but they have found that project
success seems somehow to depend upon the diligence of each project manager rather than
becoming something that the organization is entitled to expect as a matter of routine.
The Project Management Guide is based on the observation that project managers benefit
by following clear roadmaps to managing projects. When they are able to make use of
templates, checklists, and forms, it is less likely that they will overlook things that
need to be handled. Project managers can learn from the behavior of professional pilots:
before pilots take off or land, they run through a written checklist of activities. It
does not matter how experienced they are or how good their safety record, every pilot is
required to use the checklists. Thats because airlines, like other organizations,
have come to recognize that items committed to memory sometimes get lost in the bustle of
activities. So it is with planning and running projects. When we do things consistently
and well, we succeed.
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What is the Project
Management Guide?
The Project Management Guide (PMG) is a complete system for managing information
systems and technology projects. It consists of a set of 32 templates, checklists, and
forms, along with manuals that describe how to use them and assistance in implementing
them.
The PMG includes over 330 pages of documentation in four manuals:
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The Overview and Implementation Manual gives an
overview of the PMG and the terminology that it uses. It also provides an implementation
plan and a set of worksheets to help you customize the PMG for your organization. |
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The Component Description Manual presents all of
the 32 PMG components, the templates, checklists, and forms, and describes the contents of
each along with helpful ideas on how to best use the components. |
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The Process Description Manual describes the
processes to manage projects and the processes for each of the 32 PMG components. The
processes describe when to use a component, the conditions under which it is used, how to
use it, and what it is used for. |
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The Component Samples Manual presents a complete
set of samples of the 32 PMG components as they could be used in an actual project. |
The PMG contains the following templates, checklists, and forms. They are presented in
the normal sequence in which they would be used in a project.
Project Stage |
Component
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Initiation |
Handover form
Project binder
Classification worksheet
Scope definition checklist
Project charter
Satisfaction criteria |
Planning |
Work breakdown structure
Activity definition
Assumptions checklist
Constraints checklist
Cost estimate worksheet
Cost management plan
Schedule management plan
Staffing requirements form
Scope management plan
Risk assessment checklist
Risk management plan
Communications management plan
Quality management plan
Project plan |
Execution |
Time sheet
Status report
Corrective actions checklist
Scope change request form
Deliverable review form
Formal acceptance signoff form |
Close-out |
Handover form
Satisfaction criteria
Lessons learned checklist
Performance appraisal form
Archives index |
All stages |
Issues log
Meeting agenda
Meeting minutes |
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What are
the Features of the Project Management Guide?
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The PMG components have fields. Each
component opens with a dialog box asking for information such as the project name, the
company name, and the customer name. The values that the project manager enters will be
transferred onto the document, checklist, or form. For some components, there are nine
separate fields. |
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The fields have memory. Once the project
manager fills in the fields and accepts them, those values will populate all future dialog
boxes for all of the components so that the project manager does not have to re-enter the
values. Of course, when the values are changed, the PMG remembers the new ones. |
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Not all projects are equal; some need more
management than others. Recognizing this, the PMG introduces the concept of the
project "class," a measure of a projects strategic importance, complexity,
risk, and size, and allows project managers to vary the degree of management that each
project requires. |
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The PMG can be customized. Your
companys logo can be placed on components, and a set of worksheets guides an
organization to set up the PMG as it wishes. |
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The PMG uses consistent terminology. IT
projects can be confusing with multiple meanings for the same term, such as
"phase." The PMG defines terms that can be used to introduce consistency and
clarity in an organization. |
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The PMG can be applied immediately. An
organization can begin to realize its benefits in just two weeks. |
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On-site consulting is available. We
can provide consulting to customize the PMG for your organization, implement it, train
your project managers, and give them one-on-one counseling on how to apply the PMG in
their current projects. |
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How do we
Evaluate the Project Management Guide?
Simply use the form on our "Contact Us"
page. We will e-mail you a free copy of the Overview and Implementation Manual
along with pricing information and purchase options.
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Free Sample
Template
Would you like to look at a template? Simply check the "Send me the Project
Charter template" on the "Contact Us" form to
receive your template by e-mail. Please note that all templates use macros for the
following purposes:
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To drive the opening dialog that allows the user to enter
variable information onto the document. |
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To allow the user to enter numbered headings. |
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