15 
Transitioning to Larger Projects
Congratulations on the successful management of your small projects. The knowledge and skills you are acquiring from using the small and simple project management process and tools allow you to become competent in the management of small projects. This chapter presents some of the challenges and issues you will face if you make the transition to managing larger projects.
Project Management Skills
The project management skills you are acquiring from managing small projects serve as the foundation on which you can continue to build additional skills. Here are some additional project management complications that you will manage when you lead large projects:
• Project management process—The processes used to manage projects will increase to include more activities from the 10 knowledge areas: project integration management, project scope management, project schedule management, project cost management, project quality management, project resource management, project communication management, project risk management, project procurement management, and project stakeholder management.
Initiating—project charters will be more detailed and will require input from more project stakeholders. You may also have to develop a preliminary scope statement that provides a high-level definition of the project. Project and product requirements will need to be documented.
Planning—More planning will be required. You will spend time planning to plan as you prepare for planning sessions to obtain the information for more detailed and formal project plans. You will incorporate budgeting, resource planning, and contracting activities into your project plans. You will use more techniques for risk analysis. You will need to regularly use progressive elaboration.
Executing—More emphasis will be placed on managing quality to ensure that the project employs all of the processes needed to meet the requirements.
Monitoring and controlling—These activities will increase significantly. You will need to keep detailed project schedules current and manage costs and risks. You will produce more types of performance reports— status, variance, metric, trend, and earned value—and manage the needs of more levels of stakeholders. Document control will become very important because you are sharing more critical team documents with more team members.
Closing—Larger projects are more likely to be audited; therefore, project closure is more formal because key project documents need to be retained. At the close of the project you will also be expected to close contracts and release resources.
• Project management software—You will need to use a project management application for detailed project planning and control.
• Process integration—Projects are more complex and will require the incorporation of other processes:
Product development process—You will use a specific industry development life cycle.
Business processes— You will become more involved with the use of Processes from the impacted business areas.
Change management— You will incorporate the behavior activities required to prepare the organization for a change from the current state to the future state.
Leadership Skills
Your leadership activities will increase:
• You will have to be willing to listen and learn.
• You will be expected to drive the project to completion. You have to take charge and make sure the work is getting done. When issues arise, you must make sure they are addressed immediately and resolved as quickly as possible.
• You will be leading larger teams, which will require more meeting management and facilitation skills.
• You will be expected to make key project decisions in a timely manner.
• You will be expected to deliver presentations to project stakeholders.
• Your team will be looking to you for answers. Your credibility will be key. Your team members will need to know they can trust you to get them through the difficult times.
People, Process, and Technology
You will have to find a way to balance people, process, and technology to truly be successful. This will be a continuous challenge because projects are unique and people, process, and technology are constantly changing. Remember to choose the processes that fit your project, make allowances for technological changes, and get to know the people on your team and allow them to become fully engaged in the project activities.
Project Management Keys for Success
Description
The following are keys for success when managing small projects.
Process Overview
• Make sure the right amount of process is used for each project. If too much or too little is used initially, be flexible enough to make the necessary adjustments.
• Keep process guides handy for quick reference.
• Integrate the project management process with the product development process to gain more efficiency.
• Lead the way for other project managers to begin using project management on small projects.
Project Initiation
• Engage project stakeholders early in the process and keep them engaged throughout the life of the project.
• Establish trust.
• Remember that the project charter sets the stage for the planning phase and should include input from all key stakeholders.
• Obtain necessary approvals before proceeding.
Project Planning
• Plan to plan and be prepared to replan.
• The people doing the work should help plan the work.
• Use brainstorming sessions to engage the team.
• Use decision-making tools and techniques to facilitate the planning process. Remember that the earlier you identify a problem the easier it is to solve.
• Include more than the project schedule in the project plan; include all the planning documents.
• Collect project requirements and define project scope.
• Document assumptions and constraints.
• Be aware of logical relationships and plan for them. By default most relationships are finish-to-start, where the successor depends on the finish of the predecessor. Other relationships to consider carefully are finish-to-finish (the finish of the successor depends on the finish of the predecessor) and start-to-start (the start of the successor depends on the start of the predecessor). A column can be added to the project schedule to indicate task or deliverable dependencies.
• If project management software is not available, do planning for small projects by using word processing or spreadsheet software applications. A work breakdown structure (WBS) can easily be drawn by hand or developed using an outline format.
• Negotiate for key project resources.
• Use lessons learned from previous projects at the start of new projects.
• Keep project documents in a project notebook, and set up an electronic filing system at the beginning of the project.
• Remember that if you do not plan, you will not have what you will need to keep the project in control.
• Obtain sponsor approval on the project plan.
Project Planning for Simple Projects
• Do some form of planning even for the simplest projects.
• Use the tools and techniques defined for small projects as needed.
Project Controlling
• Carefully monitor project progress, respond to variances, and communicate to project stakeholders.
• Manage issues and risks, and escalate when necessary.
• Identify the impact that a requested change will have on the project resources, timeframe, and budget; obtain approval to incorporate the change into the project.
• Have a positive attitude, especially during difficult times.
Project Closing
• Make sure project objectives are met.
• Make sure all deliverables are complete.
• Archive project documentation.
• Celebrate project success.
Managing Multiple Projects
• Use processes and tools consistently for individual projects.
• Consolidate projects, manage at the appropriate level, and analyze across projects.
• Ensure that risk planning occurs twice—first while planning the individual project and then again during multiproject planning.
• Communicate project progress using consolidated reports.
• Color-code projects for more clarity.
Building Effective Teams
• Make sure meeting minutes are clear and concise, and that they contain sentences that are short and to the point.
• Establish processes for decision making and issue escalation.
• Provide team-building activities during the forming stage to help the team make the transition from operating as individuals to operating as a team.
• During storming, use the appropriate procedures and techniques to manage conflict.
• Coach during the norming stage by using interactive questioning, collaborative goal setting, constructive feedback, and positive guidance.
• Allow interdependence and flexibility among team members during the performing stage.
• Show sensitivity and appreciation during the adjourning stage.
The Power of One
• Use project management because it is the right thing to do.
• Use all small projects as a training ground for larger projects.
• Effectively manage time and find ways to stay motivated.