Topic Four Forum

1. Are there any major differences in the templates/content of the content? If you have access to a
plan from your organisation, compare yours with the templates you have discovered.
2. Consider some projects with which you are familiar. Would using the same template each time
affect your orgaisations planning positively or negatively?
3. Give some specific examples of how milestones affect project planning based on your own
experience.
4. Have you used Project Management software before? Does your organisation use MS or a
different package? In future modules, you will be using PM software. You might want to consider
playing with the tools as time permits
1. Are there any major differences in the templates/content of the content? If you have access to a
plan from your organisation, compare yours with the templates you have discovered.

Contents of Master plans vary depending on the size, complexity and nature of the
project. 3 major sections are,

Management summary
Management and Organization section
Technical section

Project Management Plan, is a formal approved document. Project management plan details about the project, defines how the
project is executed, monitored and controlled. Project management plan may be a summary or collection of baselines, subset of
management plans and other planning documents.
1.

As per, Master Project Management Plan - California Office of Systems Integration 2010.
The project Vote Cal Statewide Voter Registration System, to establish collectively, this functionality is the statewide
Voter Registration System Project, commonly known as VoteCal, and has the following components in the project
management plan,
Project Management Methodology
Project Management Teams
Scope Management
Schedule Management
Cost Management
Quality Management
Staff Management
Risk Management
Communications Management
Configuration Management
Contract Management
Issue Management

2.

In my Current project, Metro Rail Construction Project has the following components, and they almost similar to Votecal
project of point # 01.
Scope Management
Schedule Management
Cost Management
Quality Management
Resource Management
Risk Management
Communications Management
Configuration Management
Contract Management
Issue Management
Documents Management
Design Management
Construction Management
Testing & Commissioning Management
Technology Transfer Management

3. Give some specific examples of how milestones affect project planning based on your own
experience.

Milestones in Project: Is a special event that requires special attention,

Milestones can add significant value to project scheduling. They help project
managers to determine and understand the project status.
In the projects world, there are several tasks leading to group of events, these
events lead to key milestones (project deliverables).
Establishing Project milestones, based on the significance,

If any task, decision or event is highly important to the project execution,

thats a Milestone.
If any task, decision or events is seriously impact in the project time, thats
a Milestone.
If any task, decision or events is an Indicator in the project success, thats a
Milestone.

Using Milestones to Oversee Progress: In the project execution, progress of the

project status to represent in the identified Milestones. Any changes in the project,
Key Milestones to modify accordingly.

Triggering Event about the pending Milestone.

Determination of Milestones (i.e. will be met or will not be met).
If the Milestone will be met, the project is under control (Time).
If the Milestone will not be met then to determine and identify the causing
factors, Milestone Analysis is required.

Telling the Status: Milestones are tools of communication, to set expectations and
share information. In the Milestones review for status reporting the following
questions can be addressed,

What is the importance of Milestones?

Which Milestones have been met? Or does not Met?
What do these Milestones Met or does not Met reflects about Project
Health and Management quality.
What do these Milestones about to be missed, and it reflects about
Project Health and Management quality.
Which Milestones are still pending?
Considering all above, can the project still be completed on time and as
planned?

Example 01: I would like to discuss about my current Transportation construction

project.
To develop design of the project there are multi levels of tasks leading to
deliverables, for comfort these tasks are linked to Key milestones. Below presented

chart shows all Milestones of the Design scope. Based on the project size and
complexity priorities can be given or allocated.
Any delays in Authorities approval milestone, the next task related to Permits to
access Milestone will not progress, etc.. to complete the Design development
project.

Authorities
approvals
Permits to
access
Preliminary
Investigations

Overall project

Design
development

Primary Design
Intermediatory
Design
Detailed
Design
Final Design
Shop Drawings

Example 02:
Procurement of Structural Steel, based on the design development finalization
of supplier and specifications to follow.
In our project the design development got delayed, successor Milestone of
finalization of supplier got impacted and delayed (until any mitigations taken).
Delays in deliveries will impact the Construction of the Structure and thus the
completion of the project. In addition to this, Natural calamities (force majeure)
delayed the deliveries further. The origin of suppliers manufacturing location got
flooded due to heavy rains, caused machineries and material damages (cost) and to
recover and normalize the production it took approximately 3 weeks (delays in
time).

Gopikrishna

Task 04 - Have you used Project Management software before? Does your
organisation use MS or a different package? In future modules, you will be using PM
software. You might want to consider playing with the tools as time permits
Post:
a) Have you used Project Management Software before?
Yes, Iam using Primavera, MS Project, Acumen, and Tilos
b) Does your organization use MS or different package?
In my organization we are not using MS project. We are using Primaver, Tilos and
Acumen.
c) In future modules, you will be using PM software.
Welcome.
d) You might want to consider playing with the tools as time permits.
If i understood correctly, usage PM software tools as time available, yes will be
ready to use.

Gopikrishna