Project Management

Part II

Presented by ZweigWhite
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 Seminar Overview

• Introduction and Logistics

• Headaches and Learning Objectives
• Facts, Figures, and Things to Consider
• Skills and Abilities of Today’s Project Manager
• What we need to do, when, why and how
• Project Phases
• Key Concepts
• Excellence in Project Leadership
• Objectives in Motion
What We Need to Do, When,
Why, and How
Project Lifecycle
Project Initiation
 Project Initiation

• Team Formation • Expectations • Delegation

• Schedules • Project Charter • Leading Teams
• Procedures • Kick-off Meeting
 Team Formation

• Project Teams:
– Project Manager
– Clients, consultants, and subconsultants
– Project Leader
– Project Designer
– Other detailers, technical professionals
 Team Formation

• Elements to Consider:
– Project goals and objectives
– Roles and responsibilities
– Education, training, and certification
– Years of experience and qualifications
– Personalities
 Sub-Consultants

• They play a role in the project too:

– When and what
• Great drawings
• They understand our process and expectations of them
– Why
• Their role and actions impact construction – time and costs
– How
• Choosing consultants committed to superior outcomes
• Submittals: “Note as corrected” vs “Rejected”; turnaround
times, impact of substitutions
• RFIs: Communication channels, timeliness, great drawings
 Work Breakdown Structure

• The Work Breakdown Structure:

– All the work necessary to do this project
– All the deliverables required
– Only work defined within the scope negotiated

• Rolling it Up:
– Start with client deliverables
– Define all tasks to complete each deliverable
– Assign tasks to team members
 Sequencing and Scheduling

• The Work Breakdown Structure:

– Deliverables are the milestones
– Establish date deliverables must be completed
– Break deliverables into manageable tasks
– Identify team members for tasks
– Estimate hours required

– Understand dependencies; what can be done in parallel

– Use tools at your disposal
 Kick-Off Meeting

• Getting started on the right foot:

– When and what
• Project kick-off meeting with expectations and procedures
– Why
• Sets the tone for the entire project
• Expectations drive consistency and clarity
– How
• Establish frequency of meetings, paperwork deadlines, RFI
and submittal process
• Be positive – this is an exciting project
• Do not make assumptions or bring in prejudices
• Overlay schedules, discuss impact, reach agreement
 Kick-Off Meeting

• Getting started on the right foot:

– How
• Talk NOW about anything that might impact the schedule
and discuss alternatives
• Listen; ask when not sure
• Verify long lead items and indicate these critical dates on
the schedule
• Everyone attends: Architect, client, sub-consultants,
contractor
• Create meeting minutes and distribute to all attendees
 Project Charter

• Full awareness of this project

Firm Goals

Client Project
Issue Delivery &
Solution

Client Goals
Project Goals
 Project Charter
• Always Includes:
– Client goals
– Project description, scope, design criteria, approach and
deliverables
– Project budget
– Project schedule
– QA/QC plan
– Project administration and filing procedures
– Contact list
– Communications plan
– Contract document
 Key Concept: Delegation

• Best Practices:
– When and what
• Appointing someone to act on our behalf
• Delegation is a two way process:
– You delegate responsibility – authority flows from you to
team member
– Accountability flows from team member to you
– Why
• Delegation is good for us– it’s good for the team
• We don’t have time to do it all
– How
• There is a pathway to successful delegation
 Key Concept: Delegation

• Best Practices:
– How
• Communicate desired results
• Set clear goals and deadlines
• Give all information/ideas
• Define authority/responsibility
• Resist making decisions for others
• Give appropriate credit
 Key Concept: Delegation

• Considerations During Task Assignments:

– What input will this task receive?
– What output do you expect from this task?
– What process do you expect will be followed in completing this
task?
– What schedule do you expect for completion of this task?
– Within what budget should this task be completed?

– Determine, Identify, Assign, Monitor, Evaluate

 Motivating Teams

“I don’t motivate my players. You cannot motivate

someone. All you can do is
provide a motivating environment
and the players will motivate themselves.”

Phil Jackson
Coach, 2000 LA Lakers
 Enhancing Team Abilities

• Factors that enhance abilities:

– Creative and challenging work
– Participation in decision making
– Job flexibility, autonomy, responsibility
– Training and development activities
– Praise and recognition from peers and supervisors
– Promotion to higher job status
– Social interaction with co-workers
– Interaction with clients
 Key Concept: Accountability

Project Delivery

Recognition, Reward, Expectations,

Growth Communication
Culture of
Accountability &
Expectations Met, Responsibility Openness, Trust,
Success Self-esteem

Better Decisions, More Information,

Problems Solved Faster Greater Initiative
 Key Concept: Accountability
• Within Project Teams:
– Everyone in the firm understands the critical role of projects
– Project Manager is the shepherd of this process
– Role and authority of Project Manager is clear
– Everyone grows – requirement of the firm
– Set expectations and desired results
– Reviews and feedback at project conclusion
– Be prepared to take necessary action
– Be prepared to congratulate and reward
Project Progression
 Project Progression

• Budget Monitoring • QA / QC • Communication

• Schedule Monitoring • Meetings • Scope Change
• Billing / Collections • Paperwork of all kinds • Leadership
 Budget Monitoring
• Keeping our eyes on the money:
– When and what
• Frequency will depend on project size
– Why
• Because this tracks our profit or loss
– How
• Use internal systems for timesheets, invoices, expenses,
accounts payable, receivables, and work in progress
• Monitor costs against budget on a frequent basis, watch red
flags and take corrective action when needed
• Use resource projections, cost to complete estimates
• Provide periodic summary to team and PIC
 Budget Monitoring
– How
• Team understands and commits to budget (see Project
Charter)
• Team records accurate time
• Deal with out of scope requests immediately
• Close out projects promptly and properly
• Communicate as much as possible
 Budget Monitoring

• When a Project is Over Budget:

– Perhaps: The original budget was too low, wrong staff
assigned, scope increased without compensation, internal
delays

- What risks did we identify at the beginning?

– Take action: Compress or extend the schedule, change staff

if necessary, use additional staff, as a last resort ask client to
renegotiate the contract
 Schedule Monitoring
• Keeping our eyes on the time:
– When and what
• Periodically review the project work plan against dates
– Why
• We don’t want to get jammed into trouble
– How
• Start with a realistic schedule
• Team is committed to tasks and milestones
• Provide early/late start and stop dates
• Use tools at our disposal: scheduling software, records, data
• Compare time sheets against progress reports
• Periodically review team members’ performance
 Schedule Monitoring
– How
• Frequently publish or talk about the schedule with the team
• Look for ways to save time, beat schedule
• Do not use contingencies as a crutch
• Hire schedule driven sub-consultants
• Document all issues that can affect schedule
• Communicate with entire team – especially client
• Delegate schedule updates to team member
 Keep the Work Rolling
• Every day is important:
– When and what
• Making sure we contribute to maintaining the schedule
– Why
• Every day lost is revenue lost for the client
• Someone (likely many people) is waiting for our response
• Leaders do this
– How
• As responsive to other parties as we are to the client
• Good turnaround times for RFIs, submittals, shop drawings,
pay applications
• Availability or delegation
• Be open to alternatives, substitutions, suggestions
 Project Monitoring

• Leaders find solutions and make decisions:

– When and what
• You cannot solve a problem unless you can make a decision
– Why
• Projects are dynamic and will always require solutions
• The project has to keep moving
– How
• Plan, Do, Check, Act
• Define the “real” problem
• Generate alternate solutions
 Project Monitoring

• Leaders find solutions and make decisions:

– How
• Evaluate and select solution right for the project
• Implement and follow up
• Designate responsibility
• Document decisions and lessons learned

• Did what we decide to do work?

 Turning Things Around

• Action Plan when things aren’t going so well….

Short Long
Internal External Expected
Problem Term Term
Cause Cause Impact
Response Response

Possible
Permit Two Week
NA Code ? ?
Holdup Delay
Issues

Fee Burn
Wrong Profitability in
Rate Too NA ? ?
team? danger
High
 Billing and Collections

• Invoicing:
– Getting paid for our work is critical today
– Cash flow
– Shorter duration projects
– Establish billing dates / frequency / terms at the beginning of the
project
– PM and team understand importance of timely billing cycles and
accurate recording
– Use a well-designed A/R report
– Design an effective invoice or use owner supplied forms
correctly
 QA / QC
• Providing a high quality product:
– When and what
• QA: Everything that drives consistent quality levels vs. QC:
Processes that verify quality at the end of project stages
– Why
• A good set of drawings is different than a bad set of drawings
• This is the claim we make on our website
– How
• Excellent work expected at every level, on every deliverable
• Verification on work packages, tasks, deliverables
• Part of performance evaluations and team review
• Build QC processes into budget and schedule
• Outsource
 Key Concept: Communication

• Best Practices:
– When and what
• Exchanging information in all directions
• 90% of our time will be spent communicating
– Why
• Lack of communication will ruin any project
• We owe it to everyone we work with
• Leaders do this
– Remember
• “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it
has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
 Key Concept: Communication

• Best practices:
– How
• Establish a communication plan for the project
• Determine RACI roles (responsible, accountable, consult,
inform)
• Decide what is critical and what is not
• Good communication does not include email – after three
exchanges, pick up the phone or meet in person
• Document discussions, decisions, actions taken, outcomes
 Key Concept: Communication

• Best Practices for Meetings:

– Budget the time and understand the commitment
– Set ground rules at initiation
– Distribute and work from an agenda
– Prioritize meeting items
– Allocate time for each
– List attendees
– Limit length of meetings
– Consistency
 Weekly Updates
• Periodic Project Updates:
– Weekly, brief email:
– Progress to date
– Upcoming tasks
– Issues to be aware of
• Client reviews and input
• Out of scope work
• Schedule and/or budget issues
• Report trouble or issues early
• Send consistently to every team member involved in the project –
client, technical staff, subconsultants
 Key Concept: Remote Management

• More and more projects out of state:

– When and what
• Keeping our eyes on the project from a distance
– Why
• More risk involved at a distance
– How
• Roles and responsibilities super clear from the start
• Use web-based meetings
• Hold them more frequently
• Thorough and efficient site visits
• Extra client care when needed
• Take lots of photographs
 Key Concept: Managing Scope Change

• Best practices:
– When and what
• Hardly a project out there that does not have at least one
– Why
• That’s the nature of the design and construction industry
– How
• Get it going: discuss changes immediately and thoroughly
• Decide whether to charge client for your services or not
• Get approvals first and invoice it immediately
• Disputes put off until the end will likely appear at the end
• Consider contract terms that define breadth of scope:
– Number of meetings or permit reviews
 Key Concept: Managing the Client

• Know thy client:

– Why is the project being done
– Who are the stakeholders
– Who does the client report to
– Who makes the final decisions
– What are the client’s issues / concerns
– What are the client’s expectations
– Get the Principal involved when necessary
 Key Concept: Project Leadership

• Best practices:
– When and what
• This (project, owner, contractor) is driving me nuts. Why
should I be the bigger person here or do this extra work??
– Why
• We are committed to the client’s goals
• Or at least we said we were
• Project leadership is increasingly important today
– How
• Argue in the positive
• Assess wins and losses – pick your battles
• Know where your alliances are and use them
• Get assistance from the principal or colleagues
 Thank You!

Christine Brack, PMP

Principal
239-280-2300 x2902
cbrack@zweigwhite.com
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