The rolling wave technique is a method that allows the project manager to plan a project while it is taking place.

In short, this technique requires iterative planning.

This type of planning is very similar to that used in Scrum or in other Agile methodologies.

In essence, the rolling wave method allows you to plan until you have visibility to implement the plan, while the next steps are planned while working directly to the previous phases.

An example of rolling wave

A simple example of rolling wave is one where you expect to complete a project in eight months, but you only have clarity for the first three months. In this case, the first three months are planned.

As the project progresses and greater clarity is achieved, the following months can be planned.

The rolling wave technique uses progressive processing, which means processing work packages in more detail as the project unfolds.

But be careful that it does not mean that this planning method does not exempt the project manager from creating a list of milestones and assumptions for the project.

It is necessary to provide milestones and the key hypotheses as they will help stakeholders to understand why they are using the rolling wave method and what to expect while the project progresses.

 When to apply the rolling wave method

This method can be applied when:

• It is not possible to define a detailed project plan shortly.
• It is not clear which deliverables should be produced.
• It is not possible to organize the different phases of the project.

The rolling wave method is particularly useful in projects with high uncertainty. Therefore, it is necessary to use the best risk management practices.

The rolling wave planning, therefore, is the process of breaking down the work breakown structure into time intervals.

At the end of each phase, the project manager will study the structure of the WBS and will expand it to include more details.

It is particularly suitable for projects where the work involved in a phase is highly variable and depends on the result of the previous phase, such as projects that require prototypes and, in general, in the engineering sector.

The advantages of the rolling wave method

This type of approach to project management is particularly useful when the availability of the information needed to plan future work packages in detail is based on the successful completion of the previous phases of the project.

This technique can also help reduce turnaround time in two ways:

• By allowing the start of productive activities without waiting for every detail of the work to be determined in advance.
• By eliminating downtime for additional planning in the middle of a project, since planning is performed continuously.

This type of planning also has the following advantages:

• Encourages adaptability
• Encourages planning
• It is excellent for research and development projects, high technology and inventions
• It is excellent for projects with variable capacity

The rolling wave planning is done in 4 simple steps:

• Create the WBS.
• Divide the project into phases.
• Provide a realistic level of detail for each phase.
• Once the considered phase is completed, return to step 1 to manage the next phase.

The steps of the rolling wave planning

Now let’s look at these steps in detail.

Create the WBS

The work breakdown structure is the nucleus around which all the other project management planning processes take place.

This involves splitting each project into single work items.

Each work item requires an identification number, a description, and a member of the team responsible for that particular activity, and sometimes it has additional elements such as budget, expiration date, and dependencies with other tasks.

Throughout the project life cycle, these work items are monitored and progress is recorded and reported.

Divide the project into phases

The phases are more simply the points in which an important moment for the project in general takes place.

For example, if we consider the creation of a prototype, a phase could be concluded with the presentation of a first prototype model.

From this stage others may follow, depending on the result – which is still uncertain. For example, the prototype could be accepted, thus starting the large-scale production phase, or it could be declared unsuitable, thus starting the re-elaboration phase.

Provide a realistic level of detail for each phase

Clearly, as you continue planning on the timeline, the phases will have less and less detail.

This is a clear concept in the rolling wave methodology, given that information on future steps is few or there are no information at all.

The work breakdown structure will therefore contain less details regarding the successive phases, but these will be reviewed and completed when the phases begin to be near in time.

Once the considered phase is completed, return to step 1 to manage the next phase

There is not much to say at this point. As explained above, as the project continues in its cycle, it will be possible to determine and manage the phases that come near in the future.

In general, it is always important, before starting with the execution of a project, to have a plan at the beginning of any project.

If the project will be known in detail immediately, it will be possible to continue with traditional planning, otherwise the rollign wave method can be used.

Choosing the wrong planning methodology can lead to loss of control over the project.

To ensure the success of a project, it is necessary that the project Manager knows how to break down the project and, consequently, structure a WBS.

WBS is the abbreviation of Work Breakdown Structure, which, in other words, means a division of the labor required to complete a project.

The WBS is widely used by professional project managers to represent the scope of the project and the results in a hierarchical manner.

Generally, creating a work breakdown structure is one of the first steps in project planning.

For project managers at the beginning of their careers, sometimes the WBS can be confusing and difficult to manage, but it is good that they quickly become familiar with it, because it is the key to success, especially in the case of complex projects.

The Work Breakdown Structure, in fact, is used to make complex projects more manageable. In essence, the WBS is designed to help divide a project into manageable blocks that can be effectively assessed and controlled.

How to break down a project: why do you use a WBS?

Obviously, a simple list of the activities and the people who will follow the project is not enough to clearly divide the project into smaller pieces.

Therefore, the use of a work breakdown structure provides a clear view of the project’s scope of work.

In a work program, the activities are grouped under certain levels of decomposition.

For example, in a construction project program, the electrical wiring activities are grouped in the level dedicated to the electrical system, while the piping activities are grouped in the level dedicated to mechanical works.

Therefore, the WBS allows to improve the quality of planning, traceability, and reporting and this is why it is used.

It should be kept in mind though, that the WBS describes the final results and the activity groups, not the activities in detail.

In short, some widely used reasons for creating a WBS include:

• Help with an accurate project organization
• Help to assign responsibilities
• Show project control points and milestones
• Allow a more accurate estimate of costs, risks, and time
• Help explain the scope of the project to stakeholders

How to break down a project correctly

To start, the project manager and the experts determine the main final results for the project.

Once determined, it is possible to begin to break down these results into smaller and smaller work blocks.

But how small? This depends on the type of project and the management style, but some sort of rule should be established in order to determine the size and scope of the smallest work blocks.

For example, the two-week rule could be chosen, in which no piece / activity is smaller than two weeks of work required for completion.

Or, another method is the 8/80 rule, where no block should take less than 8 hours or more than 80 hours to complete.

Determining these rules for block sizes can take some practice, but these make WBS definitely easier to use and structure.

Regarding the format chosen for the WBS design, some project managers prefer to create tables or lists, but most use graphics to visualize the components of the project, such as a hierarchical tree structure or a diagram.

How to simplify a project: some examples

The WBS diagram starts with a single box or another graphic element, usually positioned at the top, which represents the entire project.

The project is then divided into main components with related activities or items listed below them.

In general, the superior components are the final results, while the lower level elements are the activities that lead to creating the final results.

Here are some simple examples of WBS:

Developing a computer:

Suppose your organization intends to start developing a computer.

To speed up the work, you can assign specific teams to different aspects of computer construction, as shown in the diagram below.

In this way, a team could work on the configuration of the frame, while another team will be dedicated to protecting the components.

Developing a computer game:

Let us now think, for example, that your organization wants to manage a project dedicated to a software, specifically the creation of a computer game.

To be the first to launch the game in the market, it is necessary to assign specific aspects of the game to different teams, as shown in the diagram below.

Construction project:

The convenient format of a Work Breakdown Structure allows you to use it for any type of project and, therefore, it is also useful in the case of a construction project.

This example of a work breakdown structure shows that all the elements are listed in the various levels of the WBS.

The lower levels of the structure show the results of the project. Tasks and activities will be grouped under these lower levels.

Level 1 is the overall project. Level 2 represents the main phases of the project. Level 3 shows the main final results, while level 4 represents the minor results.

The construction of an effective project work sharing structure can, in the long term, determine the success of the project.

The WBS provides the basis for project planning, cost estimation, resource planning and allocation, not to mention risk management.

The WBS simply provides a visual presentation by graphically organizing the project results. This structure shows everything that is needed in order to complete the project on a single graph.

In the ideal case, the high-level final results included in the WBS should correspond, word by word, to the goals and results written in the scope description of the project.

As a result, the WBS is one of the first documents created in the project management life cycle. This will be created even before creating the project plan.

This means that the WBS is often the first product in a project and defines the hierarchy of final results.

The Scope Statement is a document that is extremely important for the success of a project. The project manager will develop the scope statement by processing the project start-up document (or project charter) produced by the project sponsor.

The project manager will be responsible for defining the scope of the project in this document, providing measurable goals.

Saving a project with the scope statement

It can also happen to be part of a project that, for different reasons, is delayed or out of budget. In these cases, the scope statement becomes vital. The project manager will ask the project team to explain the reasons why the project is not respecting the schedule.

Once the appropriate information has been taken, it is obvious that the PM will have to make decisions. Often, a real change of program will be indispensable together with the approval of a possible new budget in order, in the best case, to get everything back on track.

These situations can occur especially when the scope of the project has not been effectively defined. In these cases, if the Scope Statement is not implemented or not properly managed, the project will seriously run the risk of going astray with respect to the initial planning.

What is it and why the scope statement is important

Since a project is defined as a temporary effort that creates a product, a service or a result, the scope of the project is fundamental. The scope of a project, in fact, defines which activities are part of the project and which are not, what the project will carry out and what will not.

In short: The scope statement defines the project. The creation of a detailed scope statement will therefore help the project manager to bring the project to success.

In particular, the scope statement is fundamental for these three situations:

• Define the boundaries of the project. The scope statement guarantees a common and clear understanding of the project between the interested parties and helps to manage the so-called scope creep. In other words, it describes what is included in the project and what is excluded and, therefore, forms the basis for the project plan.
• Ensure a common understanding of the project among stakeholders. In addition to being the foundation of the project plan, the scope statement will also help ensure that all interested parties are on the same page. By setting the right expectations with stakeholders, the PM can reduce the chances of misunderstandings that could arise later and that could derail the project.
• Help manage change requests. Another way in which the description of the scope can help the project manager to manage the project effectively, is to use it as a guide to evaluate all the modification requests that are made. If the change request does not fall within the limits defined in the project, this must necessarily be rejected.

According to the Project Management Institute changes in scope – due to little clarity at the initial stage – are the main cause of the failure of a project.

This is quite common in almost all sectors, and for this reason project managers must learn to define, communicate and control the scope of the project.

To avoid the unpleasant possibilities that derive from a poorly defined project scope, project managers must write a good scope statement.

This will facilitate the acceptance of the scope of the project by the stakeholders , will put on the same page the project team and will prevent the start of unauthorized activities.

A scope statement is a useful tool for outlining project results and identifying the constraints, assumptions, and key factors for success.

The affirmation of the well-written area clearly defines the boundaries of a project.

The scope of a project has a direct impact on the other two elements of the triple project constraint, ie time and resources.

Moreover, the project manager can consider the scope statement a formal documentation of the project scope.

How to write a scope statement

The instructions in the scope statement must contain as many details as possible, but only up to a certain point and without exaggeration.

The minimum length of a scope statement is that which describes the primary risks of the project.

For example, stating that the project is to “build a fence” will communicate basic information, but these are certainly not enough. Everyone knows this already and there is no added value. It would therefore be preferable, in this specific example, to define the start and end points of the project, the height of the fence, the type of fence, the meteorological hypotheses, etc.

There is no default or maximum length for a scope statement, but this needs to be specific and to report the primary risks.

A good scope statement includes the following elements:

• General description of the work. Returning to the previous example, here is where it is stated that the project is “building a fence”.
• Final results. What will be produced by the project and what are its main features? Which customer must be satisfied by the output of the project?
• Justification for the project. In order to provide a complete understanding of the purpose, sometimes it is necessary to deepen the justification of why the project was started in the first place.
• If the project faces certain physical, legislative boundaries, etc. these can be a source of risk and therefore should be defined.
• Hypothesis. All projects have taken certain conditions as part of their existence. For example, the fence construction project has assumed good weather conditions, availability of tools, etc. What are these hypotheses and what is the impact in the case of an inaccuracy of these hypotheses on the project?

A suggestion is to write a scope statement following the so-called SMART goals.

Of course, predicting the future is impossible. However, the Scope Statement represents a commitment to the project based on what is known “today” and what is realistically expected to happen in the future.

If and when situations change, it is necessary to evaluate the effect of the changes on all aspects of the project and propose the necessary changes in line with the Scope Statement in order to ensure the success of the project.

All this, however, only if the scope statement has been optimally implemented.

What is a project management plan? You probably already know it, but if this is not the case, or if you still have doubts, read this article and we will try to explain it.

Contracts have been signed, handshakes have taken place and a new project is officially on its way.

But when it comes to planning a new project, a project manager might not know exactly where to start. This is where the project management plan comes into play.

But what is a project management plan? How do you accurately predict the duration of activities? How are the expectations of stakeholders translated into concrete outputs? What happens if something goes wrong?

The project management plan is the answer to these questions and the key to a successful project.

What is a project management plan?

The project manager creates the project management plan based on the input of the project team and the main stakeholders.

A project management plan is an approved formal document that defines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled.

It can be a summary or a detailed document and can include baselines and other planning documents.

As work progresses, project performance is measured and compared to the base included in the project management plan.

If, while the work progresses, a deviation from the baseline occurs, the project manager will take care of it by making the necessary corrections.

If these corrections fail to correct deviations, formal modification requests to the baselines become necessary.

What are the components of a project management plan?

A project plan is composed of three basic elements:

• Activity: status of the activity, priority, time, allocation of human and financial resources, notifications, etc.
• Tasks: the smallest jobs that make up the largest project.
• Resources: what you need – people, equipment, site, etc. – to complete the tasks of the project.

Obviously, these are the indispensable macro elements that have to be taken into account, but starting to go into detail we can see how the plan must consider other countless aspects.

The details of a Project Management Plan

This is why a project management plan is further divided into many parts, each of which will be elaborated in detail and will be decisive for the success of the project. Let’s see what:

• Determine the scope of the project: establish the limits of the project and the responsibilities of each team member. This is established by determining and documenting specific project goals, results, characteristics, functions, tasks, deadlines and costs.
• Project phases: this is the life cycle, from initiation, planning and execution, to monitoring, control and, finally, project closure. So, here you are breaking a project’s schedule into smaller, more manageable parts. It is possible to think of these as mini-projects that can be marked by milestones.
• Activity planning: this is basically a list of things to do to complete the project. It is here that all that concerns the flow of the project is collected from the beginning to the end.
• Identify the key points of the activities: those activities that signal the end of a phase of the project are called milestones. These milestones are generally indicated in the plan with diamond-shaped icons and help to break down the project into smaller, more manageable pieces.
• Tasks: these jobs should be small incremental steps towards the final output. They can be extracted directly from the program of activities that was created in the previous step.
• Duration: here the project manager calculates how much time he thinks that each activity and project phase will require. These are estimates, but are based on the general deadline of the project and the project manager must still be realistic about them.
• Dependencies: here we talk about the activities that depend on the completion of other activities; before the previous ones are not completed, the next cannot begin. It is possible to link these dependencies and set notifications so that the team knows when they are complete, so as not to block the work and make the process more fluid.
• Resources: they are what is needed to carry out the project. These can be anything, from the people in the project team to the material management software they will need to complete their tasks, from the workplace to external suppliers and contractors, etc.
• Timeline: it is the determination of how much time is available for each phase of the project. A timeline provides a view of the schedule and activities that lets the project manager know how to distribute the workload.
• Budget: here the costs involved in assigning all the resources needed are determined. This number will generally have to be approved by the directors of the organization and / or by the project sponsor and normally lies within a number range; it is therefore necessary to be realistic when making estimates.
• Monitor progress: clearly during the project, the project manager will have to keep track of the progress of the project plan. The actual progress compared to the planned one must be monitored, if possible, in real time, which allows changes to be made in the event of problems before they become unmanageable.

Clearly, at the end of a project, it is important to analyze the entire progress of the project from beginning to end, especially in the case of problems encountered during the life cycle (link to https://twproject.com/it/blog/ciclo- the-life-of-a-project-phase-and-features /).

It will also be necessary to compare the results obtained with the forecast results included in the project management plan. You will have to reflect on any mistakes you have made, to ensure that the next similar project does not fall into the same mistakes.

Creation of the project plan and support tools

As we could see a project plan includes many elements that have to be considered. This is why project management tools can make the creation of the project plan and its management much simpler and more efficient.

The market offers several project management tools, each with its own features and its own unique graphics.

A Project Management software such as Twproject, for example, also allows the sharing of the project management plan among all users.

Team members can use this tool to update their activities, which means getting real-time data on the project that will allow the project manager to manage it more productively.

The project management plan is practically a process of organizing the various small pieces in order to achieve the final goal outlined in the project.

You can have a good plan, but a project manager also needs the right tools to implement it correctly, especially in the case of more complex projects.

Even more so in the case of changes to the project management plan, PM tools can be particularly useful.

If you have never used TWproject you can try it for free by clicking here in order to evaluate all its features.

Conclusions

Although the project management plan is developed as part of the project, it should be a living document that evolves as the project progresses and is updated with the most recent relevant information.

This project management plan should be available to all project members, as it can provide essential information about the project itself. We are indeed talking about the main communication document for the project.

Creating a complete and strategically valid project management plan is essential to ensure the success of a project. Our guidelines can help you a lot in the making and creating it and this might not be as difficult as you think.

With a well-designed project management plan, the project manager will have a high probability of keeping the project on track and of fulfilling the promises initially made to the different stakeholders.

Probably, you have already heard about residual and secondary risks in a project without having a clear idea of what it is. In this article, we will try to explain the differences between.

We all face risks on a daily basis and, consequently, risks exist even in project management.

There are those who panic, those who try not to take obvious risks, and those who try absolutely to avoid them, but in the end the risks are inevitable. There is no way to prevent risks from entering our lives. The same is true in the case of project management.

Definition of risk

The PMBOK Guide  defines a risk as “An uncertain event or situation that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more objectives of the project. ”

A risk, therefore, does not necessarily always damage the project. A project can also get a positive result from a risk.

The PMBOK Guide also states that Risk Management is one of the areas of knowledge that a project manager should know.

The Project Managers must, in fact, be trained in risk management in order to ensure that the obstacles faced during a project are minimized.

This means that project managers must be able to think outside the box and not always take the same road, even if in the past it has been an optimal choice. For instance, the situation could have changed.

Which types of risks exist?

In addition to the main risk inherent in any project, positive or negative, individual activities may involve secondary and residual risks.

Let’s take a look at secondary and residual risks and their definitions.

Secondary risks

The PMBOK Guide defines secondary risks as “those risks that arise as a direct result of implementing a risk response to a specific risk”.

In other words, when you identify a risk, you have a response plan that can deal with that risk.

Once this plan is implemented, the new risk that could arise from the implementation represents a secondary risk.

For example, the project manager for a construction project might know, from past experiences, that one of the main risks is that the sand supplier will not be able to deliver the goods in time. In the risk management plan created, the project manager will therefore already have taken this risk into account. The action he takes if this happens could be to get the sand from a different supplier. However, a potential risk that the project manager may encounter in this case, is that there may be differences in the sand provided by the former compared to that provided by the second supplier, which would be a secondary risk.

Residual risks

Residual risks are the remaining risks, ie the minor risks that remain.

The PMBOK Guide defines residual risks as “those risks that are expected to remain after implementing the planned risk response, as well as those that are deliberately accepted”.

Residual risks are acceptable for the organization’s level of risk tolerance or, in some cases, a residual risk does not have a reasonable response.

Project managers therefore simply accept them as they are. If they must occur, they will occur, and there is not much they can do about it.

These risks are identified during the planning process and an emergency reserve is set up in order to manage risks like these.

Although residual risks are not particularly worrying, organizations cannot completely ignore them and should address them through:

• Identification of relevant governance, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Recognition of existing risks.
• Determination of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s control framework.
• Planning for appropriate contingencies.

For example, you could identify a risk in the possible rainy weather forecasted during an event lasting an hour or two, where this weather condition could interrupt some of the scheduled meetings. To manage this risk, the other meetings will be scheduled with a buffer of a couple of hours. In this way, even if it rains for two hours, the other plans will not be interrupted or postponed.

This, however, does not eliminate the risk that the program needs changes. Simply reduces it.

What is the difference between secondary and residual risks?

• Secondary risks are those that occur as a direct result of implementing a risk response. On the other hand, it is expected that the residual risks will remain after the expected risk response.
• The emergency plan is used to manage primary or secondary risks. The backup plan is used to manage residual risks. Note that if an identified risk occurs, the emergency plan is implemented and, if it becomes ineffective, the reserve plan is implemented.
• If residual risks and secondary risks do not require a response plan, they will be monitored as they occur.

Example of a situation that contains both risks

Take for example a future project manager who is studying for one of the exams to obtain the official PM certification.

When the future PM plans the study program for the exam, the main risks that can affect it are:

• suddenly he will commit himself full time to a new project that will not leave enough time to study
• He will get sick during the exam preparation

An activity to respond to the first risk – not find enough time for the study due to the professional commitment – would be to start the preparation for the exam in a low working season, taking into consideration the work model of previous years.

The residual risk for this risk response would be that an unexpected large-scale project would present itself during the preparation for the exam. In that case, it may be necessary to postpone the exam, so as to find enough time to study in the future. This could be connected with an extra cost that can be covered thanks to the contingency reserve.

In the second case, the risk response activity to avoid getting sick during the exam preparation, would consist in doing the vaccination for five of the most common contagious diseases at the time of the preparation for the exam.

The secondary risk of this risk response would be that the vaccines themselves can cause side effects or even cause infections.

To conclude, risk management is an integral part of project management. It includes the identification, analysis, and monitoring of all these types of risks.

Understanding how to identify and manage risks is part of everyone’s life, even in the life of a project manager.

It is important that all types of risks are identified, analyzed, monitored, and cared for during the entire project.

For a project manager, learning to distinguish and plan for different types of risks will be a valuable aid to manage resources, time, and guide the project to success more efficiently.

Is there an optimal way to present a project to stakeholders?

In the world of project management, presenting and communicating a product’s strategy is not an isolated phase of the project’s life cycle.

In fact, anyone involved in project management must deal with project sponsors and stakeholders and maintaining an open and effective communication with them is important.

In fact, it will be necessary to update the relevant stakeholders throughout the whole process, to keep everyone informed of progress and to ensure that everyone is working towards the same strategic goals.

But successful project managers also know that communication does not work in just one way and they must also seek feedback from stakeholders.

Of course, it is not possible to always listen and consider everyone, so the project manager needs to know who to talk to, when and what.

In this article, we will explain how to communicate with stakeholders at every stage of a project’s life cycle and how to obtain their consent.

How to communicate with interested parties throughout the process

There are more situations during a project ranging from planning to execution. For each of these phases, it is very important to communicate with stakeholders correctly. Let’s see the various steps together.

 Planning stage

It is important to work closely with the leaders of the organization, developing a clear vision of the product and identifying the most important strategic goals.

If the project manager and the stakeholders can agree in advance on the vision and the strategic goals of the project, there will certainly be less confusion on the definition of the priorities later.

Priority definition

Once the strategic goals are clear, priority can be given to specific tasks within the project.

This is where open communication with department managers becomes important, such as marketing, sales, customer support, etc.

It is important to discuss their main priorities and to establish together how these priorities fit into the more general themes and strategic goals.

If stakeholders are involved in the process of setting priorities, they are much more likely to favor decisions made by the project manager.

Execution Phase

Once the priorities have been established for initiatives aimed at reflecting strategic goals and a consensus has been reached between the main stakeholders, it is time to translate the vision into operative measures.

The roadmap must become now more detailed.

Here, the resources must be chosen and distributed for each initiative, assign ownership of the initiatives to the different team members and designate the deadlines.

Once the plans have been determined and the team has been set in motion, it is important to ensure that all stakeholders are always up-to-dated.

Planning meetings with the various interested parties allows the project manager to communicate the status of the project and explain what will happen in the future.

Sometimes, when an organization is very large, it becomes logistically difficult to include every single interested person. In this case, a solution is to directly involve the directors and the department managers, so that they can then pass the information to the respective teams.

Moreover, providing autonomous access to the project roadmap is another way to build consensus and engage stakeholders. In these cases, it is useful, for example, to use a project management software that includes this functionality.

This can fill potential communication gaps and prevent embarrassing conversations with interested parties who claim not to know what was being done.

Strategies for obtaining stakeholder consensus

As a project manager, it will be necessary to present the project to different audiences that have with different interests.

If the public is composed of managers, for example, the goal will probably be to convince them to accept the overall project strategy.

If the public is another segment of the organization, the goal will probably be to communicate the project’s goals and create consensus.

In both cases, it is necessary to be clear and persuasive, so that the stakeholders understand the strategy and agree with the priorities.

Here are some suggestions to best conduct this type of meetings:

1. Be prepared

Creating a presentation document is one of the steps, but it’s not enough. The project manager must be ready to tell a convincing story and justify why any planned initiative deserves to be completed.

• Structuring the presentation: a good presentation starts with the general picture and after that explaines the details. Start with the “why”, sharing strategic goals, before moving on to a more detailed explanation of “how” and “what”.
• Be concise: the content of the presentation must be simple, clear, and direct.
• Anticipate objections: be ready to respond to concerns about why certain initiatives must be pursued. This is linked to market knowledge and the use of a priority-setting plan. If the project is based on data, the project manager should have no problem justifying priorities to the stakeholders.
• Provide specific examples: it is one of the most powerful tools that can be used to convince an audience.

2. Know the audience

Bottom-up communications, such as the presentation of strategic goals to managers for example, follow a very different process than top-down communication, such as the presentation of specific task plans to developers.

In executive-oriented presentations, for example, it is important to focus on high-level issues and strategic goals.

The discussion should relate to market space, customer data, and potential return on investment.

Another audience, like the developer, may be interested primarily in specific activities, requirements, and deadlines.

Moreover, the language used during the presentation must be appropriate for the public.

If the public is not technical, it is necessary to use simple language without technicalities and avoid acronyms and abbreviations that are not commonly known outside of the sector.

3. Communicate the status

During the project life cycle, the stakeholders will want to know the status of the project, the way the resources are allocated, and how the status of the project could change based on different potential scenarios.

Here’s what helps in these cases:

• Include the completion status as a percentage for each project activity. By providing these details, it is possible to stimulate conversations about how initiatives depend on each other.
• Another approach is to use a color coding system to communicate the status of each activity. For example, it is possible to choose to distinguish planned, approved, developing, and completed initiatives through color schemes or tags.
• Finally, the project manager must be sure to save previous versions of the project roadmap. By creating an archive of old roadmaps, it is possible to easily trace which initiatives have been completed, delayed, rejected, or canceled.

4. Use images

People only remember a small percentage of what they hear, so visual aids are critical in order to keep the audience’s attention and make sure the key points remain.

Images should integrate and clarify what is said verbally and not present additional information.

Avoid to publish lengthy or complicated slides that could distract the public.

Make sure the writings are large and easily readable, using color combinations to show how the initiatives relate to each other and to the larger strategic goals.

A project manager has the task of dealing with a project in its entirety and one of his very important responsibilities is continuous communication with all stakeholders, at every stage of the product life cycle in order to ensure that the project has the best chances of success.

After all, no project manager can manage every detail and task of project development alone.

Any successful project is the result of a talented and knowledgeable team that works together to achieve a common strategic goal.

With this in mind, a project manager should therefore devote sufficient energy and attention to iteratively communicating with his team and stakeholders.

The project baseline is an “instant photo” of the project taken at its initial moment.

The goal of the project baseline is to see how far actual results have deviated from the initial reference plan.

In project management, it is essential to establish a baseline with clearly defined requirements, an accurate cost structure, and planning estimates, before the project execution and monitoring start.

All this must be completely defined and documented before the actual activities of the project begin.

In the baseline, the following elements of a project are included:

• Scope
• Timelines
• Costs
• Resources
• Risks
• Quality

Project Manager and project baseline

The project manager must examine the deviations from the project baseline when the work is done and throughout the project life cycle.

After the planning process is completed, this plan is agreed by all stakeholders and everyone expects the actual results to match the planned ones.

The role of the project manager is to verify during the execution of the project, if there is any variation from the baseline, in any element mentioned above.

If an event occurs that causes the project budget to be exceeded, for example, or if there is a risk that will cause the project to be delayed, corrective and preventive actions must be taken.

The project baseline can be changed, but it is not an easy process.

In fact, the baseline should allow to verify how much the project is in line with the initial planning.

If a baseline changes too frequently and there are too many deviations from it, this can be considered misleading.

Therefore, in the real world, the baseline of the project is generally modified only if an important request for modification is approved and only with the recognition of the sponsor of the project.

These changes are considered and approved through a specific process, in which the impacts on the project are assessed.

If a change is approved by the control committee, first its impacts are reported in the project plan and, next, the modification can be implemented.

Deviations from the project baseline are often due to incomplete or incorrect risk identification.

There may be a deviation from the baseline of the project, for example, if the cost of an activity or article exceeds the planned values, or if an activity takes more time than the planned duration.

Why is the project baseline important?

Establishing a baseline allows the project manager to evaluate performance for the duration of a project.

If a project is behind schedule or above budget, it is time to make changes to the baseline or add more resources.

A technique often used by project managers to measure and compare the performance of a project with its baseline, is the following calculation:

Planned Value (PV) = The estimated cost of the planned work

Actual Value (AV) = Actual cost of work done up to the current date

Effective Value (EV) = Planned Value (PV) x % of project completion

Schedule Performance Index (SPI) = EV / PV , measures progress made up to the current date with respect to the initially planned progress.

When SPI <1, less work than expected has been done.

When SPI> 1, more work than expected has been done.

Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV / AV , measures the value of completed work compared to the planned labor cost.

Finally, baseline determination helps with the accuracy of future estimations. This allows the project manager to get a better idea of how long it will take to complete the project and at what costs.

Estimated at Completion (EAC) = (total project budget) / CPI

EAC is a forecast of how much the overall project will cost, so that it is possible to approximate the correct allocation of resources.

Maintaining an accurate record of current project estimates and actual results allows estimates to be applied to similar future projects.

How to check the status of the baseline

 The check of the progress of the project with respect to the baseline, must follow specific procedures that are established even before starting the execution of the project.

Effective control is possible when these elements are defined:

• Performance assessment standards and criteria
• Data collection system
• Frequency of monitoring, ie. when the checks must be carried out
• Frequency of reporting
• Approval process for the new programming
• Stakholders communication plan.

Practices to follow for optimal calculation and good control of the project baseline

 Let’s see the “modus operandi” to set, track and maintain an optimal project baseline.

 1. Setting of the original baseline

At the beginning of any project, it is very important to set a baseline that represents the starting point of the work. This is a useful method to document the change of various parameters of a project. The goal of setting a baseline is to avoid rewriting its parameters, but eventually just adding new ones. The experience of the project manager in this operation has a very important role.

2. Keep track of previous baselines

As the project progresses, surely the project manager will have to make changes. However, before any change, it is important to save a history of the previous baselines so that it is possible to access the previous baselines for comparisons and restore changes, if necessary.

3. Maintenance of a baseline

Once a change has been approved, it is time to update the forecast by adding the new scope, deadlines, and approved changes. Keeping an accurate record of updates and changes to the baseline allows the project manager to keep the project in line with the new requirements.

In order for the project to be successful, a structured control system becomes fundamental, as well as a good initial planning.

In addition, a project manager must be able to manage contingencies and any changes that may occur during the life cycle of a project.

The control must not only be limited to reporting the changes and rescheduling the activities planned for the future. Instead, control must be a proactive process in which project managers try to anticipate problems.

The project manager must therefore have a continuous and detailed view of the project and must communicate continuously with the project team and with stakeholders.

For this reason, a project manager can refer to different baselines and it is important that he has an adequate control system available.

A good project software like TWproject that keeps track of project timings and deliverables, can certainly give a big help in the control of the project baseline, too.

Analizing the quality and trying to improve it, is probably the main purpose behind improving business processes.

This philosophy of process improvement comes from a very important person, William Edwards Deming, a statistician, often defined as a philosopher of science.

Deming’s goal was to reapply the scientific method to business processes, which he actually did with the so-called Deming Cycle, or PDCA.

Deming’s approach is not just about improving processes, but can also be about improving an entire organization in general.

What is the Deming Cycle

The Deming cycle is a model of continuous quality improvement which consists of a logical sequence of four key phases:

• P – Plan, or planning
• D – Do, or the execution
• C – Check, ie the test and control
• A – Act, which is the action

Deming’s experience as an engineer gave him an overview of industrial processes and the real attempt to standardize operations in order to ensure large-scale operation.

By studying mathematical physics, he found himself in a position that allowed him to contribute to the growing science of statistics.

Deming’s sampling techniques, for example, are still in use in the US Census Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The key points on which Deming was working are:

• Having a system for continuous quality improvement
• Reducing errors and defects through higher levels of quality uniformity
• Understanding the meaning of quality in the context

Let’s look at the four phases of the Deming Cycle in detail.

The phases of the Deming Cycle: Planning

The first goal of the Deming Cycle is to plan ahead in order to understand what you want to achieve based on the expected results. It is a both practical and theoretical step.

Here, we are dealing with business processes, where we intend to improve something within the organization.

At this stage, you will have to test and analyze what is currently wrong with the product or process and how this can be improved.

Also here, one tries to understand what changes can be made to tackle the problems or to achieve something better.

 The phases of the Deming Cycle: Execution

Execution begins first with a small-scale test and in a limited context.

Here, the changes are implemented to test the different variables and each step will be documented.

Instead of simply deciding to make a change and suddenly reviewing all the operations, it is essential to make changes slowly and iteratively during the hypothesis test.

The use of studies that can be measured with respect to control groups, allows to better understand the data received, allowing not only to improve the output, but to understand exactly why the output has been improved by the changes made.

For Deming, this phase should be like a model of a scientific experiment.

The phases of the Deming Cycle: Test and Control

In this phase, the results and findings are studied and collected.

For Deming, the results of the planning and execution will be shown at this stage.

Do the results coincide with the forecasts? In what ways do the results differ, and why?

This phase of study should teach us to draw conclusions exactly like a scientist does after an experiment. Instead of simply asking the question “Did it work?”, for Deming you will have to ask “Why did it work?”.

The phases of the Deming Cycle: Action

This phase is the final one of the process and the first phase of the next cycle.

Here, the recommended changes have been implemented and the process is finalized. Now that we have learned that the output can be generated by executing action X, this action will be performed in each relevant situation.

This phase can include both the implementation of improvements in the company as well as the implementation of new knowledge within the organization.

Just as the results of repeated experiments create new useful knowledge, so these business results must be incorporated into new premises from which the cycle can be restarted.

The company continues to go through the cycle until the expected and actual results coincide and no further changes are necessary.

 The pros and cons of the Deming Cycle

The Deming Cycle is a simple but powerful way to solve new and recurring problems in any sector or process.

Its iterative approach allows the project manager and his team to test solutions and evaluate results in a quality improvement cycle.

The Deming Cycle establishes a commitment to continuous improvement, however small, and can improve efficiency and productivity in a controlled way, without the risk of making untested large-scale changes.

However, going through the Deming Cycle can be much slower and more time-consuming than a direct implementation.

For this reason, it may not be the appropriate approach in the case of an urgent problem or an emergency.

Moreover, this methodology requires significant “buy-in” by team members and offers fewer opportunities for radical innovation.

For Deming, the PDCA treats process experiments as hypothesis tests by asking the questions “did it work or didn’t it work?” And “Is the hypothesis true or is the alternative true?”

This is the cycle through which an hypothesis is developed, the experiments are conducted, the results are evaluated, and the hypothesis is reviewed and repeated.

In simple words, Deming’s approach, seems to want to remove our blinders.

We need to stop looking for only minor changes to eliminate process inefficiencies and instead start thinking big about how processes can be improved in order to increase quality.

For Deming, the same levels of scientific rigor that one would expect from the best researchers should be used in business. Let’s try then.

The analysis of the costs (and benefits) of a project, among all the possible techniques, is perhaps the most important for a Project Manager. Let’s try to see why.

When managing a project, it is necessary to make many important decisions.

Because of the high stakes involved, good project managers do not simply make decisions based on instinct. They prefer to minimize risk and act only when there is more certainty than uncertainty.

But how is this possible in a world with a myriad of variables and a constantly changing economy?

The answer is:

Project managers can then use this data to evaluate their decisions with a process called cost-benefit analysis of a project.

Smart use of cost-benefit analysis will help minimize risks and maximize profits for both the project and the organization in general.

What is a project cost analysis?

The cost analysis in project management was designed to assess the cost compared to the benefits in the project proposal.

This process begins with a list, which includes all the expenses of the project together with the benefits that will derive from it once the project will be successfully completed.

From this, it is possible to calculate the return on investment (ROI), the internal rate of return (IRR), the net present value (NPV) and the amortization period.

The difference between the cost and the benefits will determine whether the action is worth it or not.

In most cases, if the cost is 50% of the benefits and the amortization period is not more than one year, it is worth taking action.

A cost-benefit analysis is a process that allows organizations to analyze decisions, systems, or processes or determine a value for intangible assets.

The model is built by identifying the benefits of an action and the costs associated with it and subtracting the costs from the benefits.

Once completed, a cost-benefit analysis will produce concrete results that can be used to develop reasonable conclusions about the feasibility and / or opportunity that represents a specific decision or situation.

The purpose of the cost-benefit analysis

The purpose of the cost-benefit analysis is to have a systemic approach in order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions through a project, including transactions, activities, business requirements, and investments.

Cost-benefit analysis offers options and is the best approach to achieve a goal while saving on investment.

There are two main purposes for using a cost-benefit analysis for a project:

• To determine if the project is valid, justifiable and feasible, verifying if its benefits exceed the costs.
• It offers a reference base for comparing projects by determining which project benefits are greater than its costs.

The cost-benefit analysis process: 10 key steps

The process of cost-benefit analysis of a project is composed of 10 steps through which the convenience of the project can be established. Let’s see what they are:

• What are the goals of the project? Before you can decide if a project is worth, you need to have a clear and precise idea of ​​what it must accomplish.
• What are the alternatives? Before you can know if the project is the right one, you need to compare it with other projects and see which is the best one to follow.
• Who are the interested parties? List all project stakeholders.
• What measures will you use? You need to decide the metrics you will use to measure all costs and benefits.
• What is the outcome of costs and benefits? You need to know what the costs and benefits of the project are and map them over a significant period of time.
• What is the common currency? Here, we take all the costs and benefits and convert them into the same currency in order to make a real comparison.
• What discount rate will be applied? This will express the amount of interest as a percentage of the balance at the end of a certain period.
• How is the net present value of the project options? This is a measure of profit that is calculated by subtracting the current values ​​of the cash outflows from the current values ​​of incoming cash flows over a given period of time.
• Sensitivity analysis? This is a study of how the uncertainty of the output can be divided into different sources of uncertainty in its inputs.
• Final decision? The final step, after collecting all these data, is to make the most recommended choice according to the analysis.

Are there limitations to cost-benefit analysis?

Of course, there is always a risk inherent in any business, and the risk and uncertainty must be considered when evaluating the cost-benefit analysis of a project.

It is possible to calculate this with the probability theory. Uncertainty is different from risk, but can be assessed using a sensitivity analysis in order to illustrate how the results respond to parameter changes.

Overall the use of cost-benefit analysis is a crucial step in determining whether it is worth pursuing any project.

For projects involving small to medium capital expenditures and from short to intermediate (in terms of completion time), a thorough cost-benefit analysis may be sufficient to make a rational and well-informed decision.

For large projects with a long-term time horizon, cost-benefit analysis typically fails to justify important financial concerns such as inflation, interest rates, variable cash flows, and the present value of money.

Alternative methods of analyzing initial capital, including the net present value or internal rate of return, are more appropriate for these situations.

Unless you are extremely lucky, it will never be possible to get all the information needed to complete a cost-benefit analysis.

There will in fact always be gaps in information.

Cost analysis: the hypothesis method

One way to try to overcome these shortcomings is to use hypotheses about the missing information.

However, for the inexperienced project manager, hypothesis creation is one of the most terrifying aspects of cost-benefit analysis.

Here is an example: a cost-benefit analysis is conducted for a real estate investment project. There may be a case of not knowing what the maintenance costs will be in the future. What is known, however, are the types of maintenance fees that have been paid for similar properties in the past. You can then use some of those numbers to make an assumption.

In any case, care must be taken when using hypotheses. Factors do not always follow trends and even the smallest change in the hypothesis can produce totally different results.

In conclusion, cost-benefit analysis is a data-driven process and very often requires a sufficiently robust project management software to handle and distribute information. If you haven’t tried TwProject yet, do it now! You will discover how simple it is to organize information and complete a cost-benefit analysis.