About this methodology When it comes to project delivery, people must be considered first! There is no point charging ahead with a project if it benefits no one, if it doesn’t have the support of senior management or stakeholders, or if the project manager doesn’t feel passionate about its … [Read more...]
What exactly is a project?
POPMM defines a project as a temporary assignment of work to create a unique product or service, which is constrained by limited resources and a pre-defined timeframe. By definition, this means that every project is finite with a definite beginning and end. The end of a project is reached when all … [Read more...]
What is a project manager?
A project manager is the person entrusted to manage a project on a day-to-day basis from start to finish. They need to have the skills and confidence to deliver a project within a defined timeframe and budget, with limited resources and a focus on quality, while keeping everyone informed of progress … [Read more...]
What is project management?
Any significant business activity that culminates in change is a project, and project management is simply the process of managing a project. It’s the discipline of planning, organizing, monitoring and controlling every element of a project in a logical and systemic way, so that the project can … [Read more...]
The five phases of POPMM
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POPMM provides a common sense approach to managing projects. It covers a range of essential topics, processes and better practices which are grouped into five distinct phases: These phases and their constituent processes are used to plan, monitor and manage projects throughout the project … [Read more...]
The POPMM toolkit
Project management involves the selection of appropriate tools and techniques to take the project through all five phases in a cohesive and harmonious manner. The project manager, together with their delivery team, is responsible for choosing and applying an appropriate set of management tools for … [Read more...]
1.1 Forming the project management team
Customer POPMM defines the customer as the person (internal or external to the organization) who commissions the project. They are a key stakeholder and represent the needs of all those people who will use the end product in terms of quality, functionality and fitness for purpose. They are a senior … [Read more...]
1.2 Identifying key stakeholders
Stakeholders are individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in the success (or failure) of the project. They assist the project manager to define and clarify a common vision for the project and to develop the initial project definition. Stakeholder identification is all about … [Read more...]
1.3 Defining the business case
Every project is an investment in time and resources. Projects shouldn’t be started simply because they seem like a good idea at the time. It's important to ensure that the driving force behind the project (business needs or opportunities) is clearly stated in the Business Case and supported … [Read more...]
1.4 Defining the initial project scope
The project scope provides a concise, quantifiable statement of what the project will accomplish (in scope), and what it won’t try to accomplish (out of scope). Is the project an individual undertaking or part of a larger program of work and what are its boundaries? A statement should be … [Read more...]
1.5 Estimating timeframes, resources & costs
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One of the most difficult aspects of project management is estimating how long a project should last, the number of resources it will require and, therefore, how much it will cost…even before it begins. It's actually impossible to know the exact details until the project is finished. … [Read more...]
1.6 Identifying constraints and assumptions
All projects have constraints in the form of time, resources (people and money), or quality and these need to be defined from the outset. Relationships with, and dependencies on, other projects can also be viewed as constraints if they limit the options available to the project. Anything that’s … [Read more...]
1.7 Identifying key risks
One thing that’s certain to exist in a project environment is uncertainty. Successful projects try to forecast and plan for risk situations before they occur. As such, it's essential to identify and quantify (at a high-level) any risk events that, if they occur, may have a negative impact on the … [Read more...]
1.8 Assembling the New Project Proposal
The New Project Proposal is a point-in-time document that can take many different forms depending on the size, complexity and overall risk profile of the proposed project. A single page or email may be sufficient for very small, low risk projects; however, large, complex, resource intensive or … [Read more...]
2.1 Defining the total project scope
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The first step in developing the Project Management Plan is to validate the information contained in the New Project Proposal. A project kick-off meeting provides an opportunity to re-engage with stakeholders and to confirm if there have been any changes to the business objectives or overall scope … [Read more...]
2.2 Defining and sequencing the tasks
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Task definition begins by further decomposing the deliverables identified in the WBS into smaller components. Tasks provide the basis for scheduling, resourcing, costing, implementing, monitoring and controlling all the work of the project. It’s at the task level that effort and cost can be … [Read more...]
2.3 Estimating the resources required
Developing a realistic, achievable plan involves understanding what resources are required for the successful completion of each project task. Resource requirements will depend on the nature of the task and may include any combination of people, equipment and materials. If it isn't possible to … [Read more...]
2.4 Developing the project schedule
The foundation of any well-managed project is the schedule, which is used to organize the project tasks into a logical series of deliverables, tasks and milestones. The process of building the schedule enables the project manager to map all the work of the project to a calendar. The Project … [Read more...]
2.5 Developing the project budget
Developing the Project Budget involves assigning a cost rate to each resource and mapping those costs against the Project Schedule. The aim is to forecast the financial requirements of the project and when costs are likely to be incurred. Developing an accurate, achievable Project Budget is highly … [Read more...]
2.6 Defining the project organization
Defining the project organization is a critical component of PLANNING. Every project needs leadership, and clear lines of reporting and decision-making. It’s imperative that individual decision-making responsibilities are transparent from the outset and understood by everyone involved. The … [Read more...]