2.1.3P Define the Work / Large Projects

Large Project Overview (2.1.3P.P1)

Large projects definitely need time up-front to define the work. If you do not adequately define a small or medium project, the consequences will probably not be too drastic. Even if your project is estimated to take 500 hours of effort, and it takes twice as long to complete the work, it still won’t be catastrophic for your company. However, you don’t have that same luxury in a large project. For instance, if you estimate the work at 10,000 hours based on an inadequate definition process, and the actual project takes 20,000 hours instead, the results could have a material impact on your organization and your entire company.

In general, the larger a project is, the more time it takes to define the work. You need to make sure that you have enough information to validate that you know what you are doing. You also need to have enough information defined and documented so that you can gain agreement with your sponsor on the project objectives, the deliverables, the estimated cost and duration, the scope, etc.

The process of defining a large project is similar to that of a medium-sized project. The difference is that there is more information to define, and the length of time required to complete the definition process is necessarily longer and more complex.

In addition to a Project Charter, large projects also need a more formal Project Management Plan. This Plan contains the detailed plans that you will use for managing the project, including a Communication Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Scope Management Plan, etc. These individual plans are referred to as “Subsidiary Plans.”

These subsidiary plans are not required for small and medium-sized projects since the project management processes are more straightforward. For instance, think about risk management. A medium-sized project can probably get by with a standard risk management template that contains information on the risks and what you plan to do about them. On a large project, there is more to consider in terms of how you will manage risks. This Risk Management Plan can highlight the same risk management template as the medium project, but you might also need to consider risk management tools, a Risk Manager role, external audits around risk management, etc. This more complex management of project risk on a large project is the reason a standalone Risk Management Plan may be needed.

There are two major components to defining the work on large projects – creating the Project Charter and creating the Project Management Plan. Both of these important deliverables are described next.

 

Role

Defining the Work (Large Project)

1

Project Manager

Gather baseline information.

Look for all the information that may already be available for this project. This includes any previous project deliverables, memos, emails, etc. In many cases, before the project begins, the client must perform some type of high-level cost/benefit analysis or value proposition. All of this information should be gathered as a starting point for understanding the work to be done.

2

Project Manager, Sponsor

Determine the approval process.

Work with your manager and the project sponsor to understand the approval process for the Project Charter. For instance, determine whether the sponsor wants to approve the charter before other stakeholders, or whether the sponsor wants to have the final approval after the other stakeholders have reviewed the work. You should also determine the people that actually have to approve the Project Charter versus those that should just receive a final copy.

Collect High Level Requirements (2.1.3P.P2)

3

Project Manager

Collect high level requirements.

The project manager needs to have some understanding of the high-level requirements of the project before he can even begin to define the work. This includes the project requirements and products requirements. Gathering project requirements includes understanding the needs and expectations of the client in terms of deliverables, scope, costs, deadlines, etc. It may also be important to understand product requirements at a high-level to assist with the cost and schedule estimates, and to understand the types of project resources required. However, you do not have enough time to uncover the detailed product requirements at this time. The detailed requirements will be further defined as a part of the project lifecycle once the project is approved to begin executing. You can review 2.1.3.3P Create Requirements Management Plan for details on how to plan for the requirements collection process. See 2.1.3.1P Collect Requirements for more details.

After you have completed the requirements it is important that a system be established for tracking the requirements through the project lifecycle. This tracking process ensures that each requirement is fulfilled in the final solutions (in other words none were forgotten) and it ensures that no design, construct or testing components are built unless they can be tied back to an original requirement. See 2.1.3.1P.P2 Ensure Traceability for more information.

Define Scope (2.1.3P.P3)

4

Project Manager, Key Stake-holders

Meet with the key stakeholders to define the work.

Meet with the appropriate stakeholders (managers, clients, team members, interested parties) and try to understand their perceptions of the work being requested. Before you meet with the various stakeholders, make sure that you are familiar with the basic information that is required to define a project of this size. If you are not sure of the information to gather, you will not be prepared to ask the right questions. For a large project you will want to be sure to understand the project objectives, scope (deliverables and boundaries), assumptions, risks, constraints, dependencies, approach, organization, and the estimated cost and duration. You can see more information on these concepts at 2.1.3.10P Write Project Charter.

Create Project Charter (2.1.3P.P4)

5

Project Manager

Create your first draft of the Project Charter.

Make sure you write the content for the benefit of the reader - not for your benefit. The information should be easily understood by the reader. The sequence of the completion of the Project Charter, schedule and budget is described at The Timing of the Project Charter, Schedule and Budget (2.1.1T.P1).

You can see more information on the project charter at 2.1.3.10P Write Project Charter.

6

Project Manager

Circulate initial draft of Project Charter.

Circulate the Project Charter in draft form to gather feedback and build consensus. The first drafts may go to a small group of interested parties. The project schedule does not normally need to be circulated unless there is a specific request to look at it.

7

Project Manager

Update the Project Charter based on accumulated feedback.

Update the Project Charter with any feedback from the initial draft circulation. All the feedback will not be valid. The project manager and sponsor should determine what feedback is appropriate and adds to the clarity and completeness of the document.

8

Project Manager

(Optional) Circulate the revised documents to a larger group of interested parties for one more round of feedback.

Update the documents again based on this feedback.

Develop the Project Management Plan (2.1.3P.P5)

9

Project Manager

Develop Project Management Plan

It is important to document the Project Management Plan ahead of time and get buy-in from management, team members, clients and other important stakeholders. For instance, it is much easier to resolve a scope change request by following an approved procedure than by having to invent the procedure and resolve the scope change at the same time.

The larger your project, the more formal and disciplined your Project Management Plan need to be. If you have procedures defined from a similar project, or if your organization has a common set of procedures defined already for large projects, use them as your starting point. 

The Project Management Plan contains the Project Charter and the subsidiary plans that are needed to manage the project. Although the documents can certainly be referenced individually, the Project Management Plan can be used to group them all together.

The deliverables associated with the Project Management Plan can be created at any time in this process. This activity is shown after completion of the Project Charter because the Project Charter is a part of the Project Management Plan. However, the other applicable auxiliary plans can be created much earlier, so that the entire Project Management Plan can be finalized now. 

The Project Management Plan can include the following deliverables:

The Project Management Plan can be an actual document, or it can be a notebook or folder. For instance, you could get a three-ring notebook to hold all of these documents and the notebook could be called the Project Management Plan. You could also create a folder on your server called Project Management Plan and place electronic copies of all the deliverables within the folder.