Version 1.2. – 13.1.2017
Project Management Guide
Author: Stefan Ondek, PMP, Reviewer: Colin Bentley, Contributor: William R. Duncan
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1. Purpose of this Guide
This is a free, simple, easy to use, non-proprietary basic guide how to manage projects. It is there for those who are new to project management, or who have had difficulties applying more complex guidance and are looking for a “lowest common denominator” style guide.
It is compatible with the major international project management standards: ISO® 21500:2012, the PMI® PMBOK® Guide 5th and 6th Editions, PRINCE2® 5th and 6th Editions as well as the IPMA® Individual Competence Baseline (ICB) v. 4.0.
This guide is available as an e-book for free under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license as defined at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This means that you are free to:
• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially,
as long as you give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. No warranties are given. Use this material at your own risk.
By using this guide you express your full and unrestricted consent with all above terms.
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Table of Contents
1. Purpose of this Guide ... 2
2. Principles of Good Project Management ... 5
1. Use project management for managing projects. ... 5
2. A project is there to deliver products. ... 5
3. There must be a business case for every project. ... 6
4. Projects must be properly authorized to be successful. ... 7
5. Have clear roles and responsibilities. ... 7
6. Empower people to act within defined boundaries. ... 8
7. Have a plan and be ready to change it – in a controlled way. ... 8
8. Plan progressively and manage by phases. ... 9
9. Keep learning. ... 9
10. Adopt, tailor and adapt. ... 10
3. Key Project Management Stakeholders, Roles and Responsibilities ... 11
1. Project Sponsor (Executive) ... 12
Roles ... 12
Responsibilities ... 12
2. Senior Product Owner (Senior User) ... 13
Roles ... 13 Responsibilities ... 13 3. Senior Supplier ... 13 Roles ... 13 Responsibilities ... 14 4. Project Manager (PM) ... 14 Roles ... 14 Responsibilities ... 14
5. Team Leader (optional) ... 15
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Responsibilities ... 15
6. Project Administrator (optional)... 15
Roles ... 15
Responsibilities ... 16
7. Subject Matter Expert ... 16
Roles ... 16
Responsibilities ... 17
8. Team Member... 17
Roles ... 17
Responsibilities ... 17
4. The Project Life Cycle and its Processes ... 18
5. Definitions ... 20
6. The End? Rather the Beginning… ... 20
7. Parents of This Guide ... 22
Stefan Ondek, Author ... 22
Colin Bentley, Reviewer ... 23
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2. Principles of Good Project Management
A principle is a “fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning”1). The principles of good project management presented here are the foundation on which the practice of good project management is built. Following these principles is a prerequisite for successful project management. And successful project management is a prerequisite for sponsors, clients, and customers to obtain value from the project’s outputs.
1. Use project management for managing projects.
For maximum benefit, use the right tools and techniques for the right purpose. E.g. you might be able to use the head of a screwdriver to drive a nail, but you’ll be better off with a hammer.
The usefulness of some project management tools and techniques outside the project context does not mean that project management can be used anywhere and everywhere. Likewise, the fact that project management borrows heavily from general management does not mean that general management skills and knowledge alone will be adequate for successful management of a project.
2. A project is there to deliver products.
Every project is expected to deliver a useful product to the organization that funded it. This can be a physical product, document, service or result. Processes, tools, techniques etc. are only a means to this – i.e. for the
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project to deliver the products it is supposed to deliver: in the agreed scope and quality, on time, on budget, keeping risk under control and enabling to achieve the desired benefits using these products.
It is the result that counts. Processes, tools & techniques should help us to get to this result as effectively and
efficiently as possible. But we do not run a project to use processes, tools & techniques. So they should not become a purpose, nor stand in the way of delivering the products – of course as long as we abide by legal regulations and behave ethically.
3. There must be a business case for every project.
Many project proposals appear to be a great idea when first discussed. Taking the time to develop a business case, clearly describing the project’s justification, ensures that resources will not be wasted on project ideas that don’t prove their worth under examination.
Therefore no project should start without a business case. No business case = no project. A viable business case is one where the expected benefits clearly outweigh the expected costs, risks and dis-benefits. These are typically estimates and may be tangible or intangible.
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4. Projects must be properly authorized to be successful.
A project without proper authorization is unlikely to be able to obtain the resources it needs to deliver the capability that is expected. A project without proper authorization is going to waste time and energy trying to obtain the resources it needs.
Therefore each project must be formally authorized by a level of management corresponding to the resource needs of the project. The greater the needs, the higher the organizational level, which should authorize the project. Resources include tangibles such as finance, people, equipment, and material as well as intangibles such as management attention and support.
5. Have clear roles and responsibilities.
All project management team members and other relevant stakeholders have to have clearly defined and agreed roles and responsibilities to enable them to be effective and efficient.
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6. Empower people to act within defined boundaries.
Make sure the people on the project on one hand have enough freedom to perform the assigned work to their best abilities, but on the other hand know exactly when they need to escalate. Also make sure that escalation paths are clearly defined and work. Avoid micro-management.
This way you ensure the effective use of the skills, capabilities and knowledge of the people working on the project.
7. Have a plan and be ready to change it – in a controlled way.
We need a plan to know when, by whom and for how much things need to be done on the project, so that we can control its progress against that plan. On the other hand, change is inevitable on a project, and uncontrolled
change is one of the biggest destroyers of projects.
Therefore every project needs a plan to ensure that resources are used effectively, and that we are heading where we want to go. The plan must be sufficiently documented and distributed to appropriate stakeholders and must include:
• Scope, schedule, cost, and responsibilities defined at an appropriate level of detail for the size, complexity, phase of the project and product delivery life cycle used (e.g. agile vs waterfall approaches).
• Success criteria defining how the project will be judged and measured.
• A defined process for dealing with uncertainty in project & product scope definition and with
changes to the plan. Even if you use agile approaches, which embrace change, the change still needs to be
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Once you have a plan, use it to assess the performance of the project against it. That plan must be maintained and updated accordingly in response to changing conditions. This includes changing the plan if needed to be able
to adequately respond to change. Such changes need to be controlled.
Progress assessments have to have a sufficient frequency to ensure that the project is continuing in line with the
plan and will bottom line achieve its purpose.
8. Plan progressively and manage by phases.
A key feature of projects is uncertainty. A project is something that has never been done before (although something similar may have been done already). So trying to plan everything upfront would lead to too much
rework throughout the project. So rather plan progressively: Start with high level planning. Divide your project
into manageable components – phases, work packages, if needed also releases and iterations. Then gradually produce lower level plans as needed, based on project progress, lessons learned etc.
When approaching the end of a phase, evaluate the phase, and plan the next phase based on results of and experience from the previous one. You can have as many phases as you want to, but at least two (as having just one phase would mean you need to plan the entire project in detail upfront, what is not a good idea – unless it is a very small and simple project).
9. Keep learning.
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Therefore get and use relevant lessons from other projects and business as usual. Also keep collecting the
lessons you are making, learn from them, and pass them on to others in your organization, who can benefit from them.
This means there needs to be a lessons learned repository in your organization, accessible to those involved in managing projects. This repository needs to be updated as new lessons are learned, and have a clear owner taking care of it.
10. Adopt, tailor and adapt.
Each project is unique. The way how a particular project is managed needs to reflect this to ensure effective use of resources, spend of effort etc.
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3. Key Project Management Stakeholders, Roles and
Responsibilities
One of the project management principles says that there need to be clear roles and
responsibilities.
Roles are about relationship behaviours: how
you interact with others. E.g. if you are a waiter in a restaurant, your role is to make sure the diners have a great experience.
Responsibilities are about what you do as part
of your job. If you are a waiter in a restaurant, your responsibilities include taking orders and delivering food.
This chapter covers the roles and
responsibilities of the key stakeholders that have a part in every project.
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1. Project Sponsor (Executive)
Roles
• Owns and champions the project
• Owns the business case (especially the expected benefits) and is accountable for ensuring that the project remains viable
• Supports the Project Manager’s authority
• This role can be combined with that of Senior Product Owner and/or Senior Supplier
• To ensure clear roles and responsibilities, there has to be just one Project Sponsor per project
Responsibilities
• Chairs the Project Steering Committee
• Provides feedback to the Project Manager (PM) on the PM’s performance
• Provides input on any change to company strategies or external events that may impact the project • Provides decisions in a timely manner
• Has the authority to spend money on the project and guards value for that money
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2. Senior Product Owner (Senior User)
Roles
• This role can be combined with Project Sponsor and, if the Senior Supplier is internal, with Senior Supplier • If there are multiple Senior Product Owners:
o It has to be clear who is responsible for which products and benefits o One may be designated “Chief Product Owner”
Responsibilities
• Defines the project’s end product and major deliverables including their requirements, acceptance criteria, and accepts them against these criteria
• Defines the project’s benefits
• Gives position on change requests from the benefits point of view
• Is responsible for the benefits being achieved by using the project’s products after their acceptance • Is an active member of the Project Steering Committee
3. Senior Supplier
Roles
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• If the Senior Supplier is internal, then this role can be combined with Project Sponsor and Senior Product Owner
• If there are multiple Senior Suppliers, it has to be clear who is responsible for which products and resources
Responsibilities
• Provides the people and other resources needed to deliver the project’s products
• Confirms whether the products and changes to them are doable as required, and if needed suggests changes to requirements or the way the products should be produced
• Is an active member of the Project Steering Committee
4. Project Manager (PM)
Roles
• Reports to the Project Sponsor
• To ensure clear roles and responsibilities, there needs to be just one Project Manager per project
Responsibilities
• Plans the project at a high level and in detail in phase plans
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• If there are multiple Team Leaders, he makes sure it is clear who of them is responsible for which products and work packages
• Keeps the project on track in line with plans and strategies, and manages changes to them • Keeps the business case under review, and escalates to the Project Sponsor as needed
5. Team Leader (optional)
Roles
• Reports to the Project Manager
• Leads/ manages the people who create the products.
Responsibilities
• Receives work assignments (often called “work packages”) from the Project Manager
• Plans the work of his/her team to carry out the work and monitors team progress against that plan • Makes sure these assignments are carried out as agreed with the Project Manager
6. Project Administrator (optional)
Roles
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Responsibilities
• Helps the Project Manager and Team Leaders perform their role by providing them administrative
support (e.g. updating schedules in the software tool used, keeping project documentation organized etc.) • If there are multiple Project Administrators, it has to be clear who is responsible for which functions and
tasks
7. Subject Matter Expert
Roles
• May report to a Team Leader, the Project Manager or a Project Steering Committee member, depending on their function
• Expert in the content of the project and/ or the standards, which need to be followed on the project • Can take on one or more of multiple functions, e.g.:
o Advisory – advise the Project Manager, Team Leaders and Project Steering Committee (PSC) members on subject matter topics
o Assurance – verify on behalf of members of the Project Steering Committee, whether the project is being managed and products are being produced in line with relevant standards and agreed
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Responsibilities
• If multiple functions are assigned to a Subject Matter Expert, it needs to be ensured there is no conflict of interest – the Project Manager is responsible for this, escalating to Project Sponsor if needed.
8. Team Member
Roles
• May report to a Team Leader or the Project Manager
Responsibilities
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4. The Project Life Cycle and its Processes
Every project goes through a certain life cycle, and processes are used to manage this life cycle. Multiple project management standards offer process models: e. g. PRINCE2 has one, the PMI PMBOK Guide has another one, and ISO 21500 has yet another one (heavily influenced by the then-current version of the PMBOK Guide). There are some differences in approach and terminology, but there are also similarities. Some of the most significant ones include:
1. There is some pre-project preparation, based on which the project receives the green light (or not). This part of the project life cycle needs to involve the production of a viable business case (see Principles
chapter), definition of the high-level project scope, and appointing the key people needed to manage a project (see Roles chapter).
2. High level planning is done early in the project, dividing the projects into smaller, better manageable components: phases (or stages), sometimes also releases and iterations and/or work packages.
3. Planning of these smaller components is then done progressively (“rolling wave planning”) so that
you have the more detailed plan for the given component when you need it and at the same time the plan can be based on information and lessons gained from previous components.
4. Some processes are done only once in the life cycle, others are repeated, based on their nature. E.g. you close the project just once, but you need to manage each phase.
5. The processes used to manage the project need to be aligned with the processes used to develop
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manage product delivery, you need to align the duration of your project’s phases with the iterations (which Scrum calls “sprints”) used to develop the products2.
Creating a new process model is out of the scope of this guide and would in fact duplicate what was already done elsewhere. So I would rather recommend you to take one of the process models available and tailor it to your project’s needs. When picking a process model, I would recommend you to answer the following questions: 1. Is my organization already using a working process model for managing a project?
If yes, then adopt, tailor and adapt it. If not, then go to question 2. 2. Am I required to follow a certain standard?
E.g. if you are required by your (internal or external) customer to manage the project according to PRINCE2, then choosing the PRINCE2 process model as a basis would be a logical decision. If your customer demands the PMI PMBOK Guide or the ISO 21500 to be followed, then the choice is clear, but again adopt, tailor and adapt.
If there is no customer requirement, go to question 3.
3. What process model are the Project Sponsor and Manager most familiar and happy with?
In case of doubt, let the Project Sponsor pick, based on an objective recommendation by the Project Manager, involving other stakeholders as needed. And again: adopt, tailor and adapt.
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5. Definitions
Principle: A basic truth, law, or assumption; a rule or standard, especially of good behaviour; a basic or essential
quality or element determining intrinsic nature or characteristic behaviour. (American Heritage Dictionary)
Project: A temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result according to an agreed
business case.
Project management: The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet or
exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.
Stakeholder: Anybody (individual or organization) who is involved in and/or may be affected by the project.
6. The End? Rather the Beginning…
If you have read so far, congratulations! You now should know: • The basic principles of project management
• The key project management stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities
• Enough about a project’s life cycles and processes to be able to choose a process model, which should work the best for you
• The key project management terms.
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It is now time for you to begin your project management journey. If you need advice or training on your way, feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Good luck on your way and keep learning! ☺
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7. Parents of This Guide
Stefan Ondek, Author
Stefan Ondek is a project management professional. He is the founder and managing partner of POTIFOB, a group of training & consulting companies helping people and organizations manage their projects, programs, portfolios, changes and IT well. He to date trained personally over 3.000 professionals from over 20 countries in project management. Stefan is an author and reviewer of multiple works around project management.
Among others, he is one of the authors of PRINCE2® 6th Edition Foundation exam questions, a volunteer reviewer of the PMI® PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, PRINCE2 2017, The Standard for Program
Management 4th Edition and the Lead Reviewer of an official localized version of the PRINCE2: 2009 Glossary. Stefan holds a number of certificates including PMI PMP®, PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile® & Agile Scrum Master Approved Trainer, PRINCE2, PRINCE2 Agile, MoP® & P3O® Registered Practitioner, MSP Advanced Practitioner & Agile Scrum Master, ITIL® 4 Foundation, ITIL 4 DPI, VeriSM & DevOps Foundation etc. He also held an IPMA® certification (2006-2016 B, 2002-2005 C, expired) and was a board member of a national IPMA member
association for 1 election term (2009-2012). He is an active PMI member.
Should you like to contact Stefan, please write to [email protected].
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Colin Bentley, Reviewer
Colin Bentley has been a project manager since 1966 and has managed many projects, large and small, in several countries.
He has been working with PRINCE2, PRINCE and its predecessor, PROMPT II, since 1975. He wrote the major part of the original PRINCE2 manual and is the author of all its revisions until the 2009 version = 5th Edition.
He was the Chief Examiner for PRINCE2 from its beginning until 2008 and wrote all original Foundation and Practitioner exam papers.
Now retired, he has had over twenty books published, lectured widely on PRINCE2 and acted as project
management consultant to The London Stock Exchange, Microsoft Europe, BBC & other organizations. He still writes books on project management.
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William R. Duncan, Contributor (Purpose, Principles, Roles & Definitions)
William R. Duncan is one of the world's leading project management experts. He was the primary author of the first edition (1996) of the PMI PMBOK Guide.
He remains active in standards development today with the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm), the International Project Management Association (IPMA), and the Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards (GAPPS). In 2006-2016 he was Director of Certification of asapm (IPMA-USA).
He is the founder and owner of Project Management Partners.
Duncan’s specialties are all things project management from benefits realization to success criteria, from
certification to standards. His training programs are learner-centred to ensure the development of useful skills. His consulting practice emphasizes doable recommendations for real benefits.
