PMM at IBM.doc

project management methods (pmm) at ibmintroductionibm uses a set of generic methods based on principles common to all projects. pmm guides project management activities from startup to formal closure, allowing for an iterative set of tasks for managing the ongoing work effort and deliverable components. in pmm, there is a set of good practices and key techniques for managing projects including startup, manage, and close activities. a project management system is a documented collection of plans, procedures and records that direct all project management activity and provide the current state and history of the projectthe following is a brief description of the project management system that ibm use for all their projects. the purpose of this system is to guide project management activities during solution delivery. the phases support the smooth transition from proposal of the solution to actual solution implementation, management of the implementation activities and contract components and bringing the engagement to a close. the system follows the following phases:the project management methods wrap themselves around the activities necessary to build, validate and deliver the solution to the customer. the phases present the ibm standard set of tasks that aid the project manager in the transition of the accepted proposal or contract into the startup of the development environment; in providing ongoing managerial support throughout the life of the project; and to guide the project manager through formal closure including all reviews and collection of customer feedback after formal acceptance and customer signoff.the project management methods must be used in conjunction with any project development activities and is organized to provide a complete set of tasks for starting the project and closing the project, while allowing for an iterative set of tasks for managing the ongoing work effort. the activities and associated tasks in the managerial processes are both linear and iterative in nature and can be performed on an as-needed basis, daily, weekly, monthly or can be triggered by events and run continually for a period of time. there are four major managerial processes:project plan management activities: tracking progress, ensuring commitments are met and reporting to ibm management and the customer. contract management activities: maintaining contract files, ensuring contractual obligations are met, invoicing the customer and ensuring collections of funds and approving and paying invoices from suppliers. exceptions management activities: changes, issues, problems and risks. quality assurance activities: focused on project management techniques. the reviews are carried out against the management practices being used. these reviews do not focus on the quality of a deliverables. listed below are the three phases of the project management methods, and a high-level statement of what is accomplished by performing the activities and tasks of each phase. the tasks of the solution startup and close the solution phases are performed once, while the manage the solution phase is iterative and runs parallel with the phases of the selected solution methods.solution startup start the project in an orderly manner and ensure that all necessary infrastructure, assets and resources are in place. the project plan is reviewed for the appropriate level of detail and validated before commencing any project work.manage the solution ongoing and iterative activities to ensure that the project is under control and that the proposed solution will be delivered, on time, within budget and meeting all quality standards and acceptance criteria as set forth by the customer.close the solution formal closure of all project and contract files and release and redeploy of assets and resources. a post-project workshop is held to collect data for updating estimating techniques, to document any lessons learned while on the engagement and to ascertain the effectiveness of the process and methods employed. the customers satisfaction with the solution is also assessed and action is taken to correct any issues which might be identified.solution startup ensure that the project responsibility is transferred, all necessary planning is accomplished and that work on delivery can begin. descriptionsolution startup begins with transfer of responsibility for implementation of the solution from the proposal team leader to the project manager. the project manager then reconfirms the scope and objectives, sets up the project environment and activates the rest of the delivery team. when the team is assembled, the project manager provides the orientation necessary to implement the solution. the major activities are to:transfer responsibility to the delivery project manager activate and orient the delivery team develop the detailed project plan ensure that the initial project review with qa is completed review the project plan, with the participation of the opportunity owner, with the customer and any vendors or subcontractors to ensure all participants are working to the same schedules obtain customer agreement to the project plan release the orders for ibm and oem hardware, software and services needed to complete the project.major deliverables project control bookthe project control book is populated with the turnover documentation from solution design and work products developed during the execution of startup. project planthe preliminary project plan is delivered to the delivery team, who refines and updates it. the refined plan is the project plan. entry criteriathe tasks within this phase assume the availability of the following input work products. these work products will have been developed during solution design and will be turned over to the delivery project manager during orientation. accepted proposal or contract preliminary project services and support plan assignment information (for delivery team) supplier allocation confirmation supplier contracts transfer project responsibilityactivate the delivery project manager and ensure that all data and information developed by the proposal team is handed over to the project manager and that the project manager can assume responsibility for the project tasksactivate delivery project manageractivate the project manager that was previously reserved by submitting an activation request to skills management who will respond by providing the assigned resource. provide orientationprovide all of the information necessary to deliver the customer solution. transfer responsibilityonce the customer has made a commitment to the solution, transfer responsibility for the delivery of the solution to the project manager so that the process of delivering the solution may begin. it is beneficial that this person would have been part of the design effort so that they have a good understanding of the customer expectations and the solution that was designed to address those needs and the negotiations between ibm, the suppliers and the customer. if the project manager is new to the project, a complete orientation will have to be presented to introduce the project to the project manager.descriptiononce the customer has made a commitment to the solution, the proposal team leader must transfer responsibility for delivery of the solution to the project manager so that the process of delivering the solution may begin. if the project manager was part of the design team, most likely in the role of the proposal team leader, the project manager would have a very good understanding of customer expectations, the solution that was designed to address those needs and the negotiations between ibm, the suppliers and the customer. the project manager is identified in the solution design phase. however the resource is not assigned until the proposal is accepted by the customer. if the project manager is newly assigned to the project, the proposal team leader, from the solution design phase, will provide a complete orientation on the customers requirements and expectations.launch delivery project: set up the project environment, processes and controls and activate the project teamtasksreconfirm, scope, objectives, dependencies, assumptionsensure that the work stated in the contract still applies and that no changes in scope, dependencies or assumptions have occurred since the contract was signed. this will involve a review of the contract, a review of the project plan and discussions with the customer to verify that there is a common understanding of what ibm is about to deliver. any changes that are found must be reported to the opportunity business manager so that action can be taken to make appropriate changes to contract, price, scope or scheduling prior to the start of work. set up project environmentset up the project environment to put into place any organizational, procedural or structural requirements necessary to support the project. areas addressed are: facilities (offices, desks, phones, meeting rooms) equipment and tools (hardware, host software, application development software) standards and guidelines process and procedures activate project control bookupdate the necessary project files that will be used during the project. these become the audit and reference documentation which will be used during project execution and after project completion. steps will include: obtain, organize and update all project materials update to include delivery team members, their roles and responsibilities open financial files activate delivery teamactivate the delivery team resource that was previously reserved by submitting an activation request to skills management (and supplier management, if applicable) who will respond by providing the assigned resource. provide orientationconduct a project team kick-off or orientation meeting to cover: customer requirements and expectations signed proposal (plan, schedules, roles and responsibilities) issues and concerns statement of work descriptionafter receiving an orientation from the proposal team leader regarding the requirements for delivery of the solution and accepting responsibility for delivery of the solution to the customer, the project manager launches the project by: reconfirming scope, objectives, assumptions and dependencies setting up the project environment activating the project control book activating the previously reserved delivery team resource(s) providing them with all of the information necessary for delivery of the solution to the customer. develop project plan: refine the project plan before allowing the technical effort to begin. tasksfinalize subcontractsprovide the final requirements and deliverable schedule to the supplier(s) and request reconfirmation of their commitment to provide the requested solution and deliverable(s). refine tasksexecute these steps in accordance with the implementation methods selected: update high-level tasks develop low-level tasks confirm assumptions and dependencies update test strategies and plans refine and update risk management planupdate the following in the risk management plan: risk item(s) risk level(s) containment plan refine scheduledevelop all schedules by: updating the high level schedule developing the low level schedule updating the quality assurance review schedule updating the deliverable schedule confirming the payment schedule. confirm resourcesrefine the resource plan and confirm that the plan is still valid. confirm assetsrefine the asset plan and confirm acquired assets. create other subordinate planscreate any other subordinate plans necessary for the successful creation or delivery of the customers solution. refine costsrefine the costs of the project based on the refined project plan and update the budget to reflect any changes. package project planpackage together all deliverables from the individual work efforts to form a complete project plan. this packet will include: resource and asset plans final requirements and scope major tasks schedules risk containment plan and costs subordinate plans financial status descriptiondevelop the detailed steps required to develop and deliver the solution: required deliverables tasks resources task duration the supplier or subcontractor project plans are incorporated as input into the total project plan. all dependent supplier and customer tasks are identified.conduct initial project review: ensure that a quality assurance review is completed before project work commences. tasksplan the reviewthe quality assurer will coordinate the project review and will: determine dates and locations for the review develop the agendaselect the attendeesdevelop interview schedule with appropriate participants (delivery team, subcontractor(s) and the customer) prepare for the review review status against planassess effectiveness of project management systemdetermine areas of risk included in the solutionidentify any special terms and conditions committed in the solution become familiar with the project plan and the project management activitiesassess scope and containment and progress on the solutionvalidate deliverable conformity to the solution design documentationidentify problems confronting the delivery teamdevelop questions and notes for focus areas for delivery team interviews (includes any supplier or customer team members that may be involved)develop questions and notes for focus areas for customer interviews invite appropriate people to review participants in the review should represent a cross-section of the organization and be chosen based on: organizational structure criticality to project success availability customer interviews should be determined based on: organizational structure involvement in the project availability. perform the reviewperform the quality assurance review by completing the following activities: gather the solution delivery documentation review the project plan review deliverable conformance to contract review subordinate plans conduct the interviews develop findings and recommendationsin order to develop findings and recommendations, the quality assurer will: review notes and interview results document preliminary findings and recommendations determine project review classification present preliminary findings, recommendations and project classifications revise findings based on feedback develop and distribute the project review report schedule the subsequent progress reviews. descriptionas soon as the project plan has been finalized, it must be reviewed by the quality assurer. the milestones, planned revenue, costs and profit as well as the resource and asset plan will be used as the reference point to measure the performance of ibm on this delivery. this initial review will also form the basis for subsequent reviews. the results of the review will either be the approval to proceed as planned or the identification of problems and issues that need to be resolved. review project plan: ensure that all parties agree on the project plan and understand the schedule, the deliverables and any other implications. tasksreview project plan with customerreview the following aspects of the project plan with the customer: milestones and schedules deliverables dependencies roles and responsibilities completion criteria relevant subordinate plans a subset of the project plan is reviewed with the customer to confirm compliance with the customers requirements. the areas reviewed are: customer dependencies (resource and deliverables) master schedule (planned and actual) deliverables schedule (milestones) hardware and software product installation schedule review schedule (internal and external) external deliverables (external providers and customer) phase definition customer payment schedule ibm interface (ibm employee or representative who will serve as the primary linkage to the customer for this project) project organization (reporting structure, roles and responsibilities, project staffing) acceptance criteria. the project plan may have to be modified based on the customers feedback. any change items will be handled using the manage exceptions criteria.conduct project kick off with customerconduct a project kick-off with all project and customer personnel. the task includes the following: prepare agenda and materials schedule date and location determine participants conduct the meeting project objectivesorganizationroles and responsibilitiescommunicationfacilitiesproject scheduleimplementation approachdescriptionafter all quality assurance conditions have been satisfied, the project plan should be reviewed with the customer. both the opportunity owner and project manager will be involved in the review. the review should cover the plan and schedule and result in the reconfirmation with the customer that the plans are still in line with the requirements. order and validate products and services: ensure supply and receipt of all the necessary goods and services required . tasksorder products and servicesplace orders for all required hardware, software and services required by the project. receive products and ser