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Title Project Management Software Risk Plan Description A risk plan can be created by using the page entitled create a rick plan. This is found in the project management life cycle. Keywords project management life cycle risk plan. Q: How should I go about planning to resolve risks within my project? I have listed all of the project management risks that might apply to our tasks throughout the project management life cycle , but to be honest, I’m not sure where to start, in creating a project management risk plan. A: It’s fairly straight forward using our project management software. First, open the project management life cycle page titled “Create a Risk Plan” and then follow the steps by identifyin gthe risks formally, quantifying the likelihood of each risk occurring, then create a risk schedule to plan activities which mitigate each risk and finally create a projewct management process for managing risks throughout the entire project management life cycle.

Q: I have created a quality plan using your project management process included in your project software, but I’m not sure if I have set out the right quality targets. How can I check that they are right? A: There is really no way to tell for sure without having a detailed look at your project management process for quality management and the actual quality targets you have created, but it is fair to say that if you have created your quality plan based on the process described in our software, then you’ll be more than half way there. In our project management process for quality management, it tells you how to set out quality targets by listing the requirements for quality within the project, detailing the deliverables that the quality targets appy to, and then listing the quality criteria and standards to be achieved. If you follow these instructions, then you will create a relatively robust quality plan for your project. The MPMM Support Team Project Management Tools Project Manag...

Project Management Tools - Monitoring and Controlling Projects Controlling Projects - There are 3 critical areas that many project managers overlook when monitoring and controlling projects, and they are often the root cause of project failure. These 3 project management tools areas are the management of; suppliers, procurement and communications. To help you to monitor and control each area efficiently, we’ve described each in further detail below... Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 3) Having previously covered the management of time, cost, quality, change, risk and issues - the final step in the “Monitor and Control” newsletter series is the management of suppliers, procurement and communications. If you can monitor and control all of these aspects smoothly and efficiently, then you will have a great chance of delivering your project successfully. So let’s tackle the last 3 remaining areas now... Managing Suppliers Always make sure you appoint suppliers through a formal proces...

Q: My project team is about to create a financial plan and I’d like to know which project management process I should use to do it? A: Within our project management methodology, there is a separate project management process called “Create a Financial Plan”. This process tells you how to create a financial plan in project management, by listing all of the expenses that are likely to incur during the project management life cycle, forecasting the unit cost of each expense item and then calculating the total expense of the project. This sets out your project budget. The MPMM Support Team Project Management Tools Project Management Methodology Project Management Process Project Management Software Project Management Portal

Q: I need to create a resource plan for my project. Should I set out the people that I need to deliver my project on time or should  I define other things? A: In project management , a resource can be used to define many different things. It’s a person, but it’s also used to define equipment, as well as materials. In fact it’s everything physical that you need (whether it be an office chair, telecommunications line or construction materials) to complete you project on time and within budget. The MPMM Support Team Project Management Tools Project Management Methodology Project Management Process Project Management Software Project Management Portal

Q: It seems that everyone knows how to create one. But what really is in a project management plan . Is it just a Gantt chart, or is it more? A: In our project management methodology , a project management plan is defined are much more than just a gantt chart. It’s the way that you define, scope and plan your project. Firstly, you create a complete work breakdown structure of all of the phases, activites and tasks that are required to complete your project. Next, you identify all of the resources that are needed including people, equipment and materials. And finally, you construct a project schedule which sets out the order and sequence of your tasks .

Q: We’re at the end of the initiation phase and before we kick off with more detailed project management planning, I’m trying to convince my team that we need to review the progress of the project to date. How does your project management software help me do this? A: Within our project management methodology, at the end of the Initiation phase, there is a step called “Perform Phase Review”. This step helps you to review the project to date, by defining the criteria for the review, undertaking the review, completing a phase review form and seeking approval to proceed to the next phase in the project.

Q: I need to setup a Project Management Office to house my team, but I don’t know what to do. Can you enlighten me. A: The Project Management Office , Project Office or otherwise known as the PMO, is the place that your project administration staff reside, as you have rightly pointed out. In some cases, projects have a “virtual” project office as their teams are spread physically across the country or planet. To setup a project office, follow the steps on the page “set up a project office” in our project management software. It helps you to define the role of the project management office, resource and locate the project office, create the tools to run the project office and operate the project office effectively.

Controlling Projects - with Project Management Templates One of the biggest challenges you will face as a Project Manager is “scope creep” using project management templates . That’s when during the Execution phase of the project, the planned scope of work changes, often causing delays and expense. To avoid this, you need to carefully Monitor and Control your projects, by implementing change, risk and issue processes. Here are some tips on how to do it... Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 2) So things aren’t going to plan because your customer has changed the scope of the project? Don’t worry, this is a normal event for a Project Manager, as many projects are time consuming and while the project has been progressing, the business pressures faced by the customer have changed. The art is not in minimizing change, but in managing it properly when it does occur. Here’s how to do it... Monitor Change The most typical cause of a project going off-the-rails is that the scope has grown ...

Q : At what stage in the project management life cycle should I appoint the project management team ? In your project management methodology, it looks like you appoint the team at the start of the project, but I may need other team members as the project goes on. A: In most projects, the core teams are appointed at the outset, during the project initiation phase. However during the project execution phase, you may need to ramp up your project by apopointing the balance of team members required to complete your project successfully. The most important thing is that during the project initiation phase, you define all of the project roles needed throughout the entire length of the project, so you don’t wait until you need to hire someone before you define their job description.

Q: Should I always create a Project Management Charter document , or is this an optional project management activity? A: No, you should always create a project charter document for every project you undertake. The charter is the most important document in the project management life cycle, as it sets out the vision, objectives, and scope of the project, as well as the deliverables and the general plan of attack. Without it, you will lack a clear definition of the project and will need to manage your project delivery very carefully to deliver your project on time and within budget. Besides, without a Project Management Charter , how will you know when your project is complete ?

Q: The Business Case and Feasibility Study are two closely linked documents it seems, in the project management methodology . Would you ever do one without the other? A: In most projects, a Business Case is completed to determine whether the project deliverables justify the planned expendituire. So you list the benefits to be realized by undertaking the project, and you then identify the costs. And if the costs outweight the benefits then the business case is more likely to be approved. However during this process, a Feasibility Study is normally completed to determine the feasibility of the solution. The feasibility study is sometimes completed after the approval of a business case as a separate exercise, but either scenario is fine.

Q : I see that the first step in the project management life cycle is the creation of a Business Case. Can you please tell me under what circumstances you’d create a business case, as it may not always be required, or am I wrong? A: Yes you’re right, in some instances a project team may not need to create a Business Case for a project. For example, in May government organizations, departments are allocated a budget at the start of the year and are free to spend that budget as they see fit, as long as it goes towards achieving their departmental objectives. So they may not need to create a Business Case. However our recommendation is always to create one, as it sets out the rationale for commissioning the project and it’s a good document to compare against as the project delivery takes place.

Q: Should I delete the project management methodologies that I’m not using, or instead, should I just hide them. A: That is a very good question. The advantage of deleting methodologies you no longer wish to keep is that it keeps the project management software database small and manageable. It improves the performance of the system and it makes the entire operation cleaner. However if you think that there is more than a 1% chance of using the methodology in the future, then definitely keep it and simply hide it using the Tools / Options feature. You may wish to impose a policy of deleting hidden project management methodologies that have now been used for the past 12 months.

Project Management Forms - Monitoring & Controlling Projects, Part I How should you monitor and control your projects using project management forms ? It’s a good question, because everyone does it differently. We believe that the processes you use to monitor and control projects should be the same, regardless of the size and type of project you undertake. So read on, to find out how to effectively... Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 1) After you’ve started up and planned your projects, you’ll move into the Execution (or “delivery”) phase in the project life cycle. This is typically the longest phase in the project, as it’s in this phase that the physical deliverables are built for the customer. Whether your project is to build a construction complex, computer system or land a space vehicle on mars, you will need to very carefully monitor progress and control delivery. Otherwise, your project could go off the rails. So to monitor and control delivery, you need to implement ...

Q: Can I merge 2 project management methodologies , and if so, under what circumstances should I do this? A: This is a difficult question, as merging project management methodologies is not something that you should do lightly. First, ask yourself why you need to do this. Is it that you want to take the best part of both project methodologies and merge them into one superior methodology? Or are you trying to please two different project sponsors at the same time? You can merge project management methodologies in MPMM simply by dropping and dragging content from one project management methodology to another. However instead of tackling it this way, we suggest that you create a brand new project management methodology and copy the best elements of the other 2 methodologies into this new one. That way, your 2 original methodologies remain intact, and you don’t have to go through a laborious process of deleting the content you don’t need.

Q: What types of projects is this project management life cycle suitable for? A: Well, this project management life cycle is generic to all project types and sizes. That’s right, you can use the content included in this life cycle to deliver projects in any industry. But we all know that each project has its onw particular requirements in terms of a project management process, so we definitely recommend that you customize the project managemnet life cycle to suit your particular project environment .

Q: The project management templates in your project software are pretty good, excellent in fact! But I’d like to know more about how to complete them. Are there more detailed instructions somewhere? A: Yes there are. In fact, for all project management templates included in this project software, there is a detailed explanation of how to complete it, in the associated project lifecycle content page. For example, there is a project management template called “Feasibility Study”. If you want to know how to complete the template, then read the instructions on the project life cycle page called “Undertake a Feasibility Study".

Q: I see that there are loads of project management case studies included in this project management software. But what are the case studies for and when would you use them on projects? A: Each project management case study is an examples of a completed (i.e. filled-in) project management template. For instance, for the “Business Case” template there is a complete version, as a “Business Case” Case Study. So for every activity in this project management methodology, there is a template, and for every template, there is a completed case study. Project Management case studies in this context are the same as “Project Management Examples".

Q: As a project management consultant , I’d like to navigate this project management methodology from start to finish. Sure, it includes heaps of content, but what is the easiest way to navigate it? A: The best way to navigate the wealth of content, templates and case studies, we suggest that you use the “Roadmap”. On the page visible on the right most tab when you open the project management software, you can see the project management life cycle from start to finish. It explains the project life cycle step by step, so that you know what to do and when to do it. You can click on any link and it will direct you to the elevant page automatically.

Project Management Templates - Project Charter Want to improve your project success using project management templates ? Most Project Managers will tell you that the best way to ensure success is to define your project clearly from the outset. That way, all of your team members, stakeholders and customers will have a single view of what the project needs to achieve. So the best way to define you project clearly is to: Create a Project Charter A Project Charter is a document that is completed at the very start of the project life cycle. It sets out the project vision, objectives and scope, so that you can gain a clear picture of what it is that the project must achieve. It also describes the deliverables, the people involved in producing them and the timeframes for delivery. To create a Charter for your project, take these 5 steps: Step 1: Set the Vision Every team needs a “Vision”. By clarifying the vision for the project and the goals that must be met, your team will gain a single co...

Q: I have changed printers and I want to select a new printer and change the print settings. What changes should I make in this project management software to allow for the new printer that I have purchased? A: Great question. This project management software will use your default printer that you have selected in Windows. So first open any document in another application and do a test print. If the document prints fine to the new printer you have installed, then our project management software will find it easily enough. Then open this project management software and select File / Page Setup. You will be able to change the printer there (see the “Printer” button in the lower right hand corner) as well as change the page format and other printing settings.

Q: When I start up this project management software, I see the entry page for the project management methodology that came with the tool. However I want to change this home page so that I can see a customized page that I have created. Can I do this? A: Yep, sure, no worries. If you go to the Tools / Options panel then you can set the Home page by clicking on the “Use current page” button. Make sure that before doing this, you first navigate to the page you want to set as the home page, so it can be stored when you click the button. Then when you close and open this project management software, the page you have selected will display as your home page.

Q: As I use this project management software, I notice that sometimes in the tree view on the left, one folder will roll up automatically. Why does it do this? A: For most users, they will add a huge amount of content to this project management software. So as the amount of content you add increases, it becomes slightly harder to navigate and find the content you want, when you need it. To get around this problem, our software development team have made it so that when you click on one branch in the tree, all other branches automatically collapse – this means that you can still view all of the content in your current content tree branch, as well as view all of the generic content stored in the rest of the tool, at the same time .

Q: The “recent pages” feature under the File menu bar is great, but what if I want to change the number of recent pages that are displayed. Is this project management template software flexible enough to do this? A: Yes of course. You can click on the Tools / Options feature and then select the slider bar alongside “Recently visited page list”. This will allow you to increase and decrease the number of pages that are viewed when you select the “recent pages” menu option under the File menu.

Q: Can you please tell me what the various options are for tabs and how they work? A: Under the Tools / Options menu system, you will see the “MPMM Tab Options” button. Click it and 4 options will appear: Default Tabs, Minimum Tabs, Current Tabs, Latest Tabs. Here is a more detailed explanation of each: - Default Tabs: this will make sure that the tabs that are visible are the ones that were visible when you first opened this project management software - Minimum Tabs: if you only want the Home page to display on a single tab when you startup, then selection this option - Current Tabs: this will save the tab structure that you have open right now, and after you close and open this project management software , it will display the tab structure as you have it now - Latest Tabs: this will save the tab structure that is visible when you close this project software, and when you open it, the tabs that were visible when you closed it will reappear.