PROJECT 805
Implementation and Closeout

Course Introduction

You have finally developed enough detail in your team project's plan. You feel confident about knowing where to look and what to look for so you can keep the project on track. You are ready to implement your plan.

This is a time when you'll need to select and use appropriate project tracking tools and make decisions—sometimes difficult ones—about what to do with variances (the differences between expected and actual performance). This is also what you'll be following in the final chapters of the NorWest Directories case study. In chapter 7, you'll analyze how the new on-site project manager for the Surrogate Company jumps in and takes charge of the floundering project. In chapter 8, you'll read about how this project manager handles project closeout, including training users of the new system, dismantling the project team, and dealing with team members' anxieties about reassignment. At the end of that chapter, you'll learn the individual fates of the case-study "players" after the project winds down.

Managing Scope Creep

Perhaps the most common "buzz word" of the implementation phase is "scope creep." Scope creep is something that needs to be controlled, and you will use your many management skills in doing so! As you learn about monitoring and controlling techniques, you will be amazed at how strongly what you are learning ties into what you have already learned about project planning. You will see how understanding all the aspects of project scope—definition of deliverables, the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), activity durations, scheduling, cost estimates, budgeting, and risk assessment—play critical roles in your ability to manage scope creep.

As you complete the readings, you'll be prepared to comment on the NorWest situation and develop additional parts of your project plan.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• identify contract packages for a project;
• develop a plan for tracking the progress of a project using appropriate tools;
• identify variances that require action;
• develop a plan for managing scope;
• identify aspects of project closeout relating to settlement of contracts;
• gather final information and document the project; and
• prepare a plan for releasing the project team and redirecting other resources.

Course Overview

This course, Implementation and Closeout, consists of four lessons. You will answer discussion questions or submit an assignment every week. The final assignment will be due at the end of Lesson Four.

This course is designed to be completed in nine weeks (an extra week is provided for you to work on the final deliverables for the course).

Completing This Course

To complete this course, you must do the following:

• read the assigned sections of the textbooks, the online course materials, and the case study;
• complete and submit all assignments; and
• participate in team activities.

Supporting Tools

The following software tools will be useful to you in this course:

• Word processor
• Spreadsheet development
• Graphics development
• Internet browser
• Presentation development

Check with your instructor about platform and software compatibilities for submitting exercises and receiving feedback.

How This Course Fits into the Certificate Program

What project managers do is manage projects. As Lewis says, "to manage means to handle." During the implementation and control phase of projects, handling variances in the project plan is much of what you'll be doing. You'll be relying heavily on the work you've done in the planning stages to identify where variances are occurring and to decide on the best course of action.

This course will enable you to assess project progress, make decisions about changes to the project, and effectively manage the part of the project that is perhaps least thought about: project closeout. Additionally, you'll learn about procurement and contract management.

Examining strategies for negotiating and administering contracts reinforces the skills you learned about budget negotiation in Project 803. This time, you have the "assigning budget" role.

Defining and controlling variances will reinforce the work you did in Project 801 , Project 802 , and Project 803 in defining the project, creating the WBS, creating schedules and budgets, and developing a risk management plan.

About the Lessons

Each lesson in these online course materials provides a reading assignment, a list of objectives, key terms, discussion questions, practice exercises, examination of a case study, and application to your team's project. The material included in the lessons is designed to help you use new skills as you learn them.

The lessons for this course, include the following topics:

• Lesson One: Contracting and Procurement (Parts 1–4)
• Lesson Two: Monitoring and Controlling Progress (Parts 1 and 2)
• Lesson Three: Managing Changes to the Project
• Lesson Four: Closing the Project (Parts 1 and 2)

Key Terms and Abbreviations

Each lesson includes terms that are important to the concepts you will learn in the lesson; these terms will be in boldface italics, for emphasis, and listed in a sidebar as well. You will not be held responsible for the definitions of the terms per se, though you will be expected to use the terms wherever possible. You will find the terms discussed in the lesson commentary, the assigned readings, or both. In addition, Lewis and the PMBOK both include glossaries that you might find helpful.

In each lesson, you will also see a list of key abbreviations used in the lesson material. Use this list as a reference tool, since many terms used in project management are commonly abbreviated.

Discussion Questions

The discussion questions for each lesson are an important part of this course, and the certificate program as a whole.

Practice Exercises

There are three Practice Exercises in this course. These exercises allow you to apply the concepts presented in the course material. These are for practice only and do not need to be submitted.

About the Assignments

You will complete two types of assignments: case studies and team projects. There are no individual assignments. All assignments require team answers.

For the team project assignments, update your responses per the instructor’s comments and suggestions. Include the updated deliverables with the other deliverables of the team project notebook.

Case Study

You will work with your project team to develop a team response to the case study questions, applying what you learned in the lessons.

The case study is a project to update software and hardware for a key information system. Treat the software part as the primary project, and treat the hardware part as an interfacing project.

• Assignment 1 focuses on legal entanglements and how they can be handled.
• Assignment 2 focuses on the displays and information sharing that establish performance visibility and identify where to exert any corrective action.
• Assignment 3 focuses on scope creep and how to control it.
• Assignment 4 focuses on closeout planning, its effectiveness and adaptations to special circumstances.

Team Project

You are to work with your team to develop the part of your team's project plan described in each lesson. The responses you develop are the basis for your team's final deliverables: a notebook and a presentation of the team's project plan. The response is to go directly to the instructor's e-mail address.

• Assignment 1 focuses on using contracting for one leg of your project's WBS. This includes types of contracting and payment, selection of contractors and contractor start-up.
• Assignment 2 focuses on the specifications for an information system that provides visibility of expected and actual performance for your project. This includes displays, reporting, and data collection.
• Assignment 3 focuses on the definition and implementation of a change control system.
• Assignment 4 focuses on the development of a closeout plan.

Final Team Notebook Deliverable

To complete the program, you must submit your Team Project Notebook (deliverables 1–15) and your presentation (deliverable 16). (See the Team Project Notebook Deliverables list for the entire Project Management Certificate Program.)

• The notebook is a copy of the team's project plan that results from the team's progress through the certificate program. It includes the plan for the team's project and a section on how the team decided to operate, including any revisions and reasons for them.
• The presentation highlights the team's full plans for managing the project (from project overview statement to project closeout) and the team's experience while developing the plan.

Working in a Team

This course, perhaps even more than the other courses in the certificate program, requires that you work as part of a team to complete your team's assignments and team deliverables. This means communicating with fellow team members in a variety of ways: e-mail, phone calls, informal meetings, and in team discussions. Accommodate various team members' needs and use the methods most suited to the work to be done.

Developing Team Responses

Two approaches each seem to make the best use of your team members' time, skills, and availability. I recommend that you try both.

• One approach is to rotate the responsibility for developing a first draft of the team's input. One person examines the case study (and other teams' responses) and creates the first draft; the other team members review the available information and offer enhancements; then the initial developer includes the additional inputs. After one final quick review and possible update, the developer submits the response for the team.
• Another approach is to have all team members examine the available information and brainstorm what ought to go into the response. The remainder of the approach is similar to the responsibility rotation and reviews for enrichment of the first approach.

Team Project Notebook Deliverables

Throughout the course, your team will be responsible for putting deliverables into the Team Project Notebook (each team should select one member to maintain the Team Project Notebook). It is your team's responsibility to assemble these deliverables before the end of the program. You will most likely want to do so after you receive your instructor's feedback on related assignments and can integrate any changes into the notebook deliverables. At the end of the program, the instructor of the final course PM 805 (and also the program mentor), will review your Team Project Notebook and provide feedback. Your course instructor can also provide additional guidance in creating your Team Project Notebook deliverables.

Note: Team Project Notebook deliverables do not always correspond to the assignments; each team must work out the what, how, and when for managing these deliverables. While reminders are placed throughout the course, Team Project Notebook deliverables are due by the last day of the course.

Evaluation

Because this is a noncredit professional certification program, all submittals are graded on a satisfactory (SC) or unsatisfactory (USC) completion basis.

Study Tips

Monitoring and managing changes to the project are central to this course. You will therefore use the planning documents you have developed in earlier courses, and apply what you are learning to the team project. The following tips may help you devise a successful study strategy:

• Each lesson is designed to be completed in two weeks. Plan ahead so you give yourself enough time to complete the readings and exercises. It will be difficult to catch up if you fall behind. If you have a timing problem, inform your teammates and instructor as soon as you recognize the problem.
• Early on, find out when each of your teammates is most likely to be available. This will help you plan your time for working with others on certain parts of assignments.
• Review your work in earlier assignments. In this course, you will be learning to check the progress of your project against what was planned.
• Team communications are highly important during the implementation phase. As you participate in developing responses to the assignments, check how your communications management plan is working for your team project. Think about how feedback and problem solving are working in your team.
• Use the lists of learning objectives and key terms at the beginning of each lesson in these online course materials to direct your study.
• Use the questions and review points at the end of chapters in Lewis as guides to your study.
• Ask questions if you need clarification.
• Take advantage of your instructor's expertise

About the Course Developer: Paul Stephens

The future looks interesting. The global economy is here; cultural diversity is broadening, and technology advances are galloping. Thriving in that future demands an understanding of essential concepts and a high proficiency in their application. So, my job is to help build the foundation that will get you there successfully.

While a manager in the Boeing Professional Services organization, I led teams of consultants who provided specialized support. We developed strategic plans, managed corresponding projects or trained customers to do so, simplified the development of information systems, and supported utilities, companies, and governmental agencies. Our customers were located in North America, East Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Since retiring from Boeing, I have been providing consulting services in the same areas.

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