The SoftPMO Toolkit and the Experienced Project Manager

What does the experienced project manager need?

The experienced project manager knows there’s more to project management than just using “common sense.” No matter how experienced a project manager is at running individual projects, things change quickly:

• Perhaps a new assignment involves a more complicated project than usual.
• Maybe there’s a need to manage the efforts of multiple projects and teams.
• Perhaps a reorganization has increased the level of management scrutiny all projects receive.
• Perhaps membership in a professional association such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) has stimulated the experienced project manager to understand the value of increased discipline in managing projects.

In situations like these even the experienced project manager’s tried and true “seat of the pants” management skills are not enough. More structure — and help — are needed.

The experienced project manager understands the value of seeking out clear thinking, expertise, and good advice. He or she knows that just organizing all the information about a project’s people, processes, technology, and business strategy is a major task that’s magnified when project size and complexity increase.

What’s the best way to take advantage of what expert project managers already know, given the limitations in time and funds we all face? Few can afford to take time off work to “learn” project management. Nor does it make sense to create management processes from scratch.

The SoftPMO Project Management Toolkit is the answer when the experienced project manager needs experience-based professional advice in a form that can quickly be put to practical use.

The Toolkit, composed of an online Guidebook and over 40 customizable and downloadable process templates, is a condensed practical guide to proven project management practices such as creating meeting documentation, defining communication plans, building project breakdown structures and project schedule, and tracking project expenses.

The Toolkit’s Guidebook provides a thorough description of all the steps in project management ranging from Project Definition through Project Close. The inputs and outputs of all project steps are clearly explained. Each step’s relationship with individual process templates is clearly illustrated including their compatibility with established project management methodologies such as the PMI’s PMBOK, the trusted standard adopted throughout the businesses world for project management process improvement.

In addition to being based on a solid methodology, the SoftPMO Toolkit enables the project manager to apply improved project management practices through integration of the Guidebook and the Toolkit’s 46 process templates.

Both the Toolkit’s Guidebook and its customizable process templates are based on the SoftPMO Process Management Model. Together they walk the project manager through the project management process, step by step, using a straightforward approach that introduces a clearly thought out process to defining and structuring projects both simple and complex.

The Toolkit’s Templates are divided into two groups, Basic and Advanced. Basic templates define the core set of processes all project managers need to understand and that all projects need to include. Advanced templates focus on more complex project governance, work breakdown structure, scheduling, performance reporting, and program management activities.

Each template, available in downloadable Microsoft Office format, is customizable and shareable. The roles and responsibilities of the different resources that touch on a project as it goes from startup through execution are clearly defined for the manager via a fill-in the blank approach. When the manager’s input is supplied, the Toolkit delivers a complete and organized view of the project in a form that can be easily shared with team members and management.

How does the Experienced Project Manager Use the SoftPMO Project Management Toolkit?

The experienced project manager needs to:

1. Understand the basics of the project management process using the Toolkit’s Guidebook.
2. Apply the basics to a real project or group of projects using the toolkit’s customizable Templates.
3. Using the templates, collaborate and communicate with team members and stakeholders.

1. Understand the Basics

The experienced project manager knows that, while projects may all share common components, they can also differ:

• Project goals and objectives may differ.
• The mix of skills and resources required may differ substantially — or even overlap across projects.
• Some projects might need to start before all the requirements are “nailed down.” Others may have requirements “set in stone.”
• Some will be totally staffed by permanent employees all located in the same building, while others may have mixes of employee and contract staff spread across multiple sites.
• Some projects may experience substantial budget and schedule pressures due to constant unavoidable changes.

Still, projects differ from standardized or recurrent processes or functions:

• Projects usually have a beginning, middle, and end.
• Projects frequently produce something measurable or tangible.
• Projects consume labor and non-labor resources.
• Projects usually have intermediate phases or steps that need to be done in some sort of sequence.

These distinctions are real, not theoretical. The experienced project manager knows that failing to take them into account when planning or managing a project can lead to very real failures including unsatisfied goals, cost overruns, late delivery, and negative career impacts.

This is where the SoftPMO Process Management Model and the SoftPMO Process Management Guidebook come in.

Whether downloaded or used online, the Guidebook provides a clearly described and generalizable SoftPMO Project Management Process Model that describes the 6 key steps in all projects:

1. Define the project involves defining the objectives, proposing a solution, then selecting the approach that provides the best solution.
2. Plan the project involves formulating a baseline plan, integrating it with the project organization, and documenting the project sponsor’s authorization.
3. Start the project involves engaging the resources and systems that will be used to manage the project.
4. Monitor the project involves identifying, addressing, and resolving variations from the plan.
5. Control the project involves keeping the project on track with the schedule and budget.
6. Close the project involves performing closing activities and completing project.

The Guidebook breaks down and describes each step in jargon-free language in terms of goals, activities, sample scenarios, inputs, outputs, associated PMBOK knowledge areas, and project roles.

In summary, the Guidebook provides a generalizable model of the project management processes, describes the steps involved in planning and managing the project, drills down into each step to present the unique aspects of each, and shows how each activity is supported by a set of ready to customize project documentation templates.

2. Apply the Basics

The Guidebook and the Model show how different parts of a project work together.  Next the experienced project manager applies this learning to a real project or group of projects. This is where the SoftPMO Project Management Templates are used.

The Templates help the project manager turn the lessons learned from the Guidebook into practical project-specific information. Templates are divided into a core set of basic templates relevant for all projects, plus advanced templates for complex projects or situations where the project manager must oversee multiple projects.

The Guidebook links each step and activity in the SoftPMO Process Model to one or more individual process templates. For example, for SoftPMO Project Management Process Model Step 5, “Control the Project,” there are 21 templates divided between 11 standard and 10 advanced.

Each template follows a “fill in the blank” model.

One thing the experienced project manager will note about this template is that it is not a simple “copy and paste” template. Using it as the basis for reporting on the status of a single project or multiple projects requires the exercise of professional judgment. Just as project management is not a “turn the crank” profession, project status reporting — indeed, all communications related to project management – require thought and judgment based on a disciplined grounding in tested project management methods.

Using these templates the project manager generates  a set of explicit statements about key project elements that can be discussed, reviewed, negotiated, and ultimately agreed to by the project’s team members, owners, and stakeholders. This simplifies communication, reduces the likelihood for disagreement, and facilitates progress reporting. It also provides the experienced project manager with assurance that the most important facts and figures about the project are providing the basis for reality based project decisionmaking.

Finally, the templates make no assumptions about the features of specific systems or technologies that support the project management process or the Project Management Office (PMO). Customers can use whatever project planning, project tracking, time reporting, or financial tracking practices their employer provides. The templates focus on gathering, organizing, and presenting the most critical project information, not on specific software applications or features. This provides dual benefits:

3. Communicate and Collaborate

Assume the experienced project manager puts time and effort into studying the Guidebook and documenting the project using the SoftPMO templates. Will this guarantee success?

Of course not. The project or group of projects must still be effectively staffed and managed with appropriate resources. But even when it is, the project can fail without an appropriate level of communication and collaboration.

The SoftPMO Project Management Toolkit is designed from top to bottom to facilitate effective communication and collaboration:

• The SoftPMO Model and All SoftPMO content are written and described in plain, jargon-free English compatible with the PMI PMBOK.
• Templates can be copied and customized whether individual copies are downloaded onto a local computer or managed online.
• As many copies as necessary can be made of the Templates as long as the Guidebook and Templates are not re-sold.
• Documents are organized, named, and numbered to make sorting and organization simple and straightforward.
• There are no restrictions on the use and sharing of documents via network and cloud based collaboration tools such as Microsoft SharePoint.

The fundamental benefit of SoftPMO’s project management documentation for the experienced project manager is that it provides a mechanism for making key project decisions and responsibilities visible to all. This reduces uncertainty and miscommunication and helps keep everyone involved “on the same page.”

Bottom line: with the Toolkit, SoftPMO has done the “heavy lifting” of defining and organizing for the experienced project manager the most important elements required for project success. SoftPMO goes beyond Gantt charts to ensure that essential business and management requirements are addressed.

For the experienced project manager this provides assurance that the most important elements of project management – and project success — are captured, visible, and available for attention by management and the project team.

When will the SoftPMO Project Management Toolkit be available? 

Sample copies of the Guidebook and the Templates are already being made available for review and use by selected customers via a dedicated SharePoint service. We are also contacting potential users and customers to discuss their need for the Toolkit and associated training, consulting, and support services. For more information please contact us.

By Dennis McDonald

Next in this series: 5. The SoftPMO Toolkit and the Distributed Team Manager