Direct and Manage Project Work : Input, Output, & Tools Used

Direct and manage project work process is a method used to perform project work that defines the Project Management plan. In general, initiating a project involves various departments working towards a common goal. Usually, teams are well structured and managed, when they associate with the same department. But, when the teams involved are from various departments, the reporting process becomes a difficult task. As the project interface includes both formal and informal boundaries and relationships among team members, departments, and organizations. Managing such interfaces becomes a crucial function for a project manager.

Features of Direct and Manage Project Work

• Producing the project deliverables by executing the Project Management Plan
• Instigating the approved changes, defect repairs, corrective and preventive actions
• Implementing the planned methods, processes, and standards
• Producing and distributing status information

If carefully observed, the developing and managing project execution process has the same control access points as mentioned in the methods of producing a project charter and Project Management plan. Directing and Managing project execution Components include the inputs, outputs, and tools such as a Project Management Plan, project document, etc. Let’s take a look at all the components in detail.

Direct and Manage Project Work – Inputs

1. 1. Project Management Plan

      Project Management Plan is the main agenda of the Directing and Managing Execution Process, as it contains all the subsidiary plans (scope baseline, cost baseline, schedule baseline, scope management, etc.) The PMP mainly guides the Project Manager on how to manage, execute, monitor, and control the project. Since the directing and managing process concentrates on how to implement the project, PMP is an essential input in the process.

   2. Project Document

      1. Change-log – Change-log is a process that records and stores all the information of the changes that are executed in the project from its initiation stage through to the completion stage.

      2. Lessons learned register – This process helps in improving the performance of the project through the lessons learned from the previously handled projects. The method mainly helps in avoiding the mistakes that have occurred in the previous project. All the rules and guidelines are properly aligned based on the information attained through this particular project.

      3. Milestone list – This is a process that describes and showcases the project scheduled dates and their specific milestones.

      4. Project communications – Any or whatsoever reports that are generated through the project are communicated and understood in this particular process. For example, performance reports, deliverable status, and other information.

      5. Project schedule – Describes the list of work activities, the work durations, the resources allocated, and the project’s scheduled initiation and completion stage.

      6. Requirements traceability matrix – This process links the product requirements to the project deliverables that satisfy them and helps to focus on the outcomes.

      7. Risk register – The risk register provides information on threats and opportunities that may occur and impact the execution of the project.

      8. Risk report – This process provides information about the sources of the overall project risks along with a detailed information summary of the identified individual project risks.

   3. Approved Change Requests

      The Change Requests are the predictable and authorized changes that concentrate on expanding or reducing the project scope. Directing and managing is the phase where the defects in the project, quality assurance, and preventive measures are all taken into high consideration. Every little aspect is taken care of and is corrected accordingly. One important thing to remember is that changes occur in every project, but making too many changes on a timely basis will hamper the quality of the project and will also affect the outcome.

   4. Enterprise Environmental Factors

      1. Stakeholder risk tolerances – Risk tolerance is the willingness to accommodate a high level of uncertainty when undertaking a task or making a decision. In simple terms, the desire to lose determines the risk tolerance of an individual or an organization. For instance, individuals spend money on products that come with no guarantee or performance assurance in the hope that the replacement product for the existing item might cost them more and there are others who pay more for the same product which has guaranteed performance.

      2. Culture and structure of an organization – Culture, and structure play an important role in determining the success rate of an organization. In any given organization the term culture should be given broader preference as it defines how the company works towards accomplishing a project successfully. When it comes to structuring, it mainly focuses on how the company is ideally structured. As in, how the workload is managed and distributed across various departments involved in the project.

      3. Infrastructure – Well, when it comes to the role of infrastructure it mainly revolves around the availability of proper facilities and equipment in an organization for achieving the set targets by the project manager.

   5. Organizational Process Assets

      1. Standardized guidelines and work instructions – Every organization have to set and implement standardized guidelines that are to be followed by all the departments and coming to the work instruction; they are the formalized rules and regulations that are to be adhered to by all teams during the project life cycle.

      2. Communication requirements – It’s a form where communication takes place between various interfaces of the organization (electronic and manual), to collect previous project details and records to have a clear vision.

      3. Issue and defect management procedures – When a project takes shape, it is bound to experience issues and defects in one or the other areas of the project. It is the responsibility of the team to identify the problems that are to arise and ensure that they have proper solutions.

      4. Process measurement database – Collecting and preparing a database of the available information that pertains to the ongoing processes and products. The process will help in measuring the real-time workflow concerning those carried out previously.

      5. Project files from previous projects – The availability of project files from previous projects will help provide scope for improvement in identifying the loopholes in the current project and bridging the gap where ever necessary. The process will mainly look into aspects of scope, cost, schedule, and performance measurement baselines for references also by focusing on the project calendars and project schedule for allocating and carrying out work.

      6. Issue and defect management database – The database will contain information on the status of historical issues and defects, methods used to control those issues, the resolutions that were churned out to tackle the problems, and finally getting to know about the results of real-time actions that were carried out. The process, in general, contains results for all the procedures carried out during the issue and defect management procedures stage.

Direct and Manage Project Work – Tools and Techniques

1. 1. Expert Judgment

      Expert Judgment is an essential stage in the direct and manages project execution process as it involves taking opinions from various units within the organization, consulting subject matter experts for reviews, including insights from the stakeholders, and last but not least views from professionals and technical associations. Finally, the project manager has to conduct procurements.

   2. Project Management Information System (PMIS)

      PMIS is the primary tool to direct and manage project execution. It is a collection of tools and techniques used to gather, integrate and disseminate the output of Project Management processes. The PMIS is a methodological process used for collecting using project information from initiating stage to the closure stage.

   3. Meetings

      Meetings should take place on a timely basis during the life cycle of the project. Regular meetings will allow the project manager to keep track of the proceeding. And, to interact with all the departments and share important details with the stakeholders. On whole, conducting meetings will keep things in an organized/structured manner.

Direct and Manage Project Work  – Outputs

1. 1. Deliverables

      The most important output of the process is achieving an approved deliverable. A deliverable is a unique and identifiable product, service, or result identified in the project management plan. The core purpose of executing the project management plan is to produce deliverables.

   2. Work Performance Data

      A process where the project manager is monitoring the status of the project executed. It’s the collection of project information status and distributing it amongst all the stakeholders during the project execution.

      • Work completed

      • Key performance indicators (KPIs)

      • Technical performance measures

      • Actual start and finish dates of scheduled activities

      • Story points completed

      • Deliverables status

      • Schedule progress

      • Number of change requests

      • Number of defects

      • Actual costs incurred and duration

   3. Issue Log

      The issue log is a project document where all the issues are recorded and tracked. Data on issues may include:

      • Issue type

      • Who raised the issue and when

      • Description and Priority

      • Who is assigned to the issue

      • Target resolution date

      • Status and Final solution.

      The primary objective of the issue log is to assist the project manager in efficiently tracking and managing issues. They are investigated and resolved from time to time. Even though issues can occur at any point in time in the project, it is for the first time created as an output in this process.

   4. Change Requests

      After project execution, issues occur unprecedentedly. These changes are requested to be performed during the project is underway. They may affect certain aspects of the project which may modify the project policies and procedures. Most importantly they will leave an impact on –

      1. Corrective Action – An activity that re-adjusts the performance of the project work with the project management plan.

      2. Preventive Action – An activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is appropriately aligned with the project management plan.

      3. Defect repair – An activity to modify a nonconforming product or product component. All the products that do not comply with the project are repaired and replaced.

      4. Updates – Implementing changes to the formally controlled project documents, project management plans, etc., to reflect modified or additional ideas or content.

   5. Project Management Plan Updates

      As the work progresses, achieving the project deliverables specified in the project management plan and maintaining performance data is the main agenda of developing and managing the project execution process.

   6. Project Documents Updates

      Project documents that may be updated as a result of carrying out this process include:

      1. Activity list – The activity list will be updated with additional or modified activities or processes to be performed to complete project work.

      2. Assumption log – The assumption log will be updated with new expectations and constraints, based on the status of existing assumptions.

      3. Lessons learned register – The Lesson learned register would help in implementing new methods and skills which will help in improving the performance of the ongoing or any future projects. This process will record and store any and all new lessons that can assist in the development of the performance of the project.

      4. Requirements documentation – Any given project will come across a situation where it might require additional resources, and the process of requirements documentation will help in identifying the requirements during the project’s lifecycle and update the same whenever it is obtained or implemented.

      5. Risk register – This process is used to identify new risks involved in the project and update the existing risks. These identified or updated risks are registered via the risk management process.

      6. Stakeholder Register – The process where additional information on the new and existing stakeholders is gathered and recorded. The process will have information about the role of the stakeholders. Along with the changes, and the updates they have asked for and implemented.

   7. Organizational Process Assets Updates

      This process is used to thoroughly update the organizational process assets upon conducting a thorough check and monitoring the outputs.

Conclusion 

To sum up, directing and managing project work is the process that ensures that methods of the executing process group are directed and managed. They meet the desired expectations laid out by the stakeholders and are accordingly performed as stated in the Project Management plan. Learn more such concepts and skills to deliver projects efficiently with PMP certification training, and excel in your project management career.

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