TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE

ProjectManagement
Projectmanagementisthedisciplineofplanning,organizing,andmanagingresourcestobringaboutthe
successfulcompletionofspecificprojectgoalsandobjectives.

Aprojectisatemporaryendeavor,havingadefinedbeginningandend(usuallyconstrainedbydate,but
canbebyfundingordeliverables),undertakentomeetparticulargoalsandobjectives,usuallytobring
aboutbeneficialchangeoraddedvalue.Thetemporarynatureofprojectsstandsincontrasttobusiness
asusual(oroperations),whicharerepetitive,permanentorsemipermanentfunctionalworkto
produceproductsorservices.Inpractice,themanagementofthesetwosystemsisoftenfoundtobe
quitedifferent,andassuchrequiresthedevelopmentofdistincttechnicalskillsandtheadoptionof
separatemanagement.

Theprimarychallengeofprojectmanagementistoachievealloftheprojectgoalsandobjectiveswhile
honoringthepreconceivedprojectconstraints.Typicalconstraintsarescope,time,andbudget.A
singleprojectmanagermustbeidentifiedtomanageallelementsoftheprojectinordertoachievethe
businessobjectiveswithinthedesiredscheduleandbudget.Withoutadedicatedprojectmanager
(PM),anyprojectwillfail.

Includesmanagementof:

1. Scopewhatarethebusinessgoalstheprojectistryingtoachieve,andexactlywhatactivities
andtasksareincludedintheproject?
2. Schedulewhenwilltheworkbedone,andwhowillbedoingthework?
3. Budgethowmuchwilltheworkcost?
4. Communicationhowwilltheprojectteamactasacohesiveunitworkingtowardsacommon
goalandhowwilleveryoneontheteamstayinformedofcriticalinformation?
5. Riskwhatarethewaysinwhichtheworkcoulddeviatefromtheplanandhowwilltheteam
preventtheseissuesorcorrectthemiftheyarise?

Successfulprojectmanagementisanartandasciencethattakespractice.


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE

ScopeManagement
TheProjectManagementInstituteProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK)definesproduct
scopeasthefeaturesandfunctionsthataretobeincludedinaproductorservice.Itdefinesproject
scopeastheworkthatmustbedonetodeliveraproductwiththespecifiedfeaturesandfunctions.
Projectscopemanagementisdefinedastheprocessesrequiredtoensurethattheprojectincludesall
theworkrequired,andonlytheworkrequired,tocompletetheprojectsuccessfully.

Morethanseventypercentofprojectsfail.Whenprojectsfail,it'srarelytechnical.Overeightypercent
ofthoseprojectsfailduetoprojectmanagement.Projects,likebusiness,oftenfailbecausetheyarenot
properlymanaged.Scopecreepisamajoraspectofprojectfailure.Thiscanbemitigatedbyfollowing
simpleproceduressuchashavingascopedocumentthatallthestakeholdersagreeonandonhavinga
changemanagementplaniftherearesupposedtobemodificationstoit.

ProblemswithProjectScope

TheproblemsthatmayarisewiththeProjectScopeare:

Ambiguous:Ambiguityinscopeleadstoconfusionandunnecessarywork.Toavoidthis,the
scopeneedstobeclearandtothepoint.
Incomplete:Incompletescopeleadstoscheduleslipsandhencefinallycostoverrun.Toavoid
this,thescopeneedstobecompleteandaccurate.
Changing:Changestoscopeleadstowhatisknownasscopecreepwhichistheprimarycause
oflatedeliveriesandpotentially"neverending"projects.Toavoidthis,thescopedocument
needstobelockeddownandremainunalteredforthedurationoftheproject.Changestothe
scopeneedtobemadethroughaformalchangeprocess.
Uncollaborative:Ascopethatcreatedwithoutstakeholderinputleadstomisinterpretationsin
requirementsanddesign.Toavoidthis,thescopedocumentshouldbesharedwithall
stakeholders.

CapturingProjectScope

Thedefenseagainstalltheseproblemsistoclearlydefinetheproject'sscopeatthebeginning.Once
definedthenvalidatethatscopewithallthekeystakeholders,gettingtheirbuyinandconsensusonthe
scopebeforechargingahead.

Sometoolsandtechniquesusefulincapturingtheprojectscopeare:

1. Definetheprojectneedwhatisthebusinessproblemthatyouaretryingtosolve?Reach
moreruralclientswithhandhelddevices?Connectyourbranches?Integrateyouraccounting
andMISsystems?


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE
2. IdentifykeystakeholdersThesewillbeindividualsfromtheMFIsuchastheexecutive
leadershipteam,headofIT,FieldOperations,HR,Finance,InternalAudit,andNonFinancial
services,andcouldalsoincludedonors,investorsandregulators.

3. TranslatebusinessneedsintorequirementsCreateplainlanguagedescriptionsofthecritical
businessproblemsthattheITsolutionismeanttocorrect.Ascopedocumentshouldeventually
containareferencetodetailedfunctionalandtechnicalrequirements(seeGathering
RequirementsontheResourceCenter),butdefininghighlevelstatementsofproject
requirementsiscriticaltoestablishingacommonunderstandingoftheproblem.These
statementsshoulddescribeasummaryofhowtheITsolutionwillbecreated,tested,installed,
andmaintainedandshouldincludealltheproductandprojectworkthatwillbedoneaspartof
theproject.

4. IdentifyexternalinterfacesOnelastcomponentincludedinthescopeofaprojectisallthe
externalinterfaces.WilltheITsolutioninteractwithanotherITsystem?Forexample,willyour
MISbeexpectedtointerfacewithyouraccountingsolution?OrwillyourHRISneedtointerface
withyourreportingplatform?Thesesystemtosystemconnectionsshouldbeclearly
documented.


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE
ScheduleManagement
Inordertokeepaprojectontracktodeliverallthefunctionalityinthetimeexpectedbystakeholders,
creatingandmanagingadetailedprojectscheduleisofcriticalimportance.Allprojectsshouldbe
brokendownandmanagedinadetailedprojectschedule.

Topreparetheprojectschedule,theprojectmanagershouldworkwitheachexpertontheteamto
figureoutwhatthetasksare,howlongtheywilltake,whatresourcestheyrequire,andinwhatorder
theyshouldbedone.Eachoftheseelementshasadirectbearingontheschedule.

Tocreateaprojectschedule,theprojectmanagershouldfollowthesesteps:

Listallthetasksthatneedtobecompleted.Thesetasksshouldbesmallenoughthattheycan
becompletedinlessthanaweek.Forexample,TrainAllStaffisnotdetailedenoughfor
successfulmanagement,butConductTrainingworkshopsforHeadOfficeFinanceStaffand
ConductTrainingworkshopsforInternalAuditStaffmightbedetailedenoughiftheyareboth
somethingthatcanbecompletedinlessthanaweek.NOTE:forthefirstfewrevisionsofthe
projectschedule,TrainAllStaffmightbeaperfectlyappropriateplaceholderforadditional
tasks.Oncethescheduleisfinalized,thattaskshouldbedecomposedintothesmallerexample
tasksnotedabove.

Assigndurationtoeachtask.Howlongwilleachtasktaketocomplete?

Assigntherequiredstafforvendorresources.Whowillactuallyberesponsibleforcompleting
eachtask?

Identifyanydependencies.Sometaskscannotbedoneuntilanothertask,calledapredecessor
iscompleted.Forinstance,thinkofaprojectcalled"HireanewLoanOfficer.ThetaskMake
anOffercannotbedonebeforethetaskInterviewcandidate.somakinganofferis
dependentupontheinterview.Thesedependenciesshouldbehighlightedintheproject
schedulesothattheimpactofmissedpredecessorsisclear.

Formanytechnologyprojects,andforMFIsinparticular,thereareseldomenoughresourcesand
enoughtimetocompletethetaskssequentially.Therefore,taskshavetobeoverlappedsoseveral
happenatthesametime.Projectmanagementsoftware(suchasMicrosoftProject)greatlysimplifies
thetaskofcreatingandmanagingtheprojectschedulebyhandlingtheschedulelogicforyou.If
MicrosoftProjectisunavailable,aschedulecanbecreatedandmanagedwithinMicrosoftExcel.

ThescheduleshouldbeactivelymanagedbytheProjectManager.ThePMshouldusethescheduleto
guidethetaskscompletedweektoweekandmonthtomonth.Finally,therehasyettobeaprojectin
thehistoryofprojectmanagementwheretheoriginalprojectscheduleremainedunchanged
throughout.Allchangesmustbeaccuratelynotedanddistributedtotheteamandthecustomeronat
leastaweeklybasis.Theschedulecanbeusedasacommunicationdevicetoshareprogressagainst
planswiththekeystakeholdersandsponsorsoftheproject.


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE

BudgetManagement
Eachprojecttaskwillhaveacost,whetheritisthecostofthelaborhoursofacomputerprogrammeror
thepurchasepriceofnewcomputerhardware.Topreparetheprojectbudget,eachofthesecostsis
estimatedandthentotaled.Atypicalprojectbudgetiscomprisedofthreekeyelements:Coreproject
budget,reservesandcontingency.

Coreprojectbudget:Thetotalestimatedcostforeachmajorprojecttaskisincludedinthis
amount.

Reserves:Someoftheseprojectestimateswillbemoreaccuratethanothers.WhileanMFI
mightknowhowmuchtypicaltrainingworkshopsmightcostorhowmanycomputersare
neededforanautomationproject,thenumberofcomputerprogrammerhoursthattheMFIwill
requestmightbeuncertain.Whentheestimatedcostofanitemisuncertain,theproject
budgetoftenincludesareserveallowance.Thisismoneythatissetasideinthebudget"justin
case"theactualcostoftheitemiswildlydifferentthantheestimate.

Anotherreservefundiscalledthecontingencyallowance.ForMFIsoperatinginuncertain
politicalenvironmentsorinareasthataresubjecttodifficultieswithweather(suchas
typhoons),maintainingsomefundsinacontingencypooliscriticaltoaddresspotentialdelays
andprojectdisruptions.

Theprojectmanager'sjobistokeeptheactualcostatorbelowtheestimatedcostandtouseaslittleof
thereserveandcontingencyaspossible.

Tomaximizeyourchancesofmeetingyourprojectbudget,meetyourprojectschedule.Themost
commoncauseofarunawaybudgetisarunawayschedule.Meetingtheprojectschedulewon't
guaranteeyouwillmeettheprojectbudget,butitsignificantlyincreasesyourchances.Andaboveall,
proactivelymanagingtheprojectscopeiscriticaltomanagingthebudget.Asdescribedinthescope
managementsection,strictmanagementtopreventscope"creep"isessentialforsuccess.Iflegitimate
changestoscopemustbemade,theyshouldbemanagedwithaformalchangecontrolprocessand
mustincludebudgetand/orscheduleadjustmentstomatchthenewfeaturerequests.


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE

Communications
Communicationisanessentialprocessintheworldofprojectmanagement(andforthatmatterthe
worldinwhichweallliveonadaytodaybasis).AstheProjectManager,howandwhatyou
communicatewithinyourteamandwiththeprojectstakeholderswillgoalongwayindetermining
customersatisfactionontheprojectsyoumanage.Communicationonaneffectiveteamstartsfromday
one,fromthemomentaprojectisassigned,andcontinuesonadailybasis,ifnothourlybasis,
throughoutthelifecycleofaproject.Effectivecommunicationmeansthateachandeveryprojectteam
membershouldbefullyapprisedoftheprojectstatus(atleastonamacrolevel)atalltimes.Some
detailedinformationmaynotbesharedwithallteammembersiftheyareveryindividualspecific,but
thecriticalitemsimpactingscope,budgetorscheduleshouldalwaysbesharedamongtheentireteam.
Communicationcanalsotaketheformofregularupdatestotheassigningpartyastostatusofthe
projectand/orspecificcomponentsofit.

Projectmanagershavethreecriticaltypesofstakeholderswithwhomtheyshouldbecommunicating:
peopleontheprojectteam,executiveleadershipandsponsors,andexternalstakeholders.

CommunicatingwithintheTeam

Internalcommunicationwithintheprojectteamsistomeettheirfourmajorcommunicationneeds:

Responsibilityofeachteammemberfordifferentpartsoftheproject

Coordinationinformationthatenablesteammemberstoworktogetherefficiently

Statusinformationtrackingtheprogress,identifyingproblemsandenablingteammembersto
takecorrectiveaction

Authorizationinformationdecisionsmadebycustomers,sponsors,anduppermanagement
thatrelatestotheprojectanditsbusinessenvironment,andenablestheteammemberstokeep
allprojectdecisionssynchronized.

Internalcommunicationshappenprimarilythroughteammeetings,memos,voicemail,andemail.
Projectmanagersneedtobeabletowrite,speak,andlistenwell,leadmeetingandresolveconflicts
effectively.

TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE
CommunicatingwithExecutiveLeadershipandSponsors

Externalstakeholders,suchastheCEO,CFOandOperationsleadmustbekeptinformedofprogressand
theirinputssolicited.Thecommunicationplanshoulddetailthestrategynotonlyforinformingthese
stakeholders,butforactivelymanagingtheirexpectationsaswell.

Answerthefollowingquestionstodecidewhatinformationshouldberelayedtomanagersand
customers:

Whoneedsinformation,why,andwhen?

Whattypeofinformationwilltheyneedandinwhatdetail?

Whatwillyougoalbewhenyoucommunicatewithcustomerandmanagementandwhat
mediumwillbestaccomplishthat?

Communicating with other External Stakeholders

Everycomponentandeverystakeholderinyourproject,howeveraminorroleheorshemayplay,is
important.Evenminorroleplayershavethepotentialtocomeoutlargeiftheyfallbehindschedule.So,
don'tmakethemistakeofassumingthatallplayersoutsidetheITdepartmentorMFI(suchasdonorsor
investors)arealreadyonboardwiththeproject.Beproactiveinmakingthemasuccessfulpartofyour
projectthroughmakingpersonalcontact,establishingsomerapportfacetoface,askingfortheirhelp,
providingthemwithallnecessaryinformationtimely,andsendingthankyounotesacknowledgingtheir
contribution.

CommunicationPlan

Tomanagethevariouslevelsandtypesofcommunication,projectmanagersmustcreateandeffectively
useacommunicationplanthatdocumentsthevariousaudiences,developappropriatecommunication
media,establishacommunicationschedule,andmanagetheflowofinformationinandoutofthe
projectteam.

Tocreateacommunicationsplan:

Identifytheaudiencetheseplayerswillincludetheprojectteam,variousMFIleadersand
departmentheads,andpotentiallyexternalstakeholderssuchasdonors.

Identifytherightmediashouldtheupdatesbeduringfacetofacemeetings,viaemail,
duringconferencecalls?

IdentifythepurposeIsthecommunicationastatusupdate?Aformalreview?


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE
KeyMessagesWhatwillthecontentofthemessagebe?Isitareviewofcurrentstatusor
ademonstrationofITfunctionality,etc?

OwnerWhoisresponsibleforcreatingandmanagingthecommunication?

FrequencyHowoftenwillthecommunicationoccur?Forexample,weeklyemail,or
monthlyphonecall,etc..

Audience Media Purpose KeyMessages Owner Frequency

TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE
RiskManagement
RiskManagementisanticipatingwhatcouldgowrong,focusingonthemostsignificantandmostlikely
ofthesescenarios,takingactiontopreventthemfromoccurring,havingacontingencyplanincasethe
riskwasntmitigated,andeffectivecommunicationsandactivemutualsupportamongteammembers.
Itisanongoingprocessthatshouldbeincorporatedintoeachstageofaproject,andwhendonewell,
effectiveriskmanagementcansignificantlyreducecostsandincreasequalityonanyproject.

Althoughallprojectshaveelementsofrisk,technologyprojectsinparticulararepronetoanumberof
uniquerisksduetothedependenciesandinherentcomplexityinvolvedinsoftwaredevelopmentand
execution.Theprojectmanagershouldspendtimeintheearlystagesofplanningtocreatearisk
mitigationplanandthenrevisitandupdatethatplanduringtheproject.Inthisway,thePMcanbe
assuredthatifthingsdogowrong,theteamiswellequippedtoimmediatelyrespondtotheissuesand
resolvethemquickly.

Inallprojects,thequestionisnotwillourrisksbecomeissues?Thequestioniswhenwillourrisks
becomeissues,andwhichoftheseriskswillmostlikelybecomeissues?

MakingaProjectRiskManagementPlan

1)Brainstormwhatcouldgowrongduringboththeprojectexecutionandasaresultoflivesystem
implementation.Selectthetop510risks.

2)Evaluatethebusinessconsequencesofeachoftherisksidentified.Expresstheimpactinbusiness
terms.

3)Predictthelikelihoodoftheriskoccurring.

4)Rankthetop5risksbasedonthecombinationofimpactandlikelihood.Forexample,ifariskhasa
HighimpactonthebusinessbutaLowlikelihoodofoccurring,itisnotascriticalasariskthatcouldhave
aMediumimpactonthebusinessbuthasaHighlikelihoodofoccurring.Ingeneral,youshouldmitigate
allrisksthatarehighimpactandhasahighlikelihoodofhappening.

5)Foreachofthetop5,developamitigationplantopreventtheriskfromoccurringandcontingency
approachesifitweretohappen.

6)Reevaluatethetop5risklistthroughouttheproject.Focusonthehighestriskitemstogetthemoff
thelist.


TECHNOLOGYFORMICROFINANCE

ThisexamplehasbeenadoptedfromtheRayHovingAssociates,LLCpresentationfortheUniversityofVirginiaMcIntireSchool.

OtherResources
Formoreinformationonprojectmanagementstandards,bestpractices,andresources,visittheProject
ManagementInstituteathttp://www.pmi.org/Pages/default.aspx.

Includedinourprojectmanagementresourcesare:

MISImplementationProjectPlaninMSExcelandMSProject

ThesetemplateshavecommontasksnecessarytorunanITproject,includingrecurringtasksas
weeklystatusreports,fromprojectinceptiontocompletion.

MISProjectBudgetTemplateinMSExcel

ThistemplatelistscommonresourcesneededtocompleteanMISproject.Usethistodouble
checkthatrequiredhuman,software,hardware,andotherresourcesareincludedinyourbudget.

RiskManagementWorksheetinMSExcel

ThistemplateisanExcelworksheetsimilartothegivenexample.