By Robert Cassella IUustrated by Erik Hansen

O Copyright 2003 Robert Cassella. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Printed in Wctoria, Canada

National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Cassella, Robert, 195 1 -

Project management skills for kids I Robert Cassella ;illustrated by Erik Hansen.
ISBN 1-4120-0764-X
1. Project management-Juvenile literdture. I. Hansen, Erik, 1962- 11. Title.
HD69.P75C37 2003 j658.4'04 C2003-903842-4

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Project Management Skills for Kids is a book for students and
their parents and teachers that shows how LO plan, manage and
execute a Project.

The idea for this book came froin mny frustration trying to help
my daughters with the projects they were assigned in school or
in their extracurricular activities.

I want to show kids some simple and logical ways they can
organize and finish a project - and develop fundamental skills
they can use throughout their school years to plan, manage and
organize work and to solve problems.

In my opinion, learning how to plan, manage and execute work

is at least as important as the work itself.
edicated to my daughters, Sarah and E
 Table of Cantents

Introduction to Project Manageinent

Planning Your Project

Pc'lanaging Your Project

Executing Your Project

Notes for Parents 2nd Teachcrs

Glossary of Terms
 Introduction to
Project Management
-
Introductiozl.ta ect Management

What is a Project?

What is Project Management?

Project Management Processes

Projects are special
and different...they are not 'I-eplar'scliool \vot-k and t h q
wuaJly require more effort.

Projects have a definite

beginning and end... there is Iinlited amount of time to do
a lot ofwork.

Projects create a
... a I-csearch paper or an or-alpresentation
finished prodt~ct
or a model.

Every Project is ullique... ~zortnall~~,

no one does the sane Project
hvice and no hvo pco!$e\vili do
the sa~neProjectthe same way.
 What i s Project Managment?
Project Management is a 'systems approach' to planning and
managing the processes that create a finished product...such
as a research paper or a craft item, for example.

Project Management Skills help you to accomplish complicated

tasks on time and to specification.

You callcomplete a Project without planning and managing

your activities but it y
& be a lot more difficult!
 What is a System?

A system
takes inputs...

...to produce
an output
Pmject Management

Tn the Planning process, you develop

a Project Plan and a Project Schedule.

In the Managing process, you evaluate

your progress based on the
Specifications and Schedule.

In the Executing process, you produce

intermediate and final products.
Planning Your Project
Pkmning Your ect

M a h g a Project Plan.

'Freaking Down' a Product

 Making a Project Plan
iVriting your Project Plan makes you think about what
you are going to do and how you arc going to do it.

The Project Plan includes:

Tht: Scope of the Project
Assumntions hlade
I

Resources Needed for the Project

Constraints That Can Affect the Project
Assessment of h s k s That Might Affect the Project
Organization of the Project Team (if it is a team project)
 The Scope of the ect
Your project scope statement re-states facts
that you have been given:
%.hat must be done
Write a six page research paper on UFOs...

how it must be done

...that presents two different explanations
of their existence...

what ol?jecti\7es or specificatioils inust bc met

... The paper must use four sources, be typed
double-spaced and use the MLA style guide.
An outline and a rough draft must be turned
in on Day 12 and Day 25.
 Assumptions
You ~-2.illnot have all the facts that you need to do your
Project...so you must make logical assumnptions.

'Assumptions' are used in place of facts that you don't T~uve.

references I will need.

12
How can you figure out what resources you will need?
By breaking down your finished product into activities, task
and steps, you can estimate what resources you will need.

resources.

another way of saying

Finished Product, Activities and Tasks
 Activity, Tasks and Steps

Thinli Zhnut It

steps
n
1
Draw a Picture

Li,t thc Part5

Dur-tition 2 days 2 days 1 day

You can csti~nateh 6 a long it will take

you to complete each Actisity.
 Product Bm~kDown
Product Resources

Research
Paper

Model
 Project SeheduIe
Your Project Schedule shows:
what you must do (activities)

groups of simdar tasks (phases)

what order you must do them ill (sequence)

the time needed to complete a task (duration)

when they must be done (mileston

The next two pages show three ways to schedule

the activities, phases and inilestones of your Project...
Days
1 Day 21: Deliver thc hlodcl 21
 %at If It's a 'Team" Project2
Someone has to be in charge of the Project.

Everyone has to have sornc responsibility for

the Project's output.

Each person's xvork must contribute to the

Project's success.
Managing Your Pmject
Managing Your HZ

'Front Loading' Your Work

Assessing Risk

What are Specifications?

Tnspecting Your i%'ork

increases Risk!
1/4 of avdable time 3/4 of available time
 Assessing Risk!

Ir\rhat Can Go Wrong?

= &'hat if someone else borrows the book I need?

What if I wait too long to start working?

\Vllat if the dog eats my paper?

What if my model doesn't work right?

 Avoiding Risk
Can I Do Something What Can I Do
About It?
Front-load thewo

ksks
 P m j ~Specifications
t
understand the
'Specifications' are the Req~lirementsor Objectisre
for the Project that are given to you.

These Specifications are used to write your Scope

statement and to make your Project Schedule.

Usually, Specifications are based on:

Time: Such as the dates that products are due.

Quality: Such as hou7 a bibliography must be written.

Quantity: Such as the nunlber of pages or sources.

Conditions: Such as 'all work must be done in scho

29
 Inspecting Your Work
You must check or test your o\wl work to make sure you
are meeting the Specifications.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is the product ready on time?

Is the product as good as it should be

Does the product meet all requirements?

Have all the conditions been met?

Remember to allow yourself time to inspect your product

and to fix if it needs Inore ~vork.

30
Executing Yclur Project
 Executing Your Project
While you do the work on your Project, keep in mind:
the scope

the schedule

the specifications

If you find that your work is going slower (or faster)

than you had planned, adjust the schedule.
Notes for k ~ n tand
s Teachers

Help your student to succeed by:

talkng about the ideas in this book

providing attainable specificatioi~s

requiring milestones to be met

rcvie~ingthe quality of the work

letting them do the work themselves

 Glossary

Assumption: A presumption you make in place oP a fact you don't have.

Activity: A part of a product; an Intermediate Product.

Constraint: Something you need but don't have enough of.

Duration: The amount of time you estimate to complete a task.

Estimate: An educated guess of how much of a resource you need.

Fjnal Product: The otltput of a project.

Front-Loading: Doing the planning work early in the project.

 Glossary

Inspection: Checking or testing to make sure a product meets

specifications and does what it's supposed to do.

Intermediate Product: The output of a project phase; an Activity.

Level of Effort: The amount of work you need to do to accomplish

something.

Milestone: An important date; the day that a product has to be finished.

Phase: A group of tasks that produce an Intermediate or Find Product.

Process: The effort and procedures that transform inputs into a product.
 Glossary

Product: The output of a process.

Product Breakdown: Breaking a product into activities, tasks and steps.

Project: A short term effort to produce a unique product.

Quality: How 'good' a product must be.

Risk: The possibility that something might go wrong.

Resource: An input to a process.

Scope: The 'What,' 'How' and 'How \%'ell' of a project.

 Glossary

Schedule: The sequence and timing of activities.

Sequence: The order in which activities take place.

Specification: A required standard that must be met.

Step: Part of a task.

System: The way that resources are made into products.

Task: Part of an activity.

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