Learn Business Management by Prof. Americo Cunha, Ph.D.

How to draw project network diagram? This video is a project network diagram tutorial, in which you will be learning how to the WBS diagrams to develop an Activity-on-node or AON diagram in project management. It is full of visuals and 2 examples of AON diagrams How to prepare the project activity list? • The Work Breakdown Structure depicts the main project components. It has the project on the top of the hierarchy, followed by main project phases and primary components expressed as deliverables. • The primary deliverables are then further broken down in smaller deliverables, a.k.a. sub-deliverables. • Then break down the sub-deliverables again until suitable manageable units usually called lowest level sub-deliverables. • The WBS components are identified by numbers from the top, the project, to the lowest level deliverables as shown 1, then 1.1, then 1.1.1. 1.1.2, and so on. • The project tasks are determined based on work required to complete and deliver the WBS lowest level sub-deliverables. They are also called work packages, in which the task detail information, resources, budget, and estimates are described. • The project activity list is derived from the from WBS lowest level sub-deliverables. You need to describe the principal information about the tasks such as WBS ID, task ID, task name, the estimated duration, and predecessors. • The tasks names are different of the deliverables. The deliverable title must be a noun or compound noun, while the task title must have an action verb. What is a Project network diagram? • It is an illustration of the sequence of work in a project. • There is a work sequence because some activities can just be executed after previous activities are completed – a.k.a. predecessors. • Some activities do not require previous work, and they do not have predecessors. • The most common way to show the activities sequence is called Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) • How to prepare a Precedence diagram? • Contact the project team and discuss with the person in charge for a task, what task or tasks must be done before he starts his tasks. Include the task or tasks ID in the predecessor column, • After filling out the predecessors for all tasks, it is time to draw the precedence diagram. • Start with task or tasks without predecessor and place them on the left side.

In this video, we present a visual tutorial on project management scheduling. You learn how to prepare a project schedule visually. This 101 course teaches the four steps for an effective project scheduling are: (1) How to identify project tasks (2) How to estimate project duration, resources, and cost (3) How to arrange project activities in sequence (4) How to optimize project schedule After, you will be able to understand the PMBOK and other project management technical books better. Here is the place to improve your project management skills. Project planning is an art of anticipation! Yes, the act of preparing for something, the visualization of future events. (1) Identify project tasks The project tasks can be identified and organized with the support of a tool called WBS - WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE In the WBS, we organize tasks into manageable groups, by project phases, deliverables, subject matter... The WBS - - WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE is like an assembling kit diagram from which you can develop your project plan. In the first level, you have the main sections, main work phases, or deceivable . These project sections are then further broken down into tasks, or work packages, that can be assigned to a single person to handle. In WBS chart, these are the lowest level, the smallest project units in which all planning will be developed. (2) Estimate task duration, resources, and cost Time and resources estimates are a big part of the schedule because they help determine how long tasks should take. Each task of the WBS lowest level are evaluated. For each one, first, we try to estimate the effort, work-hours that will take to finish the task. The estimating is very critical to the project. Try to get advice from experienced people on the job and check actual duration from previous projects. Two things should be taken in consideration to determine the task duration the effort, work-hours, and resource availability. For instance, the project should understand if the person in charge for a task will be working full or part-time. Full time dedication lead to a shorter duration. (3) Arrange tasks in sequence Putting tasks in a logical work sequence is the next challenge to developing the project schedule. The first challenge is to find out the relationships between tasks, and identify which task must be done before the other task. This is called task dependencies. If a task has to be done before another, it is called predecessor. After, it is time to determine the possible start date for each task. This can be done by computing ti mes on the project network. The project network technique Precedence Diagramming Method - PDM allows us to define the starting, finishing times for each activity, total project duration, and the critical path. The critical path is the shortest period in which the project can be completed. After the time calculation, we can find a better way to show the task times. The most common way is the Gantt Chart. The Gantt Chart illustrates the start and finish times, or dates, for each task in a type of bar chart. It is like a project calendar. Each task has a bar drawn between its start and finish dates. The fourth scheduling step, it's when we try to optimize project schedule. The three most important optimization strategies are: - Balancing workload is the activity to make sure each team member has a realistic work-hours planned in a period. - Then, it is always important to verify if we can reduce the project duration. You can try to allocate extra resource for the tasks in the critical path; a method called project crashing. Or try to overlap execution of some tasks, what is called fast tracking. - Third, evaluate the significant execution risks, and maybe accommodate buffers between tasks. So, the project starts with an idea, sometimes not well defined. In the project chart, the idea became more apparent; it is better outlined. During the planning, the project team work on the idea, define the scope, project boundaries. The project is divided into logical pieces, sections, until well-defined tasks or work packages. The planning is developed based on the tasks. For each task, durations, resources, costs, sequence, risks are defined. Project team works in each task according to the schedule. In the end, the project product is delivered, hopefully, according to the client's initial idea. MY SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONTACT MEDIA YOUTUBE CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/c/americoelearning E-MAIL: americoelearning@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.americoelearning.com TWITTER: @AmericoBC TWITTER WEBSITE: https://twitter.com/AmericoBC LINKEDIN: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/americobc MISSION STATEMENT My mission is to provide practical courses in business analysis for effective professionals. The objective is to keep the focus on the essential needs of professionals that work within short due dates and under pressure.

Learn project management fast, through the primary project processes and activities. In this video, you have an easy journey. Get you project management certifications, be job ready, and succeed in project management career. A project is a journey with a very clear beginning and end. The way has some twists, but you can overcome them quickly. In the pre-project phase, we define priorities, assess strategic fit, prepare the business case, and select projects to be developed. Go ahead with the initiation activities! - define initial scope - estimate initial budget - evaluate major stakeholders - develop the PROJECT CHARTER - Get the formal approval, and move on. - "walk" to planning activities In the planning, you should do your best to anticipate the course of actions to deliver the project outcomes First stop in the planning process is the scope. The main activities are: - identify and select requirements - describe the project, service, and their boundaries - develop the WBS, the most important document to plan a project Next stop, schedule planning, based on the WBS - define activities - sequence activities - estimate activities resources - estimate activities duration - develop schedule - the project network - the Gantt chart Human resource planning includes: - Assign internal staff - plan temporary recruitment - define resource calendar - develop Responsibility Assignment Matrix - plan training - plan team assessment Now the crucial detail in any project, money. In the cost planning, you should - estimate activities cost - determine budget - develop the Time Phased Budget, it is an essential document in the monitoring and control, and for the earned value report Procurement is about to bring resources to the project. Prepare detail description about the resources to be acquired externally, develop sourcing and outsourcing plan. Can you see the skull on the road 90-degree curve? Very risky Risk planning includes the activities of - identifying risks of the project and its activities - performing risk analysis - preparing risk register - planning risk response To conclude the project plan, you should work on the communication and stakeholders management planning. - identify communication requirements of each stakeholder’s teams - determine the most suitable communications methods, what, how, when, and to whom the reports should be sent - develop the stakeholder’s management plan MY SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONTACT MEDIA YOUTUBE CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/c/americoelearning E-MAIL: americoelearning@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.americoelearning.com TWITTER WEBSITE: https://twitter.com/AmericoBC LINKEDIN: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/americobc MISSION STATEMENT My mission is to provide practical courses in business analysis for effective professionals. The objective is to keep the focus on the essential needs of professionals that work within short due dates and under pressure. We provide a hands-on learning process. During the courses, my students have the opportunity of developing skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and quali-quantitative analysis in practical business applications. My sessions started with the basics, then practice, implementation in a supporting software, and at the end, recommendations for a professional presentation. We cover the complete cycle, from the analysis to the business presentation. My background includes D.Sc. in Industrial Engineering, and MBA, and 20+ years of hands-on experience in service and manufacturing industry. My teaching differentials represent a combined approach with a deep understanding of Business Management models, real case assessments, and personal testimony from my multifaceted experience. My extensive hands-on business experience (20+ years) along with proper teaching methods has been contributing to my students’ success since my first teaching assignment 15 years ago.