In this fourth installment, the author begins to address the issue from its execution, developing the steps to follow for the success of the security project. By: Henry A. Rivera*
Little by little we have advanced in the development of project management starting from the aspect of generalities and their planning, now we will enter the development of the execution which will become easier if the planning has been developed properly, because as we saw previously the managerial process that has more subprocesses is that of planning and the least is that of execution, therefore this is the simplest part of the project to carry out but the one of greater care, because all those ideas embodied in designs or documents begin to materialize.
In this installment the most important aspects of the execution of projects will be developed, in order to have enough clarity to develop the project in a successful way, taking into account its different planned variables. In turn, we will give several tricks that can help not to make mistakes in the execution or making of last-minute decisions at that stage of the project.
What is execution?
To have a clear concept of the way in which planning is integrated with execution, we will define the latter as the stage in which human and material resources are coordinated according to the provisions of the Project Management Plan, developed in the planning, in order to produce the defined deliveries and achieve the objectives set, that is, the project was developed with all deliveries in time and with the calculated cost, without affecting the quality of the project's product.
Now, and going into the matter, the areas of knowledge that will be integrated in this stage will be presented below.
To adjust this integration, the model of inputs and outputs will be taken, and thus be clear about what elements will be the resulting. As the main input element for the execution stage, the Project Management Plan is available and the different documents, deliveries or reports will be taken as the output.
Quality area: In the execution of the project, a sub-process is contemplated that will be key in the development of the deliveries, which will ensure quality, in which the activities are developed in a systematic way, in order to satisfy the quality standards established in the project. The above can be summarized by performing quality audits, in order to identify the best practices for the development of deliveries and thus once and for all differences or anomalies can be identified, which would affect the final product.
Human resources area: At this time two sub-processes will be developed that consist of the acquisition and development of the project team, that is, those people who will participate in the development will be linked to the project independently, whether or not they are part of the organization, and their roles and responsibilities will be defined in such a way that the role of each of the members of the project team is very transparent and clear.
The second subprocess consists of developing to the maximum the competences of each of the members of the work team, in this part whoever is in charge of managing the project is key to determine the competences of his team, since if he knows how to exploit them he would almost have assured in 80% the success of the project, because remember that the projects work like the symphony orchestra, in which the manager is the one who takes the baton and its musicians are coordinated by the director of the orchestra, so the importance of them being well organized.
Communications area: For this aspect, those Stakeholders of greater importance and that were determined in the matrix must be taken into account, with the aim of enforcing in detail the communications plan designed in the planning stage of the project. That is to say that for this stage the different communiqués or reports of evolution of the project begin to be issued.
In general, according to the degree of importance of the Stakeholder, the frequency of communication and the detail of these reports are determined. In turn, within the communications that are presented, they must take into account those requests for change that are fenced generating according to the variations that are generated by the development of the different phases of execution of the project.
Procurement Area: With regard to the area of procurement, it is necessary to have fully identified suppliers, to develop with each of these the purchasing, contracting and procurement plan. Regarding this area, the specific keys will be developed later, in such a way that they allow the optimal management of the project resources.
This stage is simple but very careful since the areas of quality and communications are of vital importance for the development of the project, since in these falls all the responsibility for the quality of the product and the management of the Stakeholders of the project. In that order of ideas, to then we will give the keys to take into account in the areas of Quality, Communications and Human Resources, with the aim of summarizing in a practical way what is presented in this article and that will guarantee the success in the execution of the project if they are taken into account, especially if we want to execute the project without any setback.
Key 10: For an adequate development or execution of the project in relation to the quality area, it is recommended to have at hand the quality plan of the company as a basis for implementing the quality system for the project. In case of not having this information or not having implemented the quality system, it is recommended to verify the main processes for the elaboration of the project product, that is, that these activities are carried out systematically and that these in turn satisfy the requirements requested by the client.
In case of finding important variations within the execution of the project, it is important that the appropriate documentation is always being filled out and especially the control format, which usually when the survey of the requirements in security projects is carried out, it tends to be done verbally and in the best of cases a plan of location of elements is raised.
But this is not enough, it is recommended to document which element will be installed, what will be the location, what area it will cover and what will be its main function. This will ensure that at the time of verifying the delivery you have a checklist with the main characteristics of the same. It is important to be careful with this key, because in some contracts the requirements are not specified but leave the delivery open with a simple "Full customer satisfaction" and it is in this sentence where the project becomes endless, because it is very difficult for the client to be fully satisfied if that satisfaction is not specified.
Key 11: It is very important to determine which is the Stakeholder of greatest interest and power, because it is the person who will most influence the development of the project and therefore must be kept informed. Just as it is equally important to be willing to attend to any request made and that they are always documented, in order to keep a record of the changes that occurred during the development of the project.
I clarify that at this stage one of the most important documents is the so-called "Change Request Document", which has as its main objective to modify the scope of the project which will affect its cost and time. That is why most of the projects where this document is not managed become never-ending projects because they do not analyze how important the change is and to what extent it affects it.
Another element to take into account is the presentation of weekly or biweekly reports on progress, in order to verify and feed the monitoring schedule of the project, but always taking into account what percentage is missing to finish and not what percentage of execution is had, since on many occasions it has been observed that you never have a real report, because whenever they are updated or request data the project never has delays, but just being at 90% of its development begins to reflect unjustified delays.
Key 12: To effectively develop the project team, a figure of leadership and not hierarchy must be raised, since the lack of disposition of some design teams is noticeable when bosses are imposed and there are no project leaders. It is important that the leader has excellent communication skills that generate security in what he transmits to his team and his Stakeholders, since if he does not do so, the success of the project may be affected.
Additionally, the project manager must take into account the main qualities of each of its collaborating members, in order to get the most benefit for the project, that is why that ability to know to whom it assigns certain functions, according to their tastes and abilities, makes the designer feel pleased with the tasks he performs.
For this installment, the analysis of the case will not be developed, since the topics discussed cannot be exemplified because a field or practical task is required.
In the following publications we will finish with the topic of control and closure, so that it is possible to verify what elements or computer tools are available for project management.
* Henry A. Rivera R. is an Electronic Engineer, Project Management Specialist, member of the PMI Colombia Chapter and with extensive experience in the planning and execution of projects in the area of electronic security.
