Week 1: Initiating a Project
Initiating a project INTRODUCTION
Initiating a Project course which is part of Coursera’s Google Project Management: Professional Certificate trains you for the essential skills needed for enabling the effective initiation and setup phase of a project toward successful outcomes. This course will comprise reviews and analyses of project documents and additional material sources for gaining insights into key requirements and stakeholder assessments, as well as addressing constraints. The course will also impart knowledge about developing a complete project charter: ensuring that the scope and objectives of the project are aligned with all stakeholders.
A few other skills include creating SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), mastering the art of negotiation with stakeholders for prioritizing objectives, and much more. At the end of the course, you will have acquired the confidence to manage even the most complicated projects.
Learning Objectives:
- Familiarize yourself with the structure and operation of the Google Project Management Certificate program.
- Evaluate project material to identify requirements, evaluate stakeholders, and identify problem issues.
- Prepare the detailed project charter with a scope, project summary, goals, benefits, and costs.
- Make project goals SMART.
- Use the project charter to align the stakeholders around the scope and objectives of the project.
- Use effective negotiation strategies to prioritize goals and achieve them for the project.
ACTIVITY: DRAFT A PROJECT CHARTER
1. Which of the following pieces of information from the supporting materials is appropriate for the project summary? Select all that apply.
- Plans to expand the tablet rollout to all Sauce & Spoon locations
- A detailed timeline of the project’s tasks and milestones
- The pilot will roll out in the bar area of each restaurant (CORRECT)
- The Sauce & Spoon locations selected for the rollout (CORRECT)
Correct: The decision to limit the deployment to just the bar area of each restaurant is a detail whose significance is quite well-matched for the summary.
Correct: The summary must entail key information regarding the pilot locations.
2. Which goals did you identify in the supporting materials for this project? Select all that apply.
- Create a project charter
- Hire 3-5 more waitstaff at each location
- Decrease table turn time by 30 minutes (CORRECT)
- Increase product mix (CORRECT)
Correct: Well, the tablets help reduce ordering and betaking to help the team achieve its goal.
Correct: Tablets that can advertise particular products and offer coupon redemption are likely to have some degree of success in helping the team achieve this goal.
3. Which goals are suggested or implied by the supporting materials? Select all that apply.
- Adjust the restaurant layout to increase efficiency
- Reduce the size of the kitchen staff
- Decrease employee burnout and turnover (CORRECT)
- Reduce the number of negative customer reviews (CORRECT)
Correct: It bring into focus employee burnout and high turnover rates. The introduction of tablets in restaurants could ease the burden on their employees, thus reducing these two challenges.
Correct: There have been many negative complaints about the services in the recent past. Tablets have been developed to facilitate the speedy delivery of services. It could be a way out of this mess.
4. Which deliverables did you identify in the supporting materials for this project? Select all that apply.
- A customer loyalty program
- Tablets installed in the bar area of two restaurant locations (CORRECT)
- Clear data points to track metrics (CORRECT)
- A plan to train the staff on the new system (CORRECT)
The installation of the tablets is necessary in the initiation of the pilot program, so, significant deliverables for the project are tablets.
Data collection is a primary deliverable from the project. Tablets will monitor table turns and ordering patterns, useful for Sauce & Spoon, to provide valuable information for success.
Developing a training program is an important deliverable for supporting staff in adapting to the new system.
ACTIVITY: REVISE YOUR PROJECT CHARTER
1. Which of the following decisions are the subject of stakeholder misalignment within the Sauce & Spoon tablet project?
- Upgrade the WiFi systems to ensure the tablets run smoothly
- Reallocate payroll to hire more kitchen staff (CORRECT)
- Measure project goals through the end of June
- Remove decreasing guest wait time as a separate goal
Correct: The disagreement among the members of the team was about moving the payroll to hire any extra kitchen staff, thus underlining a lack of alignment between them.
2. How does a project charter act as an alignment tool? Select all that apply.
- Ensures consistency because it does not change throughout the project
- Facilitates disagreements among team members about project goals and deliverables
- Lays out project details to ensure the team is working toward the outcomes all stakeholders expect (CORRECT)
- Addresses misalignments and documents when and how stakeholders resolve them (CORRECT)
A project charter gets all of the agreed-upon goals and information captured in it. The project charter records how the team addresses misalignments, thus preventing potential confusion. Catch-up with the regular updates you need-all your stakeholders along the way.
The project charter captures all the agreed goals and details. Regular updates keep your stakeholders in alignment. Actually, the project charter keeps a record of how the team will address misalignment to avoid future confusion.
3. How do Peta and her team resolve the issue of reallocating payroll to the kitchen staff?
- They agree to hire more bussers and runners to ensure the success of the tablet project.
- They agree that the added revenue from the tablets will allow Sauce & Spoon to hire more kitchen staff.
- They decide to hire part-time line cooks.
- They discuss several ideas, but do not resolve the issue. (CORRECT)
Correct: Reaching an agreement over what to do on the payroll matter has also not been possible by the team.
ACTIVITY: UPDATE YOUR PROJECT CHARTER GOALS
1. Which of the following is an example of a measurable goal?
- Improve back-of-house employee satisfaction
- Decrease table turn time by improving ticket order flow
- Reduce food waste by 25% by the end of Q2 (CORRECT)
- Improve table service productivity and efficiency by installing tabletop menu tablets at the start of Q2
Correct: This is a measurable goal because it articulates a precise aim: reducing food waste by…
2. Which of the following is an example of a time-bound goal? Select all that apply.
- Decrease table turn time by 30%
- Increase average check value to $75
- Increase appetizer sales by the end of Q2 (CORRECT)
- Implement menu tablets by the start of Q2 (CORRECT)
That goal has a time limitation as it sets a specific deadline.
This goal is time-bound because it specifies a clear timeframe for completion.
3. One of the project goals is to decrease average table turn time. Which version of this goal meets all the SMART criteria?
- Decrease average table turn time by 30 minutes, resulting in decreased customer wait time and more profit
- Decrease average table turn time by approximately 30 minutes by the end of the second quarter (Q2), resulting in decreased customer wait time (CORRECT)
- Decrease average table turn time by the end of the year in order to keep executives and investors happy
- Decrease average table turn time by 30 minutes by the end of the week, resulting in more profit and a decrease in customer wait time
Correct: Not only does this goal satisfy all SMART criteria, but it also has clear, specific objectives; it is measurable in minutes; achievable in terms of the tablet program; aligned with Sauce & Spoon’s broader business goals; and is time-defined within Q2.
4. One of the project goals is to increase the average check total for each table. Which version of this goal meets all the SMART criteria?
- Increase average check total to $75 by selling more appetizers and beverages by the end of Q2, resulting in increased profits (CORRECT)
- Increase average check total to $75 by the end of Q2
- Increase average check total by selling more appetizers and beverages by the end of Q2
- Increase average check total by $75 by selling more appetizers and beverages within five years
Correct: SMART criteria are incorporated within this goal. Having a distinct objective, measurable in terms of money spent, achievable through the tablet program, suiting Sauce & Spoon’s larger business goals, as well as bounded with time in Q2.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: PROJECT CHARTER COMPONENTS
1. What is the purpose of a project charter? Select all that apply.
- Serves as a detailed project plan with a schedule
- Organizes vital project information (CORRECT)
- Defines the project and outlines necessary details (CORRECT)
- Acts as a useful reference throughout the project (CORRECT)
Vital project information is organized in a manner easy for skimming by senior stakeholders who do not have time to review all details to still see the project and put a comment on the plans.
Defining the project in refined and condensed outline helps in ensuring a complete alignment for all stakeholders as far as what a successful project entails.
Such a document is a charter project; it’s dynamic and hence gets regular updates while serving as a central reference point for the team and the senior stakeholders for the entire duration of the project.
2. What three questions should you ask yourself when adding details to a project charter? Select all that apply.
- Which project management tools would the stakeholders prefer the team use?
- Who are the stakeholders? (CORRECT)
- What details are most important to the stakeholders? (CORRECT)
- Are there project details that the stakeholders might disagree with? (CORRECT)
This will help you understand the key stakeholders who are most likely to give feedback and direction from sponsors and evaluators of the project’s success.
It helps you prioritize the most relevant details so that you can provide timely updates on the most important aspects that your audience perceives.
Importantly, you want to identify any details that can become sources of disagreement among your different stakeholders so that you can put up processes for greater visibility, guiding discussions to resolve problems, and documenting the outcome of those discussions.
3. How can you use your project charter as a tool to align with stakeholders in the initiation phase?
- Ask stakeholders to each submit their visions for the project and add these as separate project charters.
- Edit the project charter into a 1-page, high-level summary for your team members to review.
- Introduce the project team to stakeholders so that everyone can discuss the project charter together.
- Present the project charter to stakeholders to confirm that everyone agrees with the project information. (CORRECT)
Correct: It is critical to align the stakeholders to the charter. This is a key step as most often, misalignment amongst the stakeholders on details of the project are some of the common causes of project failure.
4. Fill in the blank: _____ are the expected gains of a project. These can be direct or indirect.
- Milestones
- Benefits (CORRECT)
- Costs
- Stakeholders
Correct: Benefits can be said to be the effects that a project is presumed to have positively. These may be direct monetary benefits or indirect ones such as increased engagement or better satisfaction for customers.
5. What step for making project charter goals measurable involves researching how others in your industry quantify success?
- Benchmarking (CORRECT)
- Setting milestones
- Aligning stakeholders
- Budgeting
Correct: To render a measurable goal, you could research how others in your industry quantify themselves. This practice is known as benchmarking where success is evaluated with regard to preset standards.
6. What key information does the project charter contain? Select all that apply.
- Schedules
- Deliverables (CORRECT)
- Goals (CORRECT)
- Summary (CORRECT)
That project charter includes mostly important information which mainly relates to the deliverables.
Key information in the project charter for the project includes the project goals.
The project charter will provide key details such as the project summary.
7. Fill in the blank: A common cause of project failure is _____. Select all that apply.
- making too many changes to the project charter
- using the wrong template for the project charter
- misalignment between you and your stakeholders on the vision for the project (CORRECT)
- misalignment on the project details between stakeholders (CORRECT)
Every single deliverable is important, and even if the project manager has completed all of them, there will still be major gaps in the project success criteria because stakeholders will be focused on completely different deliverables.
For any project, it is completely successful in the very sense that all the stakeholders should agree to the point of what is success as far as the project is concerned.
8. What are project benefits?
- The estimate of the amount of money allocated to complete the project
- The money spent on project tasks
- The expected gains of a project (CORRECT)
- The boundaries of a project
Correct: Benefits are expected gains from a project, and these can be direct or indirect, for example, increased income or benefits in the form of improved customer interaction or greater customer satisfaction. Benefits will usually outweigh the costs, keeping in mind the project value.
9. Beyond clarifying who your stakeholders are, what can a stakeholder analysis help you understand? Select all that apply.
- How to increase a stakeholder’s level of influence
- How strongly to prioritize a particular stakeholder’s needs and goals (CORRECT)
- How your stakeholders prefer to communicate (CORRECT)
- What your stakeholders’ priorities are (CORRECT)
A stakeholder analysis gives you a framework for understanding the stakeholders’ priorities, needs, and goals for communication. Subsequently, it can help you in the negotiation process for your project.
A stakeholder analysis outlines the different stakeholders and thus provides a better understanding of their communication preferences, priorities, needs, and goals.
A stakeholder analysis is basically a visual representation of your stakeholders and gives you an insight into who your stakeholders are, what their priorities are, and how they would prefer to communicate.
10. Persuasion and negotiation are constructive tools that can help project managers do what? Select all that apply.
- Escalate conflict to maximize gain
- Achieve workable solutions for everyone involved (CORRECT)
- Enhance communication (CORRECT)
- Clarify wants and needs (CORRECT)
In project management, negotiation and persuasion serve as valuable tools with which to enhance communication, clarify needs, and come up with mutually beneficial solutions to the parties involved.
Project managers need to treat their colleagues and peers as opponents and not as opponents when it comes to versatile perspectives. Tools such as persuasion and negotiation are very constructive in enhancing communication, clarifying needs, and creating an avenue for the discovery of solutions for everyone involved.
While project management involves negotiation and persuasion, they can sometimes be very important tools in enhancing communication with individual stakeholders in clarifying needs and, most importantly, meeting the needs of all the parties concerned.
11. Fill in the blank: A _____ is a temporary alliance or partnering of individuals or groups in order to achieve a common purpose or to engage in a joint activity.
- development team
- merger
- stakeholder group
- coalition (CORRECT)
Correct: A good coalition has the right people with strong interests and enough influence or power of their own to support the project.
Initiating a project CONCLUSION
In this course, you will be trained on how to analyze project documents and supporting texts to extract requirements and stakeholder evaluation and answer problem-solving questions. A project charter will be produced and used to bring project scope and goals together for stakeholders.
Additionally, you’ll refine project goals to make them SMART and develop effective negotiation skills with stakeholders to prioritize goals. These are very important skills for any person looking forward to having a career in Project Management. Enroll now at Coursera.org!