Project Management 101
Sherry Hicks
VP, Global Implementation, Safe
October 6, 2016
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Agenda
 Project Management 101: The Basics
 Project Phases and Key Activities
 Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
 Driving the Project
 The Do’s and Don’ts When the First Payroll Hits
 Excellence After the Project
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Project Management 101:
The Basics
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Project Management 101
What is a project?
 A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or results
What is project management?
 The application of knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities to meet project
requirements
Project Management Institute (PMI)
definitions
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Project Management 101
Project Management Institute (PMI)
 World’s largest professional association of project
professionals
 PMI Certifications
o PMP – Project Management Professional (the Project
Management profession’s most globally recognized
certification credential)
o PgMP – Program Management Professional
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Project Management 101
Project Management Institute (PMI)
 Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
o Sum of knowledge within the profession of project management
o Set of standards and best practices established via consensus based
process
o Provides a framework
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Project Management 101
A project has a defined beginning and end,
executed by a group of people to meet a
specific objective
PMI Project Phases
Typical Payroll Project Phases
Initiation
Planning
Planning
Discovery/Requirements Gathering
Execution
Configure/Build
Control and Monitoring
Test
Close-out
Transition/Go Live
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Project Management 101
A designated Project Manager is vital to the
success of the project
 Responsible for the day-to-day management, status
reporting, issue, risk, scope and resource management
o Ensure timely decisions and communication of
decisions made
o Manage and coordinate activity of project team to
meet project schedule and deliverables
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Project Management 101
Designated Project Manager is vital to the success
of the project
 Manage communications to team and organization
 Manage constraints and obstacles, escalates to
Stakeholders as necessary
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Project Management 101
Attributes of an effective Project Manager
 Question why
 Positive, “can do”
attitude
 Partner well
 Hold team accountable
 Respect others
 See the Big Picture,
thinks detail
 Excel in communication
 Organized and
disciplined
 Lead
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Project Management 101
Essential Project Resources
 Executive Sponsor and/or Steering Committee
 Project Manager
 Workstream Leads (Payroll, HR, Finance, IT, etc.)
 Subject Matter Experts/End Users
 Change Management resource
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Project Management 101
Assess Constraints/Risks
 Identify uncertainties
 Assess their potential impacts
 Estimate the likelihood
 Develop plan to mitigate or control the uncertainties
 Prioritize the risk
 Periodically review and assess the risk
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Project Phases and
Key Activities
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Planning Phase
Proper planning is the foundation of every project
 Confirm the business case for and objective of the project
 Determine how to meet the project objectives and how success of the
project will be measured
 Identify the Stakeholder’s expectations
 Confirm the scope of the project
 Identify the constraints and assumptions
 Generate the project budget
 Establish change control process
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Planning Phase
Key Activities
 Create the project schedule (Work Breakdown Structure)
o What tasks are needed?
o Who is responsible for which tasks?
o What are the dependencies?
o Determine critical path
• The longest path of planned activities
• These activities will determine the duration of the project
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Planning Phase
Key Activities
 Develop a risk management plan
o Identify known risks and possible risks (constraints)
o Pay particular attention to risks with high impact and
high probability of occurring
 Project budget
o Monitor and manage via change control
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Planning Phase – Key Activities
Managing change through Change Control
 Changes throughout the project are common and to be
expected
 Purpose of change control
o To manage and control changes identified after the scope
has been approved
o Disciplined process for assessing
impact of change to cost, schedule
and scope/quality
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Planning Phase – Key Activities
Communication Plan
 Ensures timely an appropriate communication of all project related
information
o Communication standards
 Identifies communication requirements for all project
team members
o Meetings (Project Status, Stakeholder, etc.)
o Documentation
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o Action Items
Planning Phase – Key Activities
Communication Plan
 Establishes expectations for project information distribution
(who, what, when, how)
 Documents process for resolving open items and escalations
o Status Report (for reporting period)
• Overall status of project
• Accomplishments
• Areas of Focus
• Critical Open Issues and Risks
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Planning is an iterative process and does
not end at the end of the phase but
continues throughout the project
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Discovery/Requirements Gathering
The objective of this phase of the project is to finalize
requirements for resources, process and technology to
result in an accurately configured solution. In order to
get what you want, you must be able to define what you
want.
Key Activities and Deliverables
 Future System Design
 Global Requirements
 Local Requirements
 Reporting Requirements
 Integration Requirements and Definitions
 Updated Project Plan
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Configure/Build
The objectives of the Configure/Build Phase are to
complete the configuration based on the requirements
documented during the Discovery/Requirements Gathering Phase
Key Activities and Deliverables
 Configuration
 Integration Development
 Report Development
 Data conversion
 Unit Test
 Test Success Criteria
 System is prepared for Testing and Training
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Test Phase
The Test Phase ensures the configured system
sufficiently meets documented requirements and users
are trained. The Test Phase may consist of various test efforts.
 End to End testing
o Validates the configuration and that the data flows properly
o Confirm the integrations meet requirements
o May use subset of test data
 Scenario Testing
o End users run through real life scripts
o Validates configuration meets requirements
 Parallel Payroll Testing
o Uses actual data from a live payroll, paralleled in new system
o Validates the configuration and integrations meet the requirements
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Transition/Go Live Phase
When the exit criteria for the Test Phase has been met,
the project moves into the final phase, Transition/Go
Live. This phase is a collection of controls and processes
to ensure a smooth transition to a “live” status and a
steady state environment.
Key Activities and Deliverables:
 Training and roll out
 Final data conversion
 Transition Activities, Checklist Review
 Transition to Production
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Defining Excellence to
Maximize Results
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
 A successful project will be a disciplined effort
 Set realistic expectations about the transition
 Communications need to be clear, concise and in
writing
 A project plan should be current and at the center of
all activities
 Tightly manage change control to avoid scope creep
 Transparency and consistency are key for success
 A comprehensive Change Management Plan will
increase adoption
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Best Practices
 Document or review as-is processes
 Identify the difference between policy and practice
 Standardize policies, pay type and deductions to the highest
degree possible
 Ensure standards are valid across all locations and not just
HQ- centric, have provisions for local needs
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Best Practices
 Always consider upstream and downstream impacts
 Standardization should be the underpinning for an effective
information management strategy
 Intentionally define roles and processes for transition and
steady state
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Best Practices
 Ensure data being migrated is clean data
 Use the data from the incumbent payroll system
 Identify external constraints (other business activities,
competing projects, shutdowns, etc.)
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Best Practices
 Role of Future State Change Agent
o Authority to make decisions
o Drives standardization, challenges need for special
requirements
o Gets buy-in from organization (at all levels), ensures
partnering
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Best Practices
 Partner with vendors
o Listen to your vendors, they have experience that you
can benefit from
o Be open and honest with vendor regarding your
constraints
o Work together to assess risks
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Change Management is essential to ensure excellence
before, during and after the project. It is the bridge
between the solution and the results.

Change Management is a systematic and proactive approach to
dealing with change

Change Management is:
o
Creating leadership
o
Changing attitudes
o
Communication and Training in order to be able to adopt the
change
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Change Management is essential to ensure excellence
before, during and after the project.

Clearly articulate the overall business benefits of the project
– why are we doing this now?

Shadow organizations exist mostly because buy-in was
never achieved upfront or lost
Change Management should start before the project
begins and not end until the new solution has been
adopted
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Effectiveness of your Change Management is the
key to a successful implementation and will greatly
impact excellence after the project
 Impact Assessment
o Assess the impact of the new solution on your people and
processes
 Change Management Plan
o Defines and implements new procedures and/or
technologies
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Effectiveness of your Change Management is the
key to a successful implementation and will greatly
impact excellence after the project
 Communication Plan
o Establishes a common vision and integrated approach to
the communication campaign
 Training Plan
o Ensures end-users are ready to perform tasks in the system
prior to go-live and their correct on-going use
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Defining Excellence to Maximize Results
Effectiveness of your Change Management is the
key to a successful implementation and will greatly
impact excellence after the project
 Readiness – What is a successful end state?
o Employees are able to access their data, and request
service using new tools and processes
o Managers are able to perform their roles using new tools
and processes
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Driving the Project
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Driving the Project
Primary reasons projects fail
 Unrealistic expectations
 Lack of involvement from Subject Matter Experts/End Users
 Requirements are not completely identified
 Lack of accountability
 Lack of project governance/discipline
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Driving the Project
Successful projects require strong project
governance to ensure that the project follows the
plans correctly and, as a result, leads to the
desired results
 Use Technology
 Track Progress
 Identify Right Resources
 Maintain Control
 Keep Everyone Informed
 All Decisions Made Should Align with Project Objectives
 Encourage Peak Performance
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Driving the Project
Project Governance provides framework for
managing the project and keeping it on track
 Provides oversight at multiple levels
o Strategic (Stakeholders/Executive Sponsor)
o Operational (Project Leadership)
o Tactical (Project Manager)
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Driving the Project
Project Governance provides framework for
managing the project and keeping it on track
 Stakeholders/Executive Sponsor
o Ensure project remains aligned with strategic objectives
and direction
o Confirm status and resolution of escalated issues or risks
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Project Governance
Strategic
Operational
Tactical
Issue
Escalation
 Review and confirm alignment of program
with business strategy and direction
 Confirm status or resolution of any
escalated issues or risks
 Weigh-in on “Go/No Go” decisions
 Manage program issues/risks
 Track progress against program work
plan
 Revise milestones and deliverables
 Decision of “Go/No Go” events
 Confirm transition criteria
 Coordinate internal policy alignment
 Confirm scope changes
Steering
Committee
(Meet
Monthly)
Strategic
Direction
Setting
Project
Leadership
Team
(Monthly)
 Confirm Interface Requirements
 Design Oversight
 Review scope impacting transformational
activities
 Approve Deliverables
Workstream
Leads
(Weekly)
 Manage program/project team
participation
 Prepare documentation
 Verify activities and tasks have occurred
 Verify transition criteria achieved
(readiness)
 Identify and resolve issues and risks
 Monitor and verify operational readiness
Project
Manager
(Daily to
Weekly)
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The Do’s and Don’ts When the
First Payroll Hits
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The Do’s to Prepare for First Payroll
Do
 Ensure Go Live Checklist is complete
 Review criteria for a no go decision
 Review contingency plans
 Determine where and how support will be provided for time
critical issues
 Ensure pay period schedule dates are accurate
o Pay period begin and end date
o Pay particular attention to the pay date to
ensure it is correct
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The Do’s to Prepare for First Payroll
Do
 Ensure all parties (internal and partners) are aware
of the cutover dates
 Proactively communicate any known issues and the mitigation
plan
 Audit, audit, audit
 Ensure direct deposit files have been transmitted
 Communicate to all, announcing the go live
 Clearly document open items, drive to resolution
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The Don’ts for the First Payroll
Don’t
 Process first payroll without a Contingency Plan
 Move forward without successful test results without
contingency plans and proactive communications
 Forget to celebrate your success as a project team
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Excellence After the Project
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Excellence After the Project
Ensure the delivered solution meets the documented
project objectives
 Create transition plan to ensure an organized and effective
transition from project team to steady state team
 Evaluate training needs – is any retraining necessary
 Document ownership of any open items
 Project evaluation – did project meet all objectives
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Thank you
Please remember to complete your evaluation
of this session
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