Sunday, April 29, 2018

Agile or Waterfall - explained

Thursday, April 26, 2018

PMP Prep Course

Another houseful PMP Certification Prep Course starts April 28. We welcome all the 30 PMP Course participants to Education Edge Canada. Looking forward to another 6 weeks of exciting interaction, and as I have always said... Learning will be mutual.


Welcome all the 30 PMP Certification Course participants.


Education Edge - Presenting Complex Reality  in a Simplified Form.


Www.educationedge.ca



Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Our Organizations core values

For last 3 years, I have been busy forming a great team of consultants and acquiring talent. We trained over 200 consultants to take on leadership roles in almost every sector. Our consultants work with the top leadership and provide guidance and advice to the top leadership on defining and refining vision so organizational strategy could evolve. Our consulting and immigration company has experienced a growth spurt and we have tripled out operations in last 3 years. And our Education Company is one of the fastest growing company in Portfolio, Program, Project, Agile scrum and Business Analysis Education. 


The primary reason for this phenomenal success has been our vision with values which have remained client focused. Forming trust and demonstrating character forms the core of our organization. 


Hemant Dhariyal speaks to leadership in on one of the top financial institution on the importance of Benefit Management.







Monday, April 23, 2018

PGMP launch at Education Edge

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in helping me attain my PgMP. Passed it with ABOVE TARGET on all 5 critical domains. One of the toughest designations and really felt tested. Used all my 4 hours during the exam. 


Special thanks to DAVID ODIGIE, MBA, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, ACP, RMP, P3O, PMO CP, CBAP, CSM for his time and mentorship and Rachel Sidhu for assuming all the responsibilities of keeping everything up and running in my absence. 


Being in the business of Education and running successful consulting firms around the world, felt the pressure of expectations from all the well wishers and supporters and numerous students that look up to us as educators. 


Now that it’s done, the question is what’s next??


We launch first in class PgMP training in July 2018 at Education Edge Canada.









Saturday, April 21, 2018

Another PMP COURSE ENDS

March 17 course ended today and all 30 PMP Course participants are motivated to achieve their PMP IN NEXT 30 Days. 


DAVID ODIGIE, MBA, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, ACP, RMP, P3O, PMO CP, CBAP, CSM and Hemant Dhariyal enjoyed facilitating the PMP SESSIONS. Education Edge Canada continues to deliver groundbreaking education in Project Management, Program Management and Business Analysis.













Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Hemant on Self fulfilment

Feeling of self fulfillment is what turns a good day into a great day. One of the ways to achieve Self fulfillment is by delivering excellence and surpassing expectations. Whatever capacity we work in, as long as we continue to deliver value and remain productive, we will create an impact that will bring the desired change. 


In other words, the state of self fulfillment brings happiness and joy. To attain self fulfillment though, continuous self  introspection and adjustment to our behaviours and discipline is a must.


... “YOU EVEN BETTER” will be the outcome. 


The first step towards Self fulfillment is to surround your self with great people and de-clutter your life. Painful it may be to start with, as the time will progress and as you will evolve into the BETTER YOU, then it will be all worth it.


Hemant Dhariyal

Founder - Education Edge

Founder- Talent Connected World Wide

Monday, April 16, 2018

PMP CERTIFICATION COURSE SUCCESS STORIES FROM MARCH 2018 - Education Edge Canada

Education Edge PMP Prep Course Office Read - Project Stakeholder Management


Project Stakeholder Management

 
§  stakeholders are groups/individuals that may be directly or indirectly affected by the outcome of the project. The stakeholder may also affect the outcome by virtue of their influence or power, interest and

§  identify stakeholders is a continual process throughout the project lifecycle as some stakeholders may become irrelevant while new stakeholders may be identified as the project evolves

§  the Project Manager is responsible for the engaging and managing the various stakeholders in a project

§  identify stakeholders, communicate and engage them, manage expectations and focus on satisfaction

§  stakeholder satisfaction is a key project objective

 
Identify Stakeholders

§  Inputs: Project Charter, Business Documents, Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Agreements, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Data Gathering, Data Analysis, Data Representation, Meetings

§  Outputs: Stakeholder Register, Change Requests, Project Management Plan Update, Project Documents Update

§  identify stakeholders and document the importance/influence (=active involvement) /impact/interest/involvement of stakeholders/groups of stakeholders

§  stakeholders from procurement process and operation process needed to be included

§  agreements are used for determining external stakeholders such as the seller

§  Data Gathering Tools:

§  Questionnaires and surveys

§  Brainstorming

§  Data Analysis Techniques:

§  stakeholder analysis techniques

§  Interest, rights (legal or moral rights), power/interest, power/influence or impact/influence grid, salience model, prioritization, etc.

§  Data Representation Tools:

§  Power/interest grid, power influence grid or impact/influence grid (3 ‘I’s: importance, interest, influence)

§  determine the stakeholders’ hot buttons (what response in specific situations) and develop support strategies

§  stakeholders have the greatest influence in the initial stage of the project

§  stakeholder analysis matrix is part of the stakeholder management strategy (output of Identify Stakeholders Process)

§  Salience Model: describing stakeholders based on the power (influence), urgency and legitimacy

§  document only influential stakeholders if there is a large number of stakeholders

§  document the impact using a power/influence grid, power/interest grid, influence/impact grid, salience model

 
Plan Stakeholder Engagement (formerly Plan Stakeholder Management)

§  Inputs: Project Charter, Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Agreements, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Data Gathering, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Data Representation, Meetings

§  Outputs: Stakeholder Engagement Plan

§  strategies to engage stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle

§  Stakeholder Engagement Plan contains: current/desired engagement levels, scope and impact to stakeholders, interrelationships, communication requirements and forms, how to update the plan

§  The distribution of this plan requires precautions as the engagement level of stakeholders is a very sensitive information

§  Data Analysis Tools:

§  Assumptions and constraint analysis

§  Mind mapping

§  Root cause analysis

§  Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix: (C-current level, D-desired level)

§  SWOT analysis

§  Engagement Level

§  Unaware

§  Resistant: resistant to change

§  Neutral

§  Supportive: supportive of change

§  Leading: actively engaged in project success

 

Manage Stakeholder Engagement

§  Inputs: Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Agreements, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Communication Skills, Interpersonal and Team Skills, Ground Rules, Meetings

§  Outputs: Change Requests, Project Management Plan Update, Project Documents Update

§  ultimate aim is to increase support and minimize resistance from stakeholders by addressing issues with a view to increasing the success of the project

§  communicate and work with stakeholders to meet their needs/expectations and address issues

§  build trust and resolve conflicts, negotiation skills, communication skills

§  need to communicate bad news/issues in a timely manner (not to hide, not to delay)

§  the communication requirements of individual stakeholder are recorded in the Project Communication Plan

§  PM may call upon the sponsor for assistance

§  Ground rules are created to set the expected behaviour of project team members and other stakeholders (for stakeholder engagement)

§  the Issue Log (Action Item Log): to identify issues/define impacts, owner (most important element) and priority/with the due date

 
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement (formerly Control Stakeholder Engagement)

§  Inputs: Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Work Performance Data, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Data Analysis, Decision Making, Data Representation, Communication Skills, Interpersonal and Team Skills, Meetings

§  Outputs: Work Performance Information, Change Requests, Project Management Plan Update, Project Documents Update

§  monitor overall stakeholder relationships and adjusting strategies to achieve the desired level of stakeholder engagement

§  Decision-Making Tools:

§  Multi-criteria decision analysis

§  Voting

 

 

Education Edge PMP Prep Course Office Read - Project Procurement Management


Project Procurement Management

§  Buys pay for the service from a Seller (seller may also be the performing organisation)

§  sellers are external to the project team

§  need to go through all 4 processes for each and every procurement

§  Contract Elements:

§  offer (seller offer buyer)

§  acceptance (buyer criteria)

§  capacity (physical/financial capabilities)

§  consideration (seller receive)

§  legal purpose (must be legal under law)

§  PM needs to understand terms and conditions, identify risks, include procurement schedule and involve in negotiations

§  Centralized contracting vs Decentralized contracting

§  Procurement Categories:

§  major complexity (high risk)

§  minor complexity (low risk, expensive)

§  routine purchase (Commercial Off the Shelf Products COTS)

§  goods and services (to perform part of our product)

§  Suppliers can be:

§  sole source

§  single source (preferred, for building a long-term relationship)

§  oligopoly (very few sellers)

§  a contract is not required to be written, it can be verbal or handshake, for internal projects, a formal contract is best

 

Plan Procurement Management

§  Inputs: Project Charter, Business Documents, Project Management Plan, Project Documents, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Data Gathering (e.g. Market Research), Data Analysis, Source Selection Analysis, Meetings

§  Outputs: Procurement Management Plan, Procurement Strategy, Bid Documents, Procurement Statement of Work, Source Selection Criteria, Make-or-buy Decisions, Independent Cost Estimates (inside or outside the organization), Change Requests, Project Documents Update, OPA Updates

§  identify explicitly what is needed

§  identify possible sellers and pre-meeting with them

§  make-or-buy analysis (determine whether to obtain products/services outside of the organization) is a compulsory process, needs to take risks into considerations

§  carefully written terms and conditions can transfer/share risks

§  teaming agreements or joint ventures

§  Procurement Documents:

§  request for proposal (RFP)

§  invitation for bid (IFB)

§  request for quote (RFQ)

§  request for information (RFI)

§  tender notice

§  invitation for negotiation

§  seller initial response

§  The procurement management plan specifies how a project will acquire goods/services from outside, includes contract type, risk management, constraints and assumptions, insurance requirements, form and format, pre-qualified sellers, metrics used, etc.


§  Return on investment (ROI)

§  Internal rate of return (IRR)

§  Discounted cash flow

§  Net present value (NPV)

§  Benefit/cost analysis (BCA)

§  target cost = total cost = estimated cost, total price = total cost + total profit

§  Point of Total Assumption – (in fixed-price (incentive fee) contracts) in budget overrun, the point at which the seller assumes all additional costs for delivering the product/service

§  PTA = (Ceiling Price – Total Price) / Buyer’s Share Ratio + Target Cost

§  PTA = Target Cost + (Ceiling Price – Target Price) / % Share of Cost Overrun

§  Procurement Statement of Work (SOW) is a legal document subject to legal reviews, legal advice should be sought throughout the whole procurement process, can be developed by the seller or buyer and must be detailed enough to allow the potential sellers to decide whether they want/are qualified (at a minimum) to pursue the work

§  performance (describe what can be accomplished)

§  functional (convey the end purpose or result)

§  design (convey precisely what are to be done),

§  Evaluation Criteria: risk, understanding of need, life-cycle cost, technical capability, management approach, technical approach

§  Procurement Strategy (new in PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition)

§  the procurement strategy determines the project delivery method:

§  with/without subtracting, joint venture, representative, etc.

§  turnkey, design and build (DB), build own operate transfer (BOOT), etc.

§  contract payment types:

§  Firm Fixed Price (FFP) – the price is fixed, specifications are well known, risk on the seller

§  Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF) – incentives for faster/better than contracted

§  Fixed Price with Economic Adjustment / Economic Price Adjustment (FPEA / FP-EPA) – inflation are taken into account

§  Purchase Order (PO) – for off-the-shelf goods/services with published rates

§  Cost Reimbursable (CR) / Cost Plus – buying the expertise (not the products), outcome is not clear, risk on the buyer, little incentive to control costs on buyer, need invoice audits

§  Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)

§  Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF) – incentive for performance, sharing of unused money if under/over contracted amount

§  Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) – award to be given based on agreed criteria, solely decided by the customer on the degree of satisfaction

§  Cost Plus Percentage of Costs (CPPC) – illegal for contracts with US Government

§  Cost Contract – no profit, for NGO

§  Best Efforts – obligates the seller to utilize best attempts, high uncertainty in meeting the goal

§  Time and Materials (T&M) – (hybrid type) when scope is not known, need constant monitoring to control schedule and cost, simple, for short duration, good for proof-of-concept type projects

§  procurement types

§  Bid Documents

§  Request for Proposal (RFP) – cost reimbursable contract, functional/performance SOW

§  Invitation for Bid (IFB) / Request for Bid (RFB) – fixed-price contract, design SOW

§  Request for Quote (RFP) – time and material, any type of SOW

§  Contractual Terms

§  Cancellation for Convenience – buyer can cancel and pay up to the point

§  Cancellation for Cause – default by either party, may result in legal actions

§  Escrow – survivability of seller in doubt, put the product in escrow (esp. if seller does not give up intellectual properties)

§  Force Majeure – standard disclaimer refers to ‘Acts of God’

§  Indemnification / Liability – responsible party

§  LOI Letter of Intent – not legally binding

§  Privity – the contractor may use sub-contractor, no direct contractual relationship with buyer

§  Retainage – amount to be withheld to ensure delivery

§  Risk of Loss – how the risk is shoulder by the parties

§  Time is of the Essence – delay in delivery will cause cardinal breach of contract

§  Work Made for Hire – all work owned by the buyer

Conduct Procurements

§  Inputs: Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Agreements, Procurement Documentation, Seller Proposals, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Advertising, Bidder Conferences, Data Analysis, Interpersonal and Team Skills

§  Outputs: Selected Sellers, Agreements, Change Requests, Project Management Plan Updates, Project Documents Update, OPA Updates

§  identify the sellers and award the contracts

§  PM may not be the lead negotiator on procurement but may be present to assist

§  may need senior management approval before awarding the contracts

§  bidder’s conference is a Q&A session with bidders, all bidders receive the same information (bidder are careful not to expose their technical approach during the session => may not have many questions)

§  remember NOT to have secret meetings or communications with individual vendors

§  review seller proposals: weighting systems, independent estimates, screening systems (screen out non-qualified vendors), seller rating systems (for past performance), expert judgement

§  Data Analysis includes ensuring that proposal is full and complete

§  Contract Negotiations and Tactics

§  Fait Accompli – not negotiable terms

§  Deadline – deadline for deliverables

§  Good Guy/ Bad Guy – one friendly, one aggressive

§  Missing Man – decision maker is missing

§  Limited Authority – not given authority

§  Fair and Reasonable – what is fair?

§  Unreasonable – making unreasonable demands

§  Delay – esp in critical moments

§  Attack – force compliance

§  The agreement is legally binding and should include (PM should NOT attempt to write the agreement):

§  statement of work, schedule baseline, performance reporting, the period of performance, roles and responsibilities, warranty, payment terms, fees and retainers, incentives, liability, penalties, etc.

 
Control Procurements

§  Inputs: Project Management Plan, Project Documents, Agreements, Procurement Documentation, Approved Change Requests, Work Performance Data, EEF, OPA

§  Tools & Techniques: Expert Judgement, Claims Administration, Data Analysis, Inspection, Audits

§  Outputs: Closed Procurements, Work Performance Information, Procurement Documentation Updates, Change Requests, Project Management Plan Updates, Project Documents Update, OPA Updates

§  would be performed by both seller and buyer

§  manage procurement relationships, monitor contract performance, make change and corrections

§  Data Analysis Techniques:

§  Performance reviews

§  Earned value analysis (EVA)

§  Trend analysis

§  the procurement administrator may be external to the project team

§  to close a procurement, the project management team should check and approve all deliverables and a written notice be sent to the seller (closed procurement)

§  may identify early signs and capture details for pre-mature termination of a contract

§  For Fixed Price contracts, look out for Bait and Switch (replace with cheaper materials), look out for excessive change requests

§  For Cost Reimbursable contracts, audit all invoices, look out for additional charges, tie payment to milestones, make sure people with the required skill sets are doing the job

§  For Time and Materials contracts, ensure hours are not padded, follow the milestone dates

§  the claims administration process deals with changes/disputes, disputes is best to be settled through negotiation > ADR

§  may need Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) by 3rd parties in case disputes cannot be settled

§  OPA may include the seller’s performance