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Ms. E. Gomez EME6631, Spring 2006Due: March 20, 2006 Dr. Bonnie ArmstrongA3 Literature Review Page # 1 of 13

Literature Review

Introduction

Six months prior to c om pleting my A.S. in Software Program ming & Ana lysis,

while a lso p ursuing my gradua te stud ies in Instruc tiona l System Design, I sta rted

my ow n business. I knew both fields b lended quite sea mlessly and wha t I would

not lea rn from one deg ree , I d eventually learn from the o ther. How ever, neither

degree fully prep ares one to ma nag e a web-ba sed ap plica tion, softwa re, or

instruc tiona l design produc t. And yet, in the ea rly pa rt o f 2005, I wa s managing

my first c lient p rojec t with minimal struc ture. When the op portunity arose to

choose a book to review , I found Web Projec t Ma nage ment, Delivering

Suc c essful Com merc ial Web SitesbyAshley Fried lein1

The fo llow ing review is a summ ary of the c ontent o f the b ook with pertinent

d iscussions on its relevance to managing performa nce imp rovement p rojec ts. I

conc lude with my rea c tions or thoughts on what app ea led to me from the

rea d ing a nd the authors presenta tion of the ma teria l. Also, I ve inc luded a ta b le

from the b ook as Append ix A. It conta ins an overview of the phases, work stage s

and deliverab les for eac h and therefore, serves as an excellent job a id for

anyone w ho intends to work as a w eb projec t ma nag er.

wa s exac tly what I was

missing and need ing to bet ter ma nage future business projec ts.

1Friedlein, A. (2001). Web Project Management: Delivering Successful Commercial Web Sites. CA: San Francisco, Morgan Kaufmann Publisher.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8http://www.e-consultancy.com/account/profile-2/ashley.htmlhttp://www.e-consultancy.com/account/profile-2/ashley.htmlhttp://www.e-consultancy.com/account/profile-2/ashley.htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558606785/sr=8-1/qid=1142345687/ref=sr_1_1/102-8251075-9012903?_encoding=UTF8

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Content Summary

The book is b roken into three parts, de sp ite the typo in the p refa ce sta ting

its broken into four. The three p arts are The World o f the Web Projec t Ma nager,

The M ethod , and a Case study. The fo llow ing is an ove rview of eac h part.

Part I: The World o f the Web Projec t Manager

The first c hap ter sets the stage into the w orld of the projec t manage r, the

developm ent team and imp ortance of imp lementing and using a me thod to

manage projec ts. Every projec t ha s three underlying elements; cost, time and

quality. Orchestrating eac h eleme nt is essential as c hanges in one elem ent will

undeniab ly a ffec t the o ther. Inc rea se q uality and c hances are it will also increa se

time and cost. How ever, the Web has inc rea sed in an unfathom able spe ed and

eac h web site o r web-ba sed ap plic a tion is inc rea singly more dynamic and

com plex than the other.

Simila rly, managing w eb projec ts is bec om ing m ore com plex and

dynamic . Jugg ling m any resources, peo p le, budgets and timelines are skills tha t

not everyone c an hand le but every p rojec t ma nage r must possess. To a dd to the

com plexity, two o f the m ost imperative skills a p rojec t manage r must have a re

com munic a tion and a base knowledge in b usiness. Not possessing both of these

can doom a projec t from its incep tion. Nonetheless, being a projec t ma nag er

has its rew ards. Am ong the m any rew ards, you ha ve doing b usiness c rea tively,

em po wering c rea tive resourc es, and c rea ting a living breathing p rod uc t , which,

in many cases, is viewed by thousands or millions of people around the w orld .2

The same increasing c om plexity and dynam ism o f the web, web p rojec ts

and the skills req uired to m anage them , sp ill into the web deve lopm ent team. The

team struc ture is ever inc reasing to inc lude spec ialists ac ross multiple d isc iplines,

2Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, pgs. 15-16.

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informa tion tec hnology and projec t ma nag em ent. A typica l team in a m id -size to

large d evelopm ent p rojec t ma y inc lude as ma ny as forty roles from ac countants

to w eb cast spec ia list. These roles are need ed to a c com mod ate a variety o f skills

and responsibilities. Although the tasks performed in ea ch role w ill va ry slightly,

depend ing o n whether the p rojec t is be ing d evelope d for an e xternal or internal

c lient, eac h role p lays a p art in meeting the d em ands of this ever chang ing

world.

Part II: The Method

Part two c overs the imp ortanc e o f imp lementing a me thod as the

founda tion to ma nag ing p rojec ts. Chap ter two a nd three introd uce the method

and roa d m ap, while c hap ters four through eleven ea c h co ver one o f the eight

stag es that c om prise the m ethod presented by the author.

A. Importanc e and Benefits of using a Method

There a re ma ny me thods availab le for projec t manag em ent and eac h

serves a spec ific p urpose. Yet , the imp ortant thing is to use one. The b igger the

projec t, the more critic al a p rojec t me thod is.3

Having a defined method is the first step , but then one m ust put it into

use. The a uthor points out twe lve bene fits of doing so. The fo llow ing are perhaps

six of the m ost important:

1. Having a chec klist from which to wo rk from2. Ma intaining a c omm on foc us am ong team memb ers3. Justifying expend itures4. Having a me thod o f ac countability5. Ma intaining control of the p rojec t6. Increasing efficiency in budgeting and allocating resources

3Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, pg. 40.

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B. The Road Ma p

The author provides a roa d map, illustra ted in Figure 2, c onsisting o f four

phases and eight stage s. It serves as a framew ork or model to g uide p rojec t

ma nag ers in developing, imp lementing, ma intaining and eva luating web

projects.4

Figure 2:Projec t Pha ses and Stages

Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV

Prep roduc tion Prod uc tion Ma intena nce Eva luat ion

Project

Clarification

Solution

Definition

Project

Spe c ifica tion

Content Design and

Construction

Testing ,

Launch,

and

Handover

Ma intena nce Review and

Evaluation

Phase I:Preproduction can ta ke up to 50% of the to tal projec t time and

budget. This is the ha rdest portion to sell or ob ta in buy in for; it does not p rovide a

tang ible p rod uc t and the c lient ma y find its a w aste of time and mo ney.

How ever, the a uthor stresses the imp ortanc e of p lanning to imp rove tota l de livery

time, overa ll qua lity, and save m oney in the long run.

This phase consist o f the three stages; the projec t c larifica tion, solution d efinition,

and p rojec t spec ific a tion. The author simplified ea c h stage quite nicely:

The Projec t Clarifica tion is the WHY it is being d one,

The Solution Definition is the HOW it should b e d one, and

The Projec t Spec ifica tion is the WHAT exac tly is going to be done 5

4

Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, pgs. 41-43.5

Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, pg. 56.

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It is in these stages the p rojec t manager disc ove rs the ne ed s of the c lient,

refines the needs of the c lient and defines wha t will be d one to c om plete the

projec t. Also, important to the succ ess of the overa ll p rojec t is to ob ta in buy in

from key stakeho lde rs, sponsors or champions. At the end of p hase one a ll of the

da ta d iscovered , refined and d efined should serve as the found a tion for the

Projec t Spec ific a tion d oc ument. This doc ument w ill contain projec t ob jec tives,

succ ess c riteria , functiona l, tec hnica l and c ontent spec ific a tions, ma rketing

initia tives, projec t group c red entia ls, assumptions, terms and cond itions and

more.6

Although the c lient m ay not see it in the same light, the p rojec t

spec ifica tion d oc ument should b e treated as a d eliverab le and it serves as the

groundwork and spring b oa rd into the next phase.

Phase II: Produc tion will be m uch ea sier to ac c om plish onc e

prep rod uc tion has been suc c essfully tackled . This phase is broken into Content,

Design and Construc tion, a nd Testing , Launc h a nd Handover.

The c ontent is ga thered or crea ted , storyboa rds prep ared to spec ific a tions,

forwa rd planning is considered , mee tings are ong oing a nd c hange

ma nag em ent is challenge d , the p rototyp ed is delivered and signed -off, and

fina lly the p rod uc t c om es to life. But it does not end there. Testing m ust be g iven

just as much attention bec ause of the intricac ies of tec hnology, c om patib ility

issues and system req uirem ents. Onc e a ll bugs are fixed , the p rod uc t w ill be

rea dy for launc h and all art, content and d oc umenta tion is finally handed b ac k

to the c lient in the fina l handover stage .


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Phase III: Maintenance will vary dep end ing on the c om plexity of the

projec t. It should b e trea ted as an extension o f the p rod uc tion p hase; therefore,

req uires just as muc h ded ica tion. A ma intenanc e tea m m ay need to be

assem bled and servic e a greem ents defined and signed . Third parties may be

broug ht into the mix; more meetings may follow and p erhaps even tra ining a nd

deve lopment for the c lient s sta ff. The role of the p rojec t ma nager is less defined

a t this stage b ut still very important. How much time a nd energy the projec t

manage r spend s in this phase w ill dep end on the m a intena nc e requirem ents and

whether the m aintenanc e will be done in-house o r by an outside vendo r. 7

Phase IV: Eva luation inc ludes a review of the streng ths and shortco mings

not just of the final p rod uc t but of the p roc ess through whic h it c am e a bo ut. 8

This two-fac eted eva luation allows the projec t ma nag er and team m embe rs

examine the steps taken tow ards the c om pletion o f the p rod uc t; what w orked

and what needs improvement, as we ll as, how succ essful the p rod uc t turned out.

Evaluating procedures forces everyone to look at internal processes and

determine how they can be imp roved upon. Evaluating the p rod uc t, users and

external environments surrounding the project allows one to measure overall

succ esses and failures and how it a ll contributed to the fina l outc om e. The

evaluation c an b e d one w ith a c om bination of qualitative and quantitative

metric s, benchmarks and approa ches. All of which makes measuring return on

investment (ROI) more ac cura tely.9




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Part III: The Ca se Stud y

The a uthor conc ludes by highligh ting som e o f the up s and dow ns he

experienc ed and the lessons lea rned during a projec t in which he was a p rojec t

manager. Tab le I, titled Reality Bytes, summarizes the lessons lea rned by phase. I

selec ted and listed only those I found g eneral enough to ap ply to a ny field and

not just we b-projec t developm ent. Many a re q uoted but those that w ere no t self-

explana tory were pa raphrased and explained.

Table 1: Reality Bytes10

Phase Stage Lessons Learned

Preproduction

Project

Clarification

Mee t with a rep resentative from eac hde pa rtment you ll be w orking w ith

Be a wa re o f c ontent sources, don t a ssumethe c ontent is c opyrighted a nd ready for use

Avoid c ommitting to fixed bud gets andschedules at this stage

Solution

Definition

Alwa ys keep the ta rget ma rket (or audience)and o bjec tives in mind

Be sure the c lient understands the p ropo sa leven if they dont read it

If you must rec ruit mem bers for your team, doso soo ner NOT later

Be a wa re o f expec tations a Prototype c anset, be sure client understands that just

bec ause the Proto type wa s done q uic kly it

do es not indica te d eveloping the produc t will

be just a s quick

Project

Spec ific a tions

Writing the p rojec t spec ifica tion is a t imec onsuming p roc ess tha t requ ires c onstant

upda ting b ut its we ll wo rth it

Defining suc c ess c riteria (similar toperforma nce standa rds) is impo rtant for the

long term, not just short term

Have a system in plac e for manag ing sc ope10

Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, Chapter 12.

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c reep and c all it incremental project a

term tha t indica tes growth a nd p rog ression,

is less neg a tive and c learer for the c lient to

understand its implications

Production

Content

Don t leave yourself open to esc ala tingc ontent c osts and do nt try to c rea te it all

yourself

Protec t yourself from lega l issues that ma yarise a s a result o f c rea ting a p roduc t for a

client

Dema nd the c ontent e a rly, and assume it willc ome late a nd in the wrong format

Design a nd

Construction

Keep ing the projec t spec upd ated is evenmore impo rtant when new memb ers join the

team It s imp ortant to stay foc used when new

things c rop up

Prioritize p aperwork that ne ed s to b ec ompleted internally, with the c lient, or

vendors

Testing , Launc h,

And Handover

Lea ve yourself enough time c ushion forinevitab le last m inute items

Be very adam ant a bout d edica ting time fortesting

Maintenance Maintenance

Be sure to und ersta nd the businessexpec tations ea rly on to a void ma intenanc e

issues la te r on

Dedica te adequa te time and resourc es tosec urity issues, when app lic ab le, in web -

based de livery

Evaluation Review andEvaluation

When eva luating Marketing for a produc t:Offline is still the best way to g et peop le online

Don t ignore reviewing how we ll the g roupwo rked together and whether objectives

were met

Never stop eva luating a nd imp roving theproduct

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Relevance to Manag ing Performance Improvement Projec ts

As I rea d the b ook I bookmarked the top ics c losely related to Instruc tiona l

System s Design and managing Performa nc e Imp rovement Projec ts. As I went

back to review them , I rea lize how many similarities there we re; too many to

rem ark in a page or two . How ever, a few w ere more analog ous than others.

The Role and Skills of the Projec t Manager

The role of a projec t m anager seems to d iffer only in the spec ific s of theprod uc t itself. While there m ay be d ifferent g ranular processes and terminology,

the roles are very muc h the sam e; they prepa re a nd plan the projec t, define the

spec ifics on ta sks, deleg a te roles, hire team m em bers, c onsult sub jec t ma tter

experts (SMEs), advise the c lient, sc hedule sta ff, time, and resources, p rovide

estima tes and fina l co sts, cond uc t and a ttend meetings, ana lyze the risks and

plan for contingenc ies, and , finally, evaluate the p rojec t and pe rformanc e

outcomes.

The skills are a lso q uite similar and aga in only vary in the context of the

field in which the p rod uc t is deve loped . According to Ashley Fried lein, the two

primary skills a project manager should possess are Communication and

Knowledge,11 (i.e. ind ustry experienc e, b usiness d isc iplines and skills, and a ll

the conno ta tions of e xperienc e and wisdom ...this implies ).12 Perhaps he w as

referring to ha ving the p rop er ba lanc e o f Emotiona l Intellige nce o r persona l and

soc ial c ompe tence. The a bility to d etermine how one ma nag es oneself and

others is bette r known a s self-managem ent, self-aw arene ss and rela tionship

ma nage ment. All of which can m ake one a be tter leade r.13

11

Friedlein, A. Web Project Management, pg. 9.

From a d ifferent

perspec tive, Jim Fuller, the a uthor of Ma naging Performance Improvement


13Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee. Primal Leadership. pg. 39.

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Projec ts , essentially sta tes the same, Communication and Ma nageria l Skills 14

,

excep t he a ddresses these a s benefits to using p rojec t ma nagem ent techniques.

One c ould say it com es full c irc le; you need to have go od c ommunica tion and

business skills to m anage p rojec ts which w ill in turn benefit the overall outcom e o f

a p rojec t.

Projec t Management Princ iples and Methods

Ac c ording to Fuller, Projec t Ma nagem ent is a set o f p rinc ip les, metho ds,

tools, and tec hniques for the effec tive ma nag em ent of ac hieving ob jec tive-

oriented wo rk. 15

Freid lein emphasized the importance o f estab lishing and using

a m ethod . Whether it is a four pha se-eight stage p roc ess or the ADDIE mod el,

wha ts imp ortant is to ha ve a me thod and wo rk by it.

Defining a Projec t and Projec t Doc umentation

Having a roa d ma p is having the mag ic al ingredient for any p rojec t

conc oc tion. Ca ll it Projec t Spec ifica tion or Projec t Definition, the purpose for

writing one is a ll the same; to set a framew ork from which to work from . In it you

will inc lude the projec t objec tives, ra tiona le for the projec t, ta rget aud ienc e,

time lines, costs, risks and assumptions. As well as, prioritize c ost, time and qua lity.

In Instruc tiona l Systems Design, this can be d one in the fo rm of a Priority Matrix.

Ac c ording to Fuller, the matrix a llow s one to p rioritize the three p riority aspec ts of

a p rojec t; Time, Scop e, and Resources.16

Sec uring Projec t Sponsors and Establishing Client Rela tionships

Sponsorships are needed in any projec t typ e. They a llow the p rojec t

ma nag er to sec ure b uy in, inc rea se c oope ra tion, and spe ed up c ritical d ec ision

14Fuller, J. Managing Performance Improvement Projects, pg. x.

15Fuller, J. Managing Performance Improvement Projects, pg. xi.

16Fuller, J. Managing Performance Improvement Projects, pg.14.

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making 17

need ed to m ove the p rojec t a long. Equa lly imp ortant is to m aintain

open a nd honest c om munica tion w ith the c lient. In the event of a mishap , it

inc rea ses the c hanc es of salvag ing the p rojec t, ac count, and long-term

rela tionship w ith the c lient.

Personal Rea c tion

Given the tim ing, for rea d ing this book, c ould no t have b een mo re

suitab le and the top ic mo re a pp licab le to my c urrent c irc umstanc es, I found the

rea d ing very enlightening. So m uc h so, I rea d the b ook - 302 pa ges, in two d ays. I

still managed to b a the , ea t, sleep a nd even take a stroll through Paynes Pra irie

Sta te Preserve.

The a uthor ad dresses a to p ic tha t few b ooks in tec hnology cover, tha t of

managing the p lanning a nd imp lementa tion o f a p rojec t from start to finish. He

expressed his knowledg e w ith an honest tone that c onveyed c onfidenc e a nd

c red ib ility. Brea king d ow n the ta sks of p rojec t ma nagem ent into na tura l phases

and stag es of the softwa re and w eb -developm ent cycles allowed m e to better

understand how b oth the planning of the p rojec t and planning of a p rog ram

intertwine. Given m y programming experienc e it ma de sense to see it b roken into

the a pp rop ria te p hases. It was also c lea r to see how projec t manag em ent

tec hniques app ly regard less of the p rod uc t one d evelop s, be it a software

ap plic a tion, web site, instruc tiona l produc t o r performa nce imp rovem ent p rojec t.

Unlike many case stud ies I ve rea d , this one w as presente d in the same

phases and stages illustra ted as the roa d m ap for effec tive p rojec t ma nage ment.

The author presented the c ase by exp laining w hat hap pened and lessons

lea rned a t eac h stage . This left little to the ima gination and c learly dep ic ted how

a rea l life sc enario was hand led eac h step of the w ay.


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App endix A: Manag ing Web-Projec ts - Road Ma p and Deliverables18

Phase Work Stage Deliverables

Preproduction

1. Projec t

Clarification

Projec t b rief; business, crea tive,tec hnic al, and c ontent req uirem ents

Outline budget, sc hed ule, and resourceplan

Full prep rod uc tion b udg et a ndschedule

2. SolutionDefinition

Consultanc y recom me nda tions:business, c rea tive, a nd tec hnica l3. Projec t

Spec ific a tions Projec t spe c ifica tion d oc ument

Production

4. Content

Content delivery plan Asset trac king mec hanism Content preparation Storyboa rds

5. Design a nd

Construc tion

Projec t m ilestone s as defined in projec tspecification

Change c ontrol do cumentation6. Testing ,

Launch,

And Hand over

Testing a s defined in p rojec tspecification

Marketing initiatives Hand over briefing and doc umenta tion

Maintenance 7. Ma intenanc e Ma intaining p lan/ SLA19 Tra ining and Development

Evaluation 8. Review and

Evaluation

Projec t Review Site Performanc e a na lysis; tra ffic , users,

informa tion, tec hnic al, and c omm erc ial


19Service Level Agreements

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References

Fried lein, A. (2001). Web Projec t Managem ent: Delivering Suc c essful Comme rc ial

Web Sites. CA: San Franc isc o, M orga n Kaufmann Pub lisher.

Fuller, J. (1997). Managing Performance Improvement Projects. CA: San

Franc isco, Pfeiffer.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., and McKee, A. Primal Leadership. Mass.: Harvard

Busine ss School Press.

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GomezE_A3