Project Management- Chapter 1&2 ideas

Project Management- Chapter 1&2 ideas

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

1. Define the problem - The first step is fairly simple and straightforward. You have
to define the problem for which the root cause has to be identified.
2. Brainstorm - People have difficulty understanding how to structure the thought
process around a large problem domain. Sometimes it is useful to focus on
logically related items of the problem domain and to represent them in the
Fishbone diagram, which will convey the problem solving methodology. There are
quite a few tools available that can help us in this regard, including:
• Affinity Chart -Organizes facts, opinions, ideas, and issues into a natural
grouping. This grouping is in turn used as an aid in diagnosing complex
problems.
• Brainstorming-Gathers ideas from people who are potential contributors.
This process is discussed further in the following sections.
• Check sheet- Acts as a simple data recording device that helps to
delineate important items and characteristics to direct attention to them and
verify that they are evaluated.
• Flow charts- Organizes information about a process in a graphical manner
and makes it clear who is impacted at every stage.
No single methodology is applicable to all problem domains. Based on
experience and study, you can identify, thoroughly analyze, and maintain the
methodology and the related problem domains. In the example given later in this
article, we use brainstorming as the problem solving methodology.
3. Categorize- When you apply the Fishbone technique to business problems, the
possible causes are usually classified into six categories:
• Method
• Man
• Management
• Measurement
• Material
• Machine
Though the above are a few important problem categories, during the brainstorming
session, the team is encouraged to come up with all possible categories. The above
categories give the team direction to help find the possible causes.
4. Identify causes - While brainstorming, the team should strive toward identifying
major causes (categories) first, which can be further discussed, and then
secondary causes for each major cause can be identified and discussed. This
helps the team to concentrate on one major cause at a time and to refine further for
possible secondary causes.