Plan Your Project and Negotiate with Stakeholders | Google Project Management Certificate

Applying Project Management in the Real World

The introduction to a project management course focusing on real-world applications, where learners will create project documents based on an imagined scenario involving a restaurant chain.

Introduction by Dan

• Dan introduces himself as a program manager at Google, specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

• He shares his background, including working on the Google AI residency program team and as a math teacher and sponsorship coordinator.

• Describes the scenario of Sauce and Spoon, a restaurant chain launching a pilot project with new table top menu tablets overseen by Peta, their first in-house project manager.

Course Activities and Learning Objectives

• Learners will follow Peta through planning and executing the tablet rollout project to evaluate her project management skills.

• Emphasis on completing projects within scope, time, and budget while problem-solving and managing stakeholders effectively.

• Key concepts include analyzing materials for requirements, negotiation techniques, stakeholder communication skills, and problem-solving strategies.

Creating Project Documents

• Learners will analyze project documents to identify requirements, evaluate stakeholders, and problem-solve using a project charter to align goals among stakeholders.

Project Charter Essentials

In this section, the importance of a project charter in defining project details and aligning stakeholders is discussed.

Project Charter Components

• A project charter serves as a framework for project work, communicating essential details to stakeholders. It includes information on the project summary, goals, deliverables, and scope.

• The summary provides an overview of the project and outlines the goals to be achieved concisely. Project goals represent desired outcomes, while deliverables are specific tasks leading to goal attainment.

• Scope defines the project boundaries; out-of-scope work does not contribute to project goals. The charter may also cover budget, costs, success metrics, and other sections.

Utilizing the Project Charter

• The charter aids in aligning stakeholders on project scope and goals early on. Stakeholders' involvement ensures agreement on crucial details before execution begins.

• Understanding audience needs when adding details to the charter is vital. Identifying key stakeholders and their important details helps ensure alignment and agreement on project information.

Importance of Alignment

• Misalignment among stakeholders can lead to project failure; hence alignment is crucial for success. A clear project vision prevents differing expectations between parties involved in the project lifecycle stages.

Project Charter and SMART Goals

This section discusses the importance of a project charter in aligning stakeholders and the significance of SMART goals in project management.

Project Charter Importance

• Stakeholders play a crucial role in project success, emphasizing the need for alignment among them.

• Misalignment among stakeholders can lead to project failure, highlighting the necessity of creating a detailed project charter during the initiation phase.

• Documenting misalignments and their resolutions in the project charter is essential for future reference.

SMART Goals

• SMART goals involve Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives.

• Specificity in project goals aids in avoiding misalignment and understanding project scope, budget, and timeline clearly.

• Clear and specific goals are vital for effective project charters and successful project launches.

Specificity in Project Goals

This section delves into making project goals specific using the SMART method.

Importance of Specific Goals

• Project deliverables contribute to goal completion by outlining specific tasks or outcomes.

• Vague stakeholder descriptions of outcomes necessitate clear goal definitions to provide a roadmap for teams.

• The SMART method transforms general goals into specific ones by ensuring they are measurable and attainable.

Making Goals Specific

• Adding numbers or figures to goals enhances measurability, aiding in determining goal achievement.

Understanding SMART Goals

This section discusses the SMART framework for setting project goals, emphasizing the importance of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives.

Key Points:

• Setting SMART goals helps the restaurant chain achieve its larger objective of providing quick meals for guests.

• The SMART framework includes making goals specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Adding a deadline to a goal ensures clarity on when it should be completed.

Turning Goals into SMART Goals

This part focuses on transforming drafted goals into SMART goals by collecting information from supporting materials.

Key Points:

• Information from supporting materials aids in refining project goals into SMART objectives.

• Additional goals identified during this process are incorporated into the project charter.

• The next steps involve discussing scope, benefits, and costs to enhance the project charter's comprehensiveness.

Communicating with Stakeholders through Project Charters

This segment highlights the significance of considering stakeholders as the primary audience when creating a project charter to ensure effective communication.

Key Points:

• Emphasizing benefits that align with key stakeholders' interests enhances the effectiveness of the project charter.

• Achieving consensus on critical elements early in the project lifecycle is crucial before finalizing detailed plans.

• Alignment with stakeholders on scope, benefits, and costs is essential for successful project execution.

Defining Scope in Project Charters

This part delves into defining scope within a project charter and emphasizes aligning stakeholder perspectives on what constitutes in-scope elements.

Key Points:

• Scope defines the boundaries of a project and includes details necessary to achieve its goals.

• Identifying in-scope elements requires alignment among stakeholders regarding essential project details.

• Out-of-scope considerations involve determining which aspects do not contribute to achieving the project's objectives.

Evaluating Benefits and Costs

This section explores how benefits represent expected gains while costs encompass expenditures associated with completing project tasks.

Key Points:

• Benefits include both direct monetary gains and indirect improvements like customer engagement enhancement.

• Costs involve expenses related to labor, resources, and other factors critical for successful project completion.

Understanding Stakeholder Negotiation in Project Management

This section delves into the importance of negotiating with stakeholders in project management and the skills required for effective negotiation.

Importance of Stakeholder Negotiation

• Negotiating with stakeholders is crucial as various project aspects require input and agreement from multiple stakeholders.

• A successful project manager needs to be a skilled negotiator to handle differing stakeholder values and opinions.

Key Aspects of Project Negotiation

• Common project aspects negotiated include scope, costs, benefits, timeline, success criteria, roles, responsibilities, and resources.

• Early alignment with stakeholders can prevent future negotiations by understanding their priorities.

Stakeholder Analysis for Effective Negotiations

This part emphasizes the significance of stakeholder analysis in project management for successful negotiations.

Importance of Stakeholder Analysis

• Peta focuses on securing stakeholder buy-in for defining the scope, which is crucial for negotiation success.

• Skills applied in stakeholder analysis are beneficial for negotiating various elements throughout the project lifecycle.

Conducting Stakeholder Analysis

• Creating a stakeholder analysis helps visualize all stakeholders' priorities and preferred communication methods.

• Understanding stakeholders' influence and interest levels aids in prioritizing their needs effectively during negotiations.

Navigating Project Scope Negotiations with Stakeholders

This segment focuses on negotiating project scope with stakeholders and preparing through stakeholder analysis.

Managing Project Scope Negotiations

• Defining and maintaining project scope is a critical negotiation point where alignment with budget and timeline expectations is essential.

Prioritizing Solutions in Negotiations

In this section, the focus is on maximizing benefits, minimizing losses, and ensuring fairness for all parties involved in negotiations. It emphasizes brainstorming various options that align with these criteria to facilitate effective decision-making during negotiations.

Key Points:

• The goal of negotiations is to find a solution that maximizes benefits, minimizes losses, and is fair for all stakeholders.

• Brainstorming multiple options meeting the criteria mentioned above allows for flexibility during negotiations and aids in selecting a mutually beneficial solution.

• Understanding project priorities regarding scope, timeline, and budget is crucial for successful negotiation outcomes.

Importance of Project Priorities

This part highlights the significance of identifying and prioritizing project requirements related to scope, timeline, and budget. It stresses the need to balance these aspects effectively during negotiations.

Key Points:

• Clear understanding of project priorities such as scope, timeline, and budget is essential for negotiating effectively.

• The triple constraint model or iron triangle serves as a useful tool for determining priorities and assessing the impact of project requests.

Achieving Mutual Benefits through Negotiation

This segment focuses on utilizing persuasion and negotiation techniques to enhance communication, clarify needs, and reach workable solutions benefiting all involved parties.

Key Points:

• Persuasion and negotiation aim at achieving mutual benefits where all parties gain advantages from the negotiated outcome.

• Influence plays a vital role in effective project management; forming coalitions can amplify influence during negotiations.

Forming Effective Coalitions

Here, the discussion centers around forming coalitions as temporary alliances to achieve common goals or engage in joint activities within projects.

Key Points:

• A coalition involves partnering with individuals or groups to exert more influence collectively than acting alone during negotiations.

• Building an effective coalition requires considering individuals with appropriate levels of power and interest relevant to the project's objectives.

Stakeholder Analysis & Coalition Building

This part delves into conducting stakeholder analysis to guide coalition building efforts by identifying key stakeholders who can support negotiation positions effectively.

Key Points:

• Stakeholder analysis helps identify suitable coalition members based on their expertise, power levels within the organization, and vested interests in the project's subject matter.

• Engaging potential coalition members through well-crafted communication methods like emails or personal interactions enhances collaboration towards shared negotiation goals.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion:

• Negotiation strategies involve prioritizing solutions that maximize benefits while considering trade-offs.

• Understanding project priorities such as scope, timeline, and budget is crucial for successful negotiations.

• Forming coalitions can enhance influence during stakeholder negotiations.

• Stakeholder analysis guides effective coalition building efforts by identifying supportive members.

• Effective communication methods play a significant role in engaging potential coalition partners towards shared negotiation objectives.