Continuation of the apotheosis (from them):
Vacancy: Personal assistant
Salary from 25,000 to 100,000 rubles.
Our company is looking for a person to fill the position of personal assistant to the President.
Gender doesn't matter.
Before responding, be sure to carefully and thoroughly familiarize yourself with the Company’s website - especially the F.A.Q. sections. and Career.
Requirements:
High efficiency.
Balance and intelligence;
UNCONTENTED! Commitment to personal and professional growth;
High learning ability;
Experience as an Assistant to a company's chief executive is required;
Responsibility;
Patience, perseverance, discipline and meticulous execution;
Stress resistance, tenacity and grip;
Developed communication skills (including competent oral and written speech is a MUST);
Knowledge of business etiquette;
Free! English is highly desirable.
PC (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MS Power Point, MS Access, MS Visio at the advanced user level);
Sincerity;
Intelligence, delicacy, friendliness. Diplomacy;
The ability to clearly set priorities and firmly hold one’s position;
An already established habit of working without emergency tasks, i.e. systematically, regularly, persistently and consistently.
Ability to think independently;
The ability to understand a lot without words.
Special Requirements:
Faith in a dream;
Sense of style;
Sense of humor;
The ability to "take a hit".
Conditions:
Work only FOR RESULTS.
Remotely, from home, independently and autonomously + travel to meetings with the manager and business trips.
The working day is irregular. You must be fully in touch (mail, phone, Skype) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The concepts of “calendar day off” or “public holiday” are NOT present as a fact. Weekends - depending on the urgency of the tasks.
Vacation 2-3 times a year.
Income growth in this position is absolutely in your hands.
The content of the work:
Everything that needs to be done. At the same time, it is unknown what you will need to be able to do tomorrow. This work is to save the manager’s time and influence the efficiency of the Company’s management.
Payment: Rate plus interest. It’s simple - if with your appearance in the life of a leader, unnecessary questions disappear, then your life will automatically improve. This position is not a gift of fate at all. This is sometimes quite hard and tiring, somewhat routine and everyday work. At the same time, we are not interested in opinions. The result is the only thing that interests us. You won't be able to relax in this position. But there’s no need to strain yourself. You need to do your job calmly, methodically and effectively. There is no need to sacrifice yourself or voluntary slavery either. You just have to do your job. Easy, relaxed and only for results. You will have performance indicators.
IMPORTANT: after six months or a year of work, accumulated fatigue from work sets in. This is that dangerous period when pride in previously achieved results, self-pity and a desire for praise suddenly appear: “I don’t have time, I have a lot of work”, “This is not my responsibility”, “I already do so much” and etc. and so on. So here it is. No previously achieved results or previous merits will be taken into account. There will be no compromises or concessions - they destroy both equally: those who represent them and those who use them. Refusal to complete a task automatically leads to a break. If you are not sure that you need it or even have a little doubt, you should not try. If you have a desire to work and do your job carefully and effectively, then this job is probably just for you.
Planning is considered an important component of effective project management. The schedule, the main element of planning, visually represents the time frame for completion, sequence, degree of importance and other characteristics of work.
A well-designed calendar schedule allows you to effectively plan and implement a project due to the coordination of the actions of the performers and compliance with deadlines.
Main types calendar schedules
Depending on the scope and scale of projects, the following types of calendar schedules are distinguished:
- The summary table displays the order of project tasks, start and completion dates, and the duration of each stage.
- The object schedule shows the timing of each stage of the plan, broken down by days or months.
- The work schedule is prepared for a short period of time during the implementation of the project and is an element of operational management.
- Time schedules (hourly or minute) are usually prepared by technical map developers. Focused on standard external factors, such schedules require numerous amendments during project implementation.
Levels of calendar charts
When scheduling, a system of distributing schedules by level is used. Usually 4 levels of charts are used. (project manager)
Level 1 schedule:
The first level includes general, non-detailed project plans. Enlarged plans are developed first when starting a new project. Data for schedules is collected during negotiations with the customer; often he has his own key indicators for project dates, stages and final goals. By collecting this data, you can form a general roadmap. Only important key events are included in it. The roadmap is updated depending on the overall duration of the project; if the duration of your project is five years, then it is enough to update the first level schedule once a year. If there are many key milestones in the roadmap, then it is necessary to determine the update period so that at least one key event falls into it. The roadmap can be developed by both the Customer and the Contractor, but in general this responsibility lies with the Customer.
Calendar schedule2nd level:
After the project roadmap has been agreed upon and approved, the stage of detailing to certain stages begins. Basically, the second level schedule is an annex to the agreement between the Customer and the Contractor. The development of a second-level schedule is also the responsibility of the Customer, and is submitted to the Contractor for approval; often the stage schedule is developed by the Contractor based on its resource capabilities. In the second level plan, no special detail is needed; it is enough to follow the sequence of project implementation and generally determine the scope of work for the project. Updated along with the roadmap.
Calendar schedule3rd level:
After concluding the contract, the Contractor prepares a detailed work schedule for the project with a more detailed description of the work within the stage. Those. The general stages of the second level schedule are detailed by type of work. The duration of work is from 2 weeks to a month, depending on the total duration of the project. If the plan is less than a year, then the detailing ends there. Although everything depends on the agreements with the Customer.
Calendar schedule4th level
Designated as weekly-daily planning. Updating the plan every day, two days, a week, depending on control needs. The most labor-intensive, costly and accurate method of project control. The updated information from the fourth level graph rises up the hierarchy, and based on this information, all upper graphs are updated. Changes at this level can lead to recalculation of the entire plan and to re-coordination of implementation deadlines down to the roadmap.
The procedure for developing a calendar schedule
Creating a calendar schedule contains the following steps:
- Preparation of a detailed list of all necessary tasks for the project, determination of their volumes.
- Development of WBS, that is, a visual representation of the plan in the form of hierarchical interconnected blocks.
- Selection of methods and technologies used in the implementation of the plan. Calculation of the labor intensity of completing project tasks.
- Determining the composition of project teams. Development of a network diagram that clearly represents the sequence of execution of all tasks.
- Preparation of data on the duration and possibility of parallel work - development of a Gantt chart.
- Comparison of the estimated duration of work with the standard, making appropriate adjustments.
- Development of schedules for resource requirements (personnel, equipment, materials).
- Calculation of labor costs.
Typically, the project schedule is developed by the project manager, who, if necessary, consults with the experts involved.
Schedule preparation software
The use of special programs allows you to quickly respond to deviations that arise during the implementation of projects.
One of the most popular universal project scheduling tools is the Microsoft Project program. Using MS Project allows you to build a Gantt Chart, assign the required resources to tasks, determine the time frame for the project and its budget. A schedule made in Project visually displays the workload of staff with certain tasks.
The scheduling software product Primavera is used mainly in large-scale projects with increased complexity, in particular in the engineering and construction industries.
The schedule can be presented both in tabular and graphical form. Graphic formats can be the following:
Network diagrams;
Gantt charts;
Step-by-step calendar plans.
On network diagrams , as shown above, display information about dates.
Dates are calculated using the formula F = S + D – 1
These network diagrams are most effective during the scheduling phase for the following reasons:
They clearly show the logic of the project, i.e. relationships and sequence of operations;
Allows you to quickly plan and organize a project.
Gantt charts also clearly show the progress of activities over time and are widely used in project management programs. Below is the Gantt chart for the previous network diagram:
The advantages of Gantt charts are:
Easy readability and visibility;
Ability to show progress over time;
Possibility of adding other parameters, for example, displaying resources;
Easy to generate progress reports.
The use of Gantt charts is most effective in the project management process, and less effective in planning processes.
The reason is that they show the interrelationships of operations less clearly! At the same time, the relationships between operations in Gantt charts are shown by displaying the relationships FS, SS, SF, FF, as shown in the figure above.
Phased calendar plans are used for an enlarged presentation of the schedule of the main stages of work, milestones, control points and events, and main external relationships. They display planned and actual dates. For example:
Drawing up a schedule - a basic plan according to deadlines
The scheduling process consists of analyzing the sequence, duration, and resource requirements of activities to determine start and finish dates for project activities. In this case, the schedule must be adjusted taking into account the directive dates (obligation dates). At the input of the scheduling process - the basic plan according to deadlines - we have:
Project network diagram;
Estimation of the duration of operations;
Description of the need and availability of resources, incl. human;
Description of operation characteristics;
Identified risks and risk response plan.
At the exit:
Project Schedule;
Schedule management plan;
clarification of resource needs and other documents.
Various methods can be used to create a schedule:
1) Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) is a method for constructing network diagrams in which the probabilistic nature of estimating the duration and logic of operations can be taken into account. Here the operation may not be performed, partially performed, or performed one or more times.
2) Method of evaluation and analysis of projects (PERT - Program Evaluation and Review Technique) uses sequential network logic and 3 estimates of operation duration: optimistic (O), most probable (M), and pessimistic (P). Only critical path activities are taken into account. Further, assuming that the duration of the schedule obeys the normal law of probability distribution, for each operation of the critical path the following characteristics are calculated using the given formulas:
Expected duration of the operation as mathematical expectation m m = (P + 4M + O) / 6
Standard (mean square) deviation of the operation (scatter). σ -sigma.
σ = (P – O) / 6
Operation variance d
d = [(P – O) / 6 ] 2
The total project completion time is calculated as the sum of the expected durations of the critical path activities. For example, if the sum of the durations of critical path operations is equal to 32.5 days, and the standard deviation is equal to = 2.2 days, then the project will be completed within 30.3 – 34.7 days with a probability of 68.26%, and within 28.1 – 36.9 days with a probability of 95.46% (Fig.).
Note: The normal distribution graph (Gaussian curve) reflects the change in the frequency of the measured value falling into the corresponding value interval.
A normally distributed random variable falls into the range with a probability of 0.6828, into the range with a probability of 0.9546, etc.:
3) Simulation modeling using the Monte Carlo method used when there is a possibility of changing the critical path and it is necessary to simulate the schedule on different data sets. The use of the method is possible only with the use of special computer programs with elements of statistical analysis, which make it possible to generate various random samples of durations and calculate statistical characteristics. Simulation is performed repeatedly (for different data sets, the critical path, time slack, project duration, etc. are calculated) until a certain accuracy of the results is achieved.
4) Critical Path Method (CPM)- this is the main, primary method of scheduling, in which one, expert duration is specified for each operation and the so-called. critical path – a sequence of operations that do not allow execution delays, i.e. having zero time reserve.
The critical path method uses a unit determination of the duration of each activity. Next, for each operation, the early and late start dates are calculated, then the time slack and the critical path (a sequence of operations that have zero time slack). Critical path activities cannot be delayed, otherwise the entire schedule will be delayed. A schedule can have more than one critical path: the more there are, the riskier the project is from a schedule perspective.
For time optimization of the network model, it is necessary to determine exactly those works that actually determine its duration, and separate them from those that do not affect the total time of the project.
Rice. Critical path example
To determine the critical path, a forward and backward pass through the network diagram is performed and the output information is calculated.
Straight pass starts from the project's start date and continues along the network schedule, with each job adding its duration to the start date and calculating the earliest start and early finish of that job.
The earliest possible dates for a job are the start and end dates allowed by the logical sequence of the network schedule.
Reverse pass uses the schedule end date calculated by the forward pass as the starting point and calculates backward to determine the latest start and finish dates for the work. The latest dates for a job are its latest acceptable start and finish that will not delay the entire project. In addition, based on the calculated early and late start dates of work, the values of time reserves for each work are determined.
Critical path- this is the longest chain of work leading from the initial to the final event. Changing the duration of any work lying on the critical path correspondingly changes (reduces or extends) the timing of the completion event, i.e. project completion date, since work on the critical path has no slack.
All work that lies outside the critical path has a reserve of time by which the completion of this work can be delayed without violating the deadlines of the project as a whole. The work slack is defined as the difference between the late and early completion dates of the work.
The earliest possible completion date for a job is the time required to complete all the jobs preceding this one. The latest acceptable deadline is the period of time by which the completion of this work can be delayed without violating the deadlines of the project as a whole.
All work that lies outside the non-critical path has time reserves within which they can be shifted without leading to a change in the completion time of the entire project.
Rice. An example of calculating a work schedule using the critical path method
In the critical path method, a work node on a network diagram is designated as follows:
ES (Early Start) – there is an early start date for the operation;
EF (Early Finish) – early finish date;
LS (Last Start) – late start date;
LF (Last Finish) – late finish date.
The resulting schedule is the basis for further adjustments in at least two parameters:
By directive dates (obligation dates);
Due to resource limitations.
Surely, each of you already has your own project or idea that you are ready to implement. If not, then at the first stage of the lesson it is better to organize yourself into small groups and answer a series of questions using the “Time Swing” method. This method will allow you to give basic advice on where to start when implementing your idea.
At the next stage, try to model your future and answer a series of questions, recording your answers. Once you have answered all the questions, you will return to the present, where you will analyze your answers from the future, identifying steps to create it now.
“Swing of time” of the implemented project:
- What happened before the implementation of your project (idea) that did not suit you?
- What changes have occurred to the objects of your activity?
- Describe your ideal beneficiary.
- Write a review from someone who is happy with your project.
- Imagine that articles about your project are published in various media? What will the headline of such news be called?
- Thanks to whom was the project completed quickly and economically?
- How did you make your project popular?
- Who and how did you thank?
After you have answered the “swing” question, and “in the present” have received the key to the questions, you realize that everything begins right now, that the future depends on what you do today.
- Relevance
- Objective of the project
- Target audience of the project
- Get feedback from your loved one by including them in your project
- “Go through the words!” Don’t forget about a competent and bright presentation of your project. Write articles that will reflect your results. This will motivate you to implement your ideas.
- Do you need connections to implement the project?
- Ideas for your media plan
- Your team
Main part.
A project is a time-limited event aimed at creating unique products and services or obtaining fundamentally new results.
Does everyone understand why to manage a project? Can the project be carried out independently? Write down the key answers on the basis of which the concept of “project management” is formulated.
Project management is an activity in which clear project goals are defined and achieved while balancing scope, resources, time, quality and risks. The key factor for the success of project management is the presence of a clear predetermined plan, minimization of risks and deviations from the plan, and effective change management.
Project management stages:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring and control
- Completion
Basic terms for working within the training course:
Cost (costs, expenses). In its simplest form, costs are the amount of resources spent on its implementation.
Timing (time)– the time interval required for the implementation of the project from the moment of its start.
Risks are uncertain events or conditions that, if realized, would have a positive or negative impact on at least one of the major areas of the project, such as scope, schedule, or cost.
To compactly describe the situation within which a specific project is to be developed and implemented, you can use a method such as SWOT analysis. The name of the method is derived from the first letters of English terms: strength, weakness, opportunities, threats. This method allows you to analyze the project from the perspective of each of the four parties mentioned above, which gives a complete picture of the situation and risks of the project.
Practical task.
Participants in the training course receive cards with an already developed SWOT analysis of a project. The task is to analyze the situation in which the project is, whether it is viable, and present it to all participants in the process. Time to complete the task: 4 minutes. Time for presentation: 4 minutes.
Steps to develop a project schedule
A project schedule is a document that defines the planned start and completion dates for the entire project, work packages, and project activities. The schedule is used to evaluate the progress of the project.
The most common forms of presenting information about the project calendar are the network schedule and the Gantt chart.
Project network schedule
A schematic display of the chronological sequence of planned actions and their deadlines is called a project network schedule.
The figure shows a network plan; it is always created from left to right. On the graph, logical relationships are shown by arrows, and actions are shown by rectangles.
The network diagram highlights the so-called critical path, which corresponds to the longest sequential chain of project operations (actions) (in the figure, the critical path is highlighted with red rectangles).
Delaying the completion of activities on the critical path will extend the project duration.
Gantt chart
One of the most common forms of visual representation of a project schedule is the so-called “strip chart” or Gantt chart.
In appearance, a Gantt chart is a set of bars (“ribbons”) located in a rectangular coordinate system, the location and length of which correspond to the time parameters of individual elements (phases, work packages, operations).
The general view of the Gantt chart is shown in the figure.
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Practical exercise. Consolidation of knowledge.
The execution of the project is aimed at the direct creation of the product (service) for which the project is being implemented. First, the project team is recruited in accordance with the project plan, briefing is carried out, and work is launched. During the implementation of the work planned in the project plan, team interaction is being debugged, and measures are being implemented to eliminate unacceptable deviations from planned indicators. The main thing in project execution is the effective achievement of the intended goals.
This means that practical steps, according to the approved plan, should ensure the achievement of quality results within the established time frame through the use of allocated resources.
Monitoring and control are aimed at ensuring the execution of the project in accordance with the project plan, tracking certain project parameters that must be maintained within specified limits, as well as timely detection of possible problems and deviations, making decisions in response to changes arising in the project, quality control. During the control, the result is checked to determine the degree of its compliance with the planned indicators. Based on the results of such a check, a decision can be made either to bring the quality of the product or service to the required level, or to complete the project ahead of schedule.
Completion of the project includes procedures for drawing up final reports and conducting final settlements between project participants. A separate part of the final stage may be a generalization and description of the accumulated experience. The main part of the successful completion of the project is the transfer of the produced product (service) to the user for whom it was intended.
Think and write down what the social or other benefits of your project might be? Why do you think that the project’s product will be in demand?
Project success formula:
Project success = Project management success + In-demand project product
Formula for project failure:
Project failure = Unsuccessful plans + Project product that no one needs
To determine the time of implementation of activities aimed at achieving the goals of the project, and to establish the relationships between them in terms of time, taking into account the most risky events, a project calendar plan is drawn up. Scheduling consists of creating and subsequently clarifying a schedule that takes into account the scope of work, risks, and limitations. Since a calendar plan in the form of a list of exclusively planned parameters of work without comparison with actual deadlines loses its meaning, the name calendar schedule is often used instead of a calendar plan.
As a result of creating a schedule, a complete project schedule is obtained, taking into account the duration of the work and the resource base necessary to complete the project. Scheduling, in general, includes several main stages, including:
- planning project content and building a structure,
- building a work sequence and network schedule,
- drawing up a plan of deadlines, durations, coordinating the logical connections of work and displaying them on Gantt charts or tables,
- determining resource needs (personnel, machinery, materials, etc.) and drawing up a resource use plan,
- calculation of project labor costs and other costs.
After the project moves to the stage of practical implementation - execution of planned actions - the progress of work is monitored according to the calendar schedule, and corrective changes are made.
Planning the scope of work involves assigning responsible performers for tasks and deadlines. Tasks as a static category with their sequence are translated into a dynamic category of the state of work that leads to the result of the project. These work-formatted tasks are summarized in a schedule and/or table. Tasks express the essence of the results according to the performance criterion (“solved / not solved”). Accordingly, the start time for tasks is not as significant as the end date.
As a rule, the schedule is drawn up by the project manager, who attracts experts in various fields for these purposes. Experts should help hierarchically build a complete list of work. Then the duration of the work and their interdependencies are determined. Some jobs can be done simultaneously (in parallel), while some can only be done sequentially. For clarity, these relationships are presented in the form of Gantt charts, in which a hierarchical list of tasks is located along one axis (vertically), and a calendar scale is located along the other axis. Based on the results of drawing up the schedule, you should get a calendar-oriented, hierarchically structured plan, including a complete list of work.
The project resource model is also part of scheduling. The need for performers for a particular stage of work and the degree of uniqueness of their qualifications, the availability of raw materials and consumables, mechanisms and equipment are taken into account. The resource base is assessed according to the characteristics of time (calendar or daily employment), costs of using resources, and maximum resource availability as a percentage.
In its simplest form, the parameters of the schedule are the start and completion dates of each work, the duration, and the resources required for these works. Complex calendar plans include several options for starting and completing work, their duration and time reserves. The method for calculating network models makes it possible to calculate only early and late dates. The original (baseline) planned dates and current dates must be selected taking into account other factors. There are three main options to choose from:
- By early start date. This is the earliest date from which work can begin. When you add the work duration parameter to it, you get an early completion date. The duration of the work depends on the number of workers and the total labor intensity, on the volume of work and the intensity of its implementation. Based on the early start date, a calendar plan is created to stimulate the performers involved in the project.
- By late completion date. The last date by which the work can be completed without delaying the project work is calculated by summing the latest start date and the duration. Selected to bring the project results as close as possible to the level of consumer needs.
- According to the most likely ending. Selected for resource smoothing.
If the early and late start dates differ, the interval between them (the period when work can begin) becomes a slack time. In most planning systems, the initial statement is that the duration of the work will remain unchanged, and, therefore, the difference between the late and early start and the late and early completion of the work will coincide. Critical work (the duration of which indicates the duration of the project as a whole) becomes work with slack equal to zero. Accordingly, the critical duration is considered to be the minimum time required to complete the entire complex of work, and will have the length of the critical duration.
Technology for creating a project schedule
Since project management is based on the parameters of work content, restrictions and risks, the preparation of a calendar should be considered taking these parameters into account. The stages of plan development will also correspond to these parameters: stage No. 1 and No. 2 - the content of the work, stage No. 3 and No. 4 - restrictions, stage No. 5 - risks.
- Formation of a list of work scope. The list is important because if it is not possible to present all the work at once, errors will occur. To prevent this, when determining the composition of operations, the method of sequential decomposition of work is used.
- Determining the potential for project implementation based on the duration of work and their sequence, which, in turn, depends on the implementation technology. In addition to the mentioned method of sequential decomposition, the method of expert assessment, brainstorming, etc. is used to determine.
- Establishing resource availability. Project processes involve human, material, financial, information and other resources. Therefore, the work schedule must be correlated with the financing schedule. To do this, resources are differentiated - the concept of scarce resources is introduced. These include unique specialists, specific materials and capacities. The accessibility factor directly affects the sequence and duration of work.
- Definition of external restrictions. The most common restrictions are due to seasonality and the supply of materials and equipment. An example of a restriction on external events is the deadline for completing a stage, timed to coincide with a national holiday. Such events are included in the project as milestones.
- Risk response planning. For the main threats, it is necessary to develop a response plan, which also affects the calendar plan.
This phasing corresponds to the general logic of developing a calendar plan, which determines the following semantic sequence:
- Step 1. Determining the scope of work.
- Step 2. Estimation of the duration of work (labor costs).
- Step 3: Identify external constraints and milestones.
- Step 4. Arranging the sequence of work and calendar plan.
- Step 5. Recalculation and clarification of the calendar plan based on resource limitations.
- Step 6. Consider risks.
Since there are two opposing response strategies - active and passive - they are also reflected in the calendar plan. Thus, an active response involves the inclusion in the plan of additional work that is aimed at minimizing risks, and this, in turn, affects the timing of the related work. If we consider the inclusion of this accounting parameter using the example of introducing a new service to the market, then if a threat of lack of demand for the service is detected, additional research is carried out to minimize losses. This research, as a separate work, is included in the plan and changes it. Passive response also has an indirect effect on the plan, since it involves the creation of additional financial reserves for identified risks.
Documentary component of the calendar schedule
In order to determine the final estimated timing of the operations included in the project and its total duration, it is necessary to carry out final coordination and approval of the schedule document. Coordination with project participants determines the level of detail of the schedule, which should be sufficient, but not excessive. In other words, if the same resource is responsible for related activities, then there is no need for further division of higher-level work. If a task allocated for independent work must be transferred to another responsible person, then the separation process cannot yet be called completed. 
During the preliminary preparation of the schedule, a number of intermediate documents are created, including milestone plans, network models, WBS and others. The calendar plan itself becomes not only a planning document, but also a document for monitoring execution. The full documentation for the project schedule package includes:
- Consolidated (comprehensive) calendar plan.
- Detailed calendar schedules for each performer.
- Detailed schedules for work packages.
- Contracting plan.
- Information about resource requirements.
- Organizational and technological measures for implementation.
- Work progress monitoring plan.
Thus, the project calendar plan is functionally needed for:
- instructions for performing specific actions,
- monitoring guideline and document for the conduct of control activities,
- basis for decisions to change the course of the project.
Using project management programs (for example, Microsoft Project), you can create an electronic form of the schedule in the form of a Gantt chart or tabular form. The “header” of the schedule in tabular form can consist of the columns “Work”, “Timelines” (divided by columns into start and end dates of work), “Responsible executors”, “Result”, “Fact of implementation”. Often, all works are numbered in separate columns, and a comment cell is left for each of them.
In practice, project planning management does not end with scheduling, since adjusting the budget and changing the schedule that depends on it involves going through several iterations.
The final plan is compiled into a consolidated comprehensive document after developing the organizational structure, supply planning, and risk assessment.