Project Management     


Cross-Cutting Knowledge and Skills

List of cross-cutting knowledge and skills used in multiple domains

Active listening- is an important inter-personal skill the project manager needs to manage stakeholders.

Brainstorming-  is a data gathering and ideal generation technique used to identify risk and problems areas and devise solutions.  Involve a group of team members and subject matter experts.

Change Management-  Involves change control boards, expert judgement, and meetings between different stakeholders.  The outcome of these meetings is either approval or rejection of the change request.

Communication Channels -  The potential number of communication channels within the project environment can be calculated using the formula  N(N-1)/2

Tools are techniques used for communication include :

·         Face to Face

·         Video conferencing

·         Teleconferencing

·         Social Media

Communication methods can be :

·         Interactive

·         Push

·         Pull

Conflict resolutions techniques include different methods such as:

·         Problem solving

·         Forcing

·         Avoiding

·         Smoothing

·         Compromising

Data Gathering Techniques -used to collect, organize, and present data and information.

Decision Making – Can be an individual basis or with a group of stakeholders.  If a group is involves then called group decision making.

Facilitation Techniques – Have broad applications within project management processes and guide the development of documents such as the project Charter.

Some of the key techniques used by facilitators to help team and individuals accomplish objectives:

·         Brainstorming

·         Conflict resolution

·         Problem solving

·         Meeting Management

Information Gathering techniques

·         Brainstorming

·         Interviewing

·         Delpi techniques

·         Root-cause analysis

Leadership – involves focusing the efforts of a group od people toward a common goal and enable them to work as a team.

Negotiating – involves holding discussions with stakeholders to get the best resources, budget, and timeline in a win-win proposition.

Influencing – strategy of sharing power and relying on inter-personal skills to get stakeholders and team by-in toward goals.

Presentation tools and techniques – include visual aids such as pictures, videos, traffic lights, stores, tubes, and so on.

Prioritizing – involves ordering deliverables and activities based on stakeholder and business needs.

Schedule Management – plays an important role as activities and deliverables are prioritized based on the project schedule.

Problem Solving Techniques

·         Define Problem

·         Generate Alternatives

·         Evaluate and select alternatives

·         Implement Solutions

Include brainstorming, SWOT Analysis, Fishbone diagram, and 5 whys

Applicable laws and regulations

·         Labor laws

·         Country specific standards

·         Statutory requirements

The project manager has to keep jurisdiction appropriate laws and regulations for project contract consideration.

Business Acumen -- is an individual quickness and aptitude to understand the business situation and choose an appropriate response.  And it is an important skill for a project manager to possess.

Coaching  - is a means of developing the project team to higher levels of competence and performances.

Mentoring  -  involves guiding less experience people to reach the next level.

Training – is a formal or informal method to enhance the team’s skill level.

Motivation – involve creating an environment in which the project objectives are achieved while keeping the team moral high.

Configuration Management – is a collection of procedures used to track, monitor, and manage project artifacts such as hardware, documentation, software code, and drawings.

Customer Satisfaction Matrix – are set by identifying parameters that help to measure whether the customer requirements are fulfilled.

Some of these metrics are:

·         Standards

·         Technical specifications

·         Service level agreements

Delegation - Involves assigning an activity to the appropriate team member or stakeholder and is an important skill as projects managers themselves cannot execute all the activities.

Emotional Intelligence  - is the capability to identify, access, and manage one’s own emotions and that of other people, as well as the collective emotion of a group.

Requires the project manager to be aware of and sensitive to people ‘s culture and background.

Expert Judgment- Is provided based on expertise in an application area, knowledge area, discipline, or industry, as appropriate for the activity performed.

Expertise may be by any group or person with specialized education, knowledge skill , experience, or training.

Generational Sensitivity  - refers to understanding team members who belong to different age groups and also being sensitive to the skill and cultural diversity within the team.

Team members can use one-on-one meetings and organize team activities to establish good rapport with the team members.

Inter-Personal Skills  - refer to the ability to establish and maintain relationships with other people and include skills such as:

·         Leadership

·         Team Building

·         Motivation

·         Communication

·         Influencing

·         Decision Making

·         Political and Cultural Awareness

·         Trust Building

·         Conflict Management

·         Coaching

Knowledge Management  - Requires an understanding of the DIKW ( Data, Information, Knowledge, , Wisdom) model.

This model is used to generate data, gather information, and create reports on work performance

Knowledge management is added newly in the 67th Edition of PEMBOK

Lessons Learned Techniques -  refers to the documentation of the knowledge gained during a project that shows how the project event were addressed or could have been addressed with the aim of improving future performance.

·         Must be performed throughout the project

·         Is part of continuous improvement

Meeting Management Techniques – include preparing an agenda, setting ground rules, dealing with conflicts, and other meeting related duties.

Organizational and Operational Awareness  - refers to situational awareness based on organizational practices and is an enterprise environmental factor.

Peer-Review Process -  is performed by people at the same level of expertise and is a horizontal channel of feedback.

Relationship Management – refers to managing relations with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders and ensuring smooth communication.

Risk Assessment Techniques  - Covers qualitative and quantitative risk analysis using different tools such as:

·         Decision Tree

·         Monte Carlo

·         Probability and impact assessment

Situational Awareness  - refer to an understanding of current trends and practices in laws, culture, skills, technology, and changes within the organization.

Stakeholder Management Planing  - refers to different strategies to engage stakeholders.  The five levels of stakeholder engagement are :

·         Unaware

·         Resistant

·         Neutral

·         Supportive

·         Leading

Team Building Techniques  - Are used throughout the project to ensure they communicate and operate efficiently and deliver value to the customer.

 

Virtual or remote team Management – involves managing the team when it is spread across different locations, time zones, or shifts.

 

Search Engine
 

MACH II CDS comes with a powerful search engine which enables the user to view all of the *.CDS files created and stored within a directory.  In addition to displaying the files, it also displays particular attributes of that file.  The user has the option of either selecting a standard "File Open" (if the exact filename is known), or the enhanced Search Engine which will display other attributes.

Attributes that are displayed  - as of this release are:

1.    File name.

2.    Equipment Number

3.    Relief Valve Number

4.    Rupture Disc Number

5.    Flare Number

6.    Node Number

7.    Location Number

In subsequent releases, more fields will be added to help distinguish between slight variations of two or more files.  Additionally, reporting capabilities will be developed based upon the selection criteria

The Search Engine is invoked by clicking on the drop-down arrow in the Search icon:


Figure 3.0 Open File

It will give the user a choice of opening a file with standard or enhanced search capabilities.


Figure 3.1 Open File with Search Engine Option


Selecting "Open File with Search Engine" will display the following screen (Figure 3.2):


Figure 3.2 Open File with Search Engine Screen

Users select the directory where the *.CDS files are stored and they can view all aspects of those files found.  It provides a "bird's-eye" view of the contents of the file.  Users can double-click on a particular file in the grid and that file will automatically load, or they can simply click on any file in the grid and then click on the "Open" button.


PSM Reporting Engine
 


Figure 4.0 PSM Report Engine Dropdown Selection

 

Managing and reporting on the PSM critical relief system data is one of the crown jewels of the Mach II CDS system.  The ability to select and display any number of variables in a report with full control over the report's customization is one of the richest features this program has to offer. Any user will appreciate the power of being able to manage and selectively display different reporting levels in multiple views.  This gives the user full PSM control over every aspect of his design, specification, and maintenance details.

 

The Reporting Engine provides the user with a great deal of flexibility in generating reports of Mach II CDS files.  It provides different views of one or more calculations and enables the user to see all the fields associated with those calculation(s) or selectively display only those fields the user wishes to see.  This is an excellent tool for generating summary reports or finalized reports for in-house presentation, archiving, or for PSM audit reports. .

The user selects Tools à PSM Report Engine to bring up the PSM Report Engine screen.

 


Figure 4.1 Report Engine Screen

There are two main views in the Report Engine.  The top view is the Windows file directory where the *.CDS files are stored.  The lower view is a listing of all files found in the above directory.

Before a report is generated, the user must first determine  the Phase Type options to create specific reports.  A report can be based on Single-Phase, Two-Phase or both phase aspects can be made.  Currently the Report Engine defaults to all relief valves of single-phase type. 

If the user desires a more specific reporting view, the option(s) will have to be changed and the following button pressed.

 

Setting up Report Layout
 

Clicking on the  button will bring the user to the PSM Report Setup utility screen (Figure 4.2). 

 


 

Figure 4.2 PSM Report Engine Setup

 

This screen has two main tabs on the top - the Header Selection tab and the Report Formatting tab.  The Header Selection tab also has a detailed sub-tab on the bottom for selecting various categories of fields to report on:

 


Header Selection Tab:
 

 

 

Figure 4.3 Header Selection - PSM Report Engine

Fifty-nine (59) fields are available to the user to customize their reports.  As mentioned above, the user can select or deselect any field simply by clicking on the grid box containing the green check mark.  The number of possible report formats is unlimited.

 

The Header tab allows the user to specify which headers users want to be displayed in the file. The user can select or deselect any field simply by clicking on the grid box containing the green check mark.  The following examples (Figures 4.4 and 4.5) illustrate this functionality:

 

 

Header Category Sub-Tab:
The Header Category Sub-tab is a logical grouping of available headers users can select.   The eight- (8) different categories are shown below (Figure 4.4)

 


 

Figure 4.4 Header Selection - De-selected Headers

 

 


 

Figure 4.5 Header Selection - All

By clicking on the check marks, the user can de-select the value from the report as shown below:

 


 

Figure 4.6 Header Selection - De-selected Headers

 

wholesale selection and de-selection:
In addition to being able to individually select and de-select PSM reporting fields, two buttons have been provided to simplify the task of rapidly selecting and de-selecting the entire block of fields for that particular category.

 

 Then all the fields within the sub-tab will be selected.  The normal default, when the user first enters the PSM Reporting Engine, is that all fields are selected.

 This button is the opposite of the Check All button.  For each sub tab category, a user can click on this and quickly de-select those fields s/he is not interested in printing.

This time saving functionality is illustrated in Figure 4.7& 4.8 below:

 

                   

Figure 4.7Header Selection – Use to Select All

 

                   

 

Figure 4.8 Header Selection – Use to Deselect All

 

 

Header Line Wrapping:
Because of the large number of fields that the user can select for a report, there may be instances where there is insufficient space to display all the selected field columns on a single page.  However, the user can maximize the number of additional columns to display, by adding a <CR> in the selection grid (see Figure 3.11 below).  The insertion of the special character enables long header names to be displayed on multiple lines in the report.  This functionality is illustrated below:

 

Example:  Header Line wrapping - None:
 

In this example, (Figure 4.9 & 4.10) the two user-selected fields do not have any line-insertion fields (<cr>).

 


Figure 4.9 Header Selection - No Line Wrap

 

This will generate the following report format:


 

Figure 4.10 Results with No Word Wrapping.

Notice the column width in respect to the data displayed.  This will severely limit the number of columns that can be displayed on a single page.

Example- Header Line Wrapping - Inserted:
By adding the <cr> at strategic junctions in the Field Name column, the user can maximize the amount of information to display on a single page as shown in the next two illustrations (Figure 4.11 & 4.12).

 


Figure 4.11 Header Selection - With Line Wrap

 

This will generate the following report format:


 

Figure 4.12  Header Selection- Results With Word Wrapping.

Now, notice the column width in respect to the data displayed.  This will enable more columns to be displayed.  However, you must also change the “Field width” to shorten the column length.

 
 

 


Report Formatting Tab
 

 


 

Figure 4.13 Report Formatting

 

The Report Formatting Tab is a very powerful feature of the Mach II CDS Reporting Engine, which will enable the user to display the selected data in multiple sort columns.  The user can sort by any three fields in ascending or descending sort direction and specify the report title as well as to enable a grid to be displayed or left off.


Figure 4.14 Report Formatting Selection

 

 
Saving report layouts:
Because the user can spend considerable time setting up report formats, a mechanism for preserving the report format selections is provided in the following buttons:

 After the user has optimized a report layout, s/he can save the format by clicking on this button.  It will bring up a Windows screen identical to saving any file (Figure 4.15)

 


 

Figure 4.15 Save Mach II Report Layout File

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Conversely, to recall a format created previously, selecting this button will allow the user to select a report layout file that was created previously (Figure 3.18).   You will find existing Mach II PSM formatted files in the Digital Solution/ My Products /psm formats folder.

 

Also Notice that you can change the output values to metric by selecting the Measurement Type radio button.  When selecting Metric you must also select the PSM format for a metric layout.

 


 

Figure 4.16 Load Mach II Report Layout File

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating PSM Reports:
 The Generate Report button creates the report based on the user's selections.  The results will be displayed in a preview screen that can be sent to the printer.  You may also convert the file to a Word document, a .pdf file or an Excel file by simply clicking the icon for that selection.  When selection Excel make sure that all existing Excel files are closed so that the data will not load into your existing Excel file.

 


Figure 4.17 Generated PSM Report

 

To exit the Report Engine, click on  from any screen.