Best Practices

1.0 Introduction

The general scope of this document will be project management oriented. We have also provided basic points for the best practices in Social Responsibility and Business practices.

2.0 Social responsibility

In addition to setting up Deraya to be the benchmark of social responsibility, Deraya will also accept special-needs students on a pro bono basis.

3.0 Business

Businesses in general should have two things in mind

1. Make as much money as possible.

2. Minimize loss as much as possible.

4.0 Project Management

4.1 Initiation Phase

1. Start introducing a project with a hook sentence to get the reader's attention.

2. Minimize the number of words without affecting quality by using cause/effect rather than effect/cause.

3. Write a mission statement in few and comprehensive sentences.

4. Present market benchmarking in an organized table based on specific criteria.

5. It is important to specify Potential Management Strategies in detail.

6. Do not use assumptions in the business case.

7. Provide a good project justification to encourage investors.

8. Visualize financial projection to facilitate reading results.

9. Clarify Project charter as much as possible since it is the formal start of the project.

4.2 Planning phase¹

1. Define, validate and write comprehensive requirements, in an understandable and organized format document.

2. Define the project scope statement and its justification and define deliverables, verify success criteria.

3. Develop a comprehensive WBS of project activities that will define tasks clearly and reduce complexity.

4. Develop the Milestone list that will show key events and map forward movement in the project to ensure staying on track.

5. Develop a Gantt chart and Network diagram that will display visually the complexities and dependencies of project work which will help in planning and controlling.

6. Development of a complete estimate of the funding needed to complete project activities. Estimate costs by evaluating each WBS work package, and logically partition and report costs into manageable pieces including labor, materials, equipment and other tasks.

7. Identify the relevant quality standards in the quality checklist and determine how those standards will be satisfied through quality metrics.

8. Develop a RACI Matrix for clarifying and defining roles and responsibilities for each task on the project.

9. Define the communication management plan that describes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and disposition of project information.

10. Develop a proper list of prioritized risks and probability/impact matrix to increase the probability of positive events and decrease the chances of negative events within the project life cycle.

11. Prepare Request for Proposal (RFP) document to transmit your understanding of the requirements for a project to stakeholders who you believe can provide solutions.

4.3 Executing Phase

1. In the Business Canvas Model it is favorable to start with identifying your customer segment which will help in identifying other key business elements. ²

2. In the Marketing Materials design it is best to write the marketing content as short as possible, focus on presenting the business' value proposition and gain the attention of the target segment.³

3. Always make sure to write a clear and concise recruitment plan.

4. When conducting a benchmarking activity it is best to define your comparison factors before starting researching and analyzing options.

4.4 Monitoring and Controlling Phase

1. Performance measures should be done to ensure that the project is going as planned e.g. Cost Performance and Schedule Performance.⁴

2. Look for early warning signs in order to engage deterrents and mitigative actions. Indicators may include reliance on overtime especially earlier on in the project, working on tasks longer than anticipated, or the need to rework tasks.⁵

3. Ensuring that all project team members are participating in the Risk Register by accessing it and prioritizing it as a key consideration. ⁶

4. When planning the Meeting Agenda, it is important to set a meeting scope. Also, set the dates for the upcoming meetings.

5. Statement of Work must not be vague or ambiguous. It should be clearly defined by ensuring that there is no room for false interpretation.⁷

4.5 Closing Phase

1. Involve all project team members in creating lesson learned reports and make it comprehensive, clear and accessible.

2. Consolidation of the knowledge base to archive documents and keep them in a safe manner and accessible.

3. Shareholder presentation and update