Chapter 2 : The Project Management and Information Technology Context Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition

2 Projects Cannot Be Run in Isolation  Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment.  Project managers need to use systems thinking:  Taking a holistic view of a project and understanding how it relates to the larger organization.  Senior managers must make sure projects continue to support current business needs.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition3 Figure 2-1. Three Sphere Model for Systems Management

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition4 Many Organizations Focus on the Structural Frame  Most people understand what organizational charts are.  Many new managers try to change organizational structure when other changes are needed.  Three basic organizational structures:  Functional: Functional managers report to the CEO.  Project: Program managers report to the CEO.  Matrix: Middle ground between functional and project structures; personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be a weak, balanced, or strong matrix.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition5 Figure 2-2. Functional, Project, and Matrix Organizational Structures

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition6 Table 2-1. Organizational Structure Influences on Projects

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition7 Need for Organizational Commitment to Information Technology (IT)  If the organization has a negative attitude toward IT, it will be difficult for an IT project to succeed.  Having a Chief Information Officer (CIO) at a high level in the organization helps IT projects.  Assigning non-IT people to IT projects also encourages more commitment.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition8 Importance of Top Management Commitment  Several studies cite top management commitment as one of the key factors associated with project success.  Top management can help project managers:  Secure adequate resources.  Get approval for unique project needs in a timely manner.  Receive cooperation from people throughout the organization.  Learn how to be better leaders.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition9 Project Phases  Project Feasibility  Concept  Develop a very high level or summary plan for the project- describes the need for the project and basic underlying concepts.  Rough cost estimation  Overview of the work  Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)  Development  Explain the concept  Create more detailed project plans  More accurate cost estimate  More through WBS

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition10 Project Phases  Project Acquisition  Implementation  Creates a definitive or very accurate cost estimate  Deliver the required work  Provide performance reports to stakeholders  Close-out  All of the work is completed  Customer accept the entire project  Document experiences on the project

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition11 Figure 2-3. Phases of the Traditional Project Life Cycle

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition12 Product Life Cycles  Products also have life cycles.  A systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a framework for describing the phases involved in developing information systems.  Systems development projects can follow:  Predictive life cycle: The scope of the project can be clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be predicted.  Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle: Projects are mission driven and component based, and use time-based cycles to meet target dates.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition13 Predictive Life Cycle Models  Waterfall model: Has well-defined, linear stages of systems development and support.  Spiral model: Shows that software is developed using an iterative or spiral approach rather than a linear approach.  Incremental build model: Provides for progressive development of operational software.  Prototyping model: Used for developing prototypes to clarify user requirements.  Rapid Application Development (RAD) model: Used to produce systems quickly without sacrificing quality.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition14 Adaptive Life Cycle Models  Extreme programming (XP): Developers program in pairs and must write the tests for their own code. XP teams include developers, managers, and users.  Scrum: Iterative development in which repetitions are referred to as sprints, which normally last thirty days. Teams often meet each day for a short meeting, called a scrum, to decide what to accomplish that day. Works best for object-oriented technology projects and require strong leadership to coordinate the work.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition15 The Importance of Project Phases and Management Reviews  A project should successfully pass through each of the project phases in order to continue on to the next.  Management reviews, also called phase exits or kill points, should occur after each phase to evaluate the project’s progress, likely success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals.

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition16 The PLC vs the SDLC Concept Develop ment Implement ation Close-Out Planning AnalysisDesign Implementa tion Maintenance System Development Life Cycle Project Life Cycle

Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition17 The Context of IT Projects  IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size, complexity, products produced, application area, and resource requirements.  IT project team members often have diverse backgrounds and skill sets.  IT projects use diverse technologies that change rapidly. Even within one technology area, people must be highly specialized.

18 Work Breakdown Structure: WBS  Hierarchical list of project’s work activities  2 Formats  Outline (indented format)  Graphical Tree (Organizational Chart)  Uses a decimal numbering system  Ex:  0 is typically top level  Includes  Development, Mgmt., and project support tasks  Shows “is contained in” relationships  Does not show dependencies or durations

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS  Contract WBS (CWBS)  First 2 or 3 levels  High-level tracking  Project WBS (PWBS)  Defined by PM and team members  Tasks tied to deliverables  Lowest level tracking

20 A Full WBS Structure  Up to six levels (3-6 usually) such as  Upper 3 can be used by customer for reporting  Different level can be applied to different uses  Ex: Level 1: authorizations; 2: budgets; 3: schedules

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Chart Example

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Outline Example 0.0 Retail Web Site 1.0 Project Management 2.0 Requirements Gathering 3.0 Analysis & Design 4.0 Site Software Development 4.1 HTML Design and Creation 4.2 Backend Software Database Implementation Middleware Development Security Subsystems Catalog Engine Transaction Processing 4.3 Graphics and Interface 4.4 Content Creation 5.0 Testing and Production

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Types  Process WBS  a.k.a Activity-oriented  Ex: Requirements, Analysis, Design, Testing  Typically used by PM  Product WBS  a.k.a. Entity-oriented  Ex: Financial engine, Interface system, DB  Typically used by engineering manager  Hybrid WBS: both above  This is not unusual  Ex: Lifecycle phases at high level with component or feature- specifics within phases  Rationale: processes produce products

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall Product WBS

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall Process WBS

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Types  Less frequently used alternatives  Organizational WBS  Research, Product Design, Engineering, Operations  Can be useful for highly cross-functional projects  Geographical WBS  Can be useful with distributed teams

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall Work Packages  Generic term for discrete tasks with definable end results  Typically the “leaves” on the tree  The “one-to-two” rule  Often at: 1 or 2 persons for 1 or 2 weeks  Basis for monitoring and reporting progress  Can be tied to budget items (charge numbers)  Resources (personnel) assigned  Ideally shorter rather than longer  Longer makes in-progress estimates needed  These are more subjective than “done”  2-3 weeks maximum for software projects  1 day minimum (occasionally a half day)  Not so small as to micro-manage

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS  List of Activities, not Things  List of items can come from many sources  Proposal, brainstorming, stakeholders, team  Describe activities using “bullet language”  Meaningful but terse labels  All WBS paths do not have to go to the same level  Do not plan more detail than you can manage

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS & Methodology  PM must map activities to chosen lifecycle  Each lifecycle has different sets of activities  Integral process activities occur for all  Planning, configuration, testing  Operations and maintenance phases are not normally in plan (considered post-project)  Some models are “straightened” for WBS  Spiral and other iterative models  Linear sequence several times  Deliverables of tasks vary by methodology

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Techniques  Top-Down  Bottom-Up  Analogy  Rolling Wave  1 st pass: go 1-3 levels deep  Gather more requirements or data  Add more detail later  Post-its on a wall

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Techniques  Top-down  Start at highest level  Systematically develop increasing level of detail  Best if  The problem is well understood  Technology and methodology are not new  This is similar to an earlier project or problem  But is also applied in majority of situations

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Techniques  Bottom-up  Start at lowest level tasks  Aggregate into summaries and higher levels  Cons  Time consuming  Needs more requirements complete  Pros  Detailed

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Techniques  Analogy  Base WBS upon that of a “similar” project  Use a template  Analogy also can be estimation basis  Pros  Based on past actual experience  Cons  Needs comparable project

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Techniques  Brainstorming  Generate all activities you can think of that need to be done  Group them into categories  Both Top-down and Brainstorming can be used on the same WBS  Remember to get the people who will be doing the work involved (buy-in matters!)

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS – Basis of Many Things  Network scheduling  Costing  Risk analysis  Organizational structure  Control  Measurement

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Guidelines Part 1  Should be easy to understand  Some companies have corporate standards for these schemes  Some top-level items, like Project Mgmt. are in WBS for each project  Others vary by project  What often hurts most is what’s missing  Break down until you can generate accurate time & cost estimates  Ensure each element corresponds to a deliverable

Q7503, Principl es of Project Manage ment, Fall WBS Guidelines Part 2  How detailed should it be?  Not as detailed as the final MS-Project plan  Each level should have no more than 7 items  It can evolve over time  What tool should you use?  Excel, Word, Project  Org chart diagramming tool (Visio, etc)  Specialized commercial apps  Re-use a “template” if you have one

Home work Considering the project that you are already chosen:  Write a report that contains deliverable for concept phase. These deliverables are: Management plan (2.5 mark), preliminary cost estimation (2.5mark), and 3 levels WBS (5 marks). Management Plan = Project Structure with job descriptions Cost Estimation with justification and feasibility study Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition38