Project What is a project A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result

What is a Project? Temporary Goal-directed Collaborative Constrained Endeavor

What is Project Management? Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.

PM Development Objective On Schedule Within Budget According to specification

Project Management Process Initiating Processes Planning Processes Executing Processes Controlling Processes Closing Processes

Project Management Problems Requirements Incomplete Unclear Inadequate External dependencies

Project Management Problems Poor estimates Inadequate tracking or supervision Uncontrolled changes Inadequate testing procedures Inadequate documentation Politics

Role of the Project Manager Leadership and Guidance Planning Customer Relations Technical Leadership Senior Management Liaison

Handling Large Projects Project Decomposition Stepwise Refinement Functional Decomposition Design Decomposition Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)

Why to Project Decomposition Project Decomposition F(xyz) q = F(x) q + (y) q + (z) q A complex project can be divided into simpler components. Each component is easier to handle. System development projects are decomposed into smaller components in order to provide better estimates of the amount of the amount of work involved and to monitor and manage the various activities of the development team.

Stepwise Refinement Stepwise refinement are iterative methods because each iteration decomposes the system further. Systems Component 1Component 2Component

Functional Decomposition Functional decomposition of a software project is a division of the system into its operational components as they are seen by the user. The objective is to define all the characteristics of the system from the user’s perspective.

Functional Decomposition

Design Decomposition Is a division of the system into lower level components that coincide with the actual software components of the systems. In a full design decomposition of a software system, the lowest components correspond to programming modules (e.g. procedures, subroutines, or program functions) Requirement Functional decomposition Design Decomposition.

Design Decomposition The best design would strive to produce independent software components or modules. Good design will strive for low coupling, high cohesion and information hiding.

Work Breakdown structure WBS This is the division of the IT project into basic work components The sum total of these work components covers all the tasks that need to be performed in order to complete the project successfully. Materials Functions People

WBS Project Decomposition Development tasks Managerial tasks Support tasks Administrative tasks

WBS

Task IDDescriptionStatusAssigned toComments 1.Management and Administration 2.Software development 2.1Software requirement analysis 2.2Software design 2.2.1Control logic 2.2.2Command interface …… Display formatterCompletedJoe Smith … 2.3Software coding 2.4Software integration … 3Procurement and development support

Managing Large Projects

Project Reporting Techniques Period written status report Verbal reports Status meetings Product demonstrations (demo)

Status Reports Status Reports Format Red flags Problems that require the immediate attention of the PM. Activities during the report period (2 weeks). This should be linked to WBS Planned activities for the next report period Major activity planned for the next report period Problems and general issues Issues not yet resolved from the last period Holidays, Vacation, New project members, etc. Date, report period, Name of report, Who is submitting the report.

Some Basic Problems (management errors) Poor estimates Budget, Schedule, development resources, technical estimates Inadequate tracking and supervision Uncontrolled changes Poor testing procedures Poor development documentation

Risk Foresight is an excellent PM quality Ability to anticipate problem What is Risk? An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives. PMI (project management institute)

Risk Analysis Risk analysis includes estimating its probability, evaluating its impact and preparing for solution in advance. Risk analysis is not free Project size/complexity vs. risk

Risk and system complexity Risk Technical Cost Schedule System Complexity

Successful Risk Management SEI summaries successful risk management as follows A successful risk management practice is one in which risks are continuously identified and analyzed. Risks are mitigated, tracked, and controlled to effectively use program resources. Problems are prevented before they occur and personnel consciously focus on what could affect product quality and schedules

Common risk factors Risk factors Lack of top management commitment to the project Failure to gain user commitment Misunderstanding the requirement Lack of adequate user involvement Failure to manage end user expectation Changing scope and objectives Lack of required knowledge/skill in the project personnel New technology Insufficient / inappropriate staffing Conflict between user departments

Anticipating Problems Step One Do a review of all project technical and administrative plans Project development plan Requirement specifications Design specification Personnel External sources Etc Step two Compile a list of all anticipated problems and describe the potential effect of each problem on the project.

Problem and Description Late delivery of hardware Communication and Networks problem Staff … …. If vendor don’t deliver the system by date the integration will be delayed and it will have effect on cost and schedule. Too slow to support the new system upgrade must be completed before testing Problem with so and so with respect to bla bla. Especially the resources from other the “side”

Risk Analysis Stage Evaluation of the anticipated risk Estimate the probability that the risk will occur Estimate the impact of the problem on the project Attribute a measure of severity to the problem Contingency plan