Management of Computer System Performance Chapter 13 Evaluation and Project Management

Evaluation and Project Management Agenda: Project Planning Understanding Cost Components Estimating the Project Project Control Objective: Students should be able: to show the approaches applied in evaluation and project management .

Understanding Cost Components Costs are usually divided into two elements. Direct and Indirect. Specific allocations are a function of Accounting Practices and may differ. Direct Costs-Labor, Materials, Facilities, Services and Supervision Indirect Costs-Administration, Fringe, G&A, Sr. Management. Etc.

Projects & Project Management The following are some basic characteristics of a Project. Specific objectives – defines concisely what you are trying to do and what you will deliver….in detail. This will be to solve some problem or set of problems. Schedule – define specifically the duration of the effort Budget – Identify what is the budget and all variables that will affect it. It should also include what you can and cannot control. Resources – Identify who will do the work and commitments that those resources will be available. One-time rather than ongoing

Who are the Project Players? The Sponsor – The individual who has requested that the project be undertaken. They usually get or provide the funding and face the executives. (Remember the golden rule: he who has the gold, rules) The Stakeholders – Those who are affected by the project and its implementation, The Project Manager – The individual responsible for the management of the project. Project Team – The grunts. Individuals tasked to perform the work identified in the project plan. Bystanders – Those who provide unwanted advice.

Characteristics of a Project Sequence or phases of activities Unique (Non-repetitive) Simple and/or Complex Inter-related activities Specific Goal Specific Time-frame Specified Budget Defined Specifications

Project Stages Scope Definition – Requirements & Business Analysis Planning Planning – Involves creating detailed, step by step plans Feedback Feedback Loops – During the Execution, as problems come up, take the issues back to the scope and planning stages as needed. Execution Execution – Execute the plan and only the plan. Closure Closure – Project review with a detailed lessons learned.

Leading Contributors to Project Success Formal guidelines Accountable sponsors Project management skills Measurement systems Formal priorities Regular communication Clear tracking Automated tools

Why Projects Fail Lack of Scope Control Poor requirements Definition Schedule/Cost overruns

Time & Charge Numbers Project time accounting is begun before requirements development begins. In every project in most companies, each has its own budget. Control and protect that budget. The most efficient way to do this is through the use if real time accounting data. As people charge the account, identify who and what they are doing. As projects grow or become more complex, this becomes a problem.

Importance of Estimates Estimates are created using the following three variables. Effort or Labor - This ensures that appropriate resources are provided to the project. Time - Establishes an expectation to allow team members to budget their time. This is also used to calculate cost elements such as cost of capital and carrying costs. Cost - Enables benefits to be weighed against costs. This is used as one of the key components of project valuation.

Identifying Estimating Issues Supportive data in the form of time and cost standards. The Basis of Estimate is a useful tool. Reasonability based on experience Definition of resource requirements for each activity Influencing factors other than time and cost Contingency plan estimates

IT Project Management - WBS Examples: Goal = e-business site Function 1-Storyboards 1.1 Create layout Template 1.2 Select Color Scheme 1.3 Identify threads Function 2 – Site System Design 2.1 Identify Static Pages 2.2 Identify Dynamic Pages 2.3 Identify Dynamic content templates Function 3 - …… GOAL Function 1 Task 1.1 Task 1.2 Task 1.3 Function 2 Task 2.1 Task 2.2 Task 2.3

Importance of Scheduling Role of project schedule Coordinate tasks with non-project activities. Acquiring or committing capital Coordinate a project’s task activities. Assign resources over time. Identify schedule and resource issues. Identify potential problems.

Planning Tools and Techniques Gantt Chart: Popularized by Henry Gantt in the early 1900’s. Simple to construct, Communicates resources and tasks well. PERT Chart: Program Evaluation and Review Technique - Invented by US Navy in 1958, More complex to construct, Clearly shows relationships between tasks, Show a more complete picture of the project.

Schedule Components Planned start and expected finish dates for all phases Major milestones and/or key events Related reports Dependencies and the sequence of activities There are three ways to present information visually. These are: The Calendar The Gantt chart The PERT/CPM (Arrow) chart

Calendar

Gantt

Gantt Chart - Types of Task Relationships FINISH TO START TASK A TASK B TASK A TASK B LEAD TIME TASK A TASK B LAG TIME

PERT/CPM (Arrow)

The Critical Path For any presentation of a project schedule, the one element that requires clear and concise definition is the Critical Path. The Critical Path is a sequence of activities that drive the completion date. Late critical path activity equals late project completion. Identify critical path activities early and monitor closely. Create prevention and contingency plans. Monitor activities that could enter the critical path.

Project Schedule Critical Path The critical path is a sequence of Tasks (WBS elements) that drive the completion date. Most critical path element have little, if any, slack time. It must be completed sequentially and on schedule. If the critical Task path element is late, the project will be late.

Project Schedule Critical Path The management of a project’s critical path is critical. It is strongly suggested that you, as the Project Manager; Identify critical path activities early and monitor closely. Create prevention and contingency plans. Monitor activities that could enter the critical path.

Project Schedules Role of project schedule Coordinate tasks with non-project related activities. Coordinate a project’s task activities. Assign resources over time. Identify schedule and resource issues. Identify potential problems. Planned start and expected finish dates for all phases. Major milestones and/or key events. Related reports. Dependencies and the sequence of activities.

Creating a Bottom-Up Budget This, as the title implies, requires that each element within the Project be priced. Determine how, at what rate, and when monetary resources will be applied to a project. This is a cost of capital approach and is critical to the management of the budget. Demonstrate whether you can meet the top-down budget developed during the scope phase.

Risk and Variance The difference between the initial project budget and the actual spending on the project is variance. Causes of budget variance Accuracy of estimates – this is usually the biggest issue. Errors are made when getting aggressive to win the job. Inflation – Lately, this has been in check. Labor inflation is a potential problem. Availability of resources – Try to get a WebSphere Programmer. Use of overtime and Seasonal fluctuations in prices – if not accounted, can trash a budget.

Project Planning Keys to Failure Unplanned Schedule Delays are a major factor in project failures. Many Project Managers fail to allow for any slack in any portion of the schedule, essentially placing everything on the critical path. This is sure to result in conflicts. Pre-mature Estimates - too precise with out the Project Schedule Not Adjusted as Scope Changes Failure to recognize Schedule Dependencies Project Falls prone to the “Mythical Man-month theory - [Brooks]

Risk Management All Projects must have a risk management process in place. This must include risk mitigation. This approach is to identify critical paths through the project’s life and to identify various issues associated with each path. Issues are weighted and those with the greatest probability of occurrence are mitigated with alternative plans. 

IT Project Risk Management Risk is inherent in every project. Risk is a fundamental ingredient of opportunity. It is inherent in every project. It is the possibility, not the certainty, of bearing a loss that must be addressed. Loss could be anything from diminished quality of an end product to increased cost, missed deadlines, or project failure.

IT Project Risk Management Risk is neither intrinsically good nor bad. Risk is not something to avoid, especially because is inherent in every project. It is to be mitigated. Most risk mitigation methodologies consider risk as the basis for opportunity. The manner in which the risk is mitigated may be the professional differentiator between your project solution and that of your competitor. As such, risk in itself, risk is neither essentially good nor bad.

IT Project Risk Management Risk is not something to fear, but something to manage. Successful teams deal with risk by recognizing and minimizing uncertainty They do this by proactively and aggressively addressing each identified risk area and developing a mitigation for it..

IT Project Risk Management Assess risks continuously throughout the project life cycle. Successful risk management is more than just identifying risk factors at the start of the project; Risk must be addressed and a constant assessment of risk throughout the life of the project must be undertaken. New risks are revealed during the life of a project and work continues Previously identified risks change. They become either; more or less probable or more or less severe.

IT Project Risk Management Ongoing risk management of a project introduces a degree of resilience to change. Proactive risk management involves identifying risks ahead of time and preventing them through reduction, transference, or avoidance. Reduce the risk. Risk reduction tries to minimize the likelihood that a risk will occur or, to minimize the impact if the risk does occur. Ex: architecting a system with strong system security so that the risk of data loss or corruption is reduced. Ex. minimizing the impact of a risk is installing an uninterruptible power supply to your hardware.     

IT Project Risk Management Transfer the Risk. (this does not refer to giving it to the new PM when you leave.) Risk transference reduces overall risk by ensuring that it is handled by the most competent party. Ex: when a company contracts with a third-party firm to deploy software, the customer determines that contracting with an outside entity will result in fewer and less severe risks than if the customer’s own people were to do it. A company may also transfer a risk by transferring the consequences. Ex. A company may have offsite data backup and storage. Ex: A company might choose to have an application-hosting provider host its critical functionality in a more secure or proven environment.

IT Project Risk Management Avoid the risk. Risk avoidance tries to eliminate the risk by doing something less risky. Selecting an alternative. In the worst case this may involve canceling a project, but in other cases it could involve sacrificing some functional requirements to allow adoption of a packaged solution or avoiding unproven technology. Ex: instead of creating open Internet access for a Web-based application, the company might choose to build a virtual private network to provide greater security. Note: Canceling a project, from a business perspective may, be the correct solution.

The IT Risk Management Process The process for Risk Management addresses the following elements: Identify risks and quantify potential damages. Determine and document risks likely to affect the project. Perform on a regular basis. Use strategies to reduce potential impact. Address both internal and external risks. This is done from both a Top down and Bottoms up perspective.

Risk and Budget Contingency Management reserve Budget to accommodate risks Manage to achieve the expected value Allocate time and money at expected value This is easier said than done. Maintaining a management reserve is usually difficult. It is one of the first things to go when a contract is bid competitively. For internal projects, there remains hope.

Question ?

Homework