© 2008 by Prentice Hall 1 Chapter 2

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 2 Project – a planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end Deliverable – an end product of an SDLC phase Chapter 2

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PLANNING 4

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 5 Learning Objectives List activities of project initiation, project planning, and project management. Describe the steps involved in the project initiation and planning process. List and describe various methods for assessing project feasibility. Explain the process of managing an information systems project and describe the skills of a project manager.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 6 Identifying and Selecting Systems Development Projects

PROJECT IDENTIFICATION & SELECTION 7

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 8 The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS Development Projects Identifying potential development projects.  Identification from a stakeholder group.  Each stakeholder group brings their own perspective and motivation to the IS decision.  Top-down source are projects identified by top management or by a diverse steering committee.  Bottom-up source are project initiatives stemming from managers, business units, or the development group.  The process varies substantially across organizations.

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10 Selecting IS development projects.  Based on various factors.  Consider both short- and long-term projects.  Select those most likely to achieve business objectives.  Is a very important and ongoing activity.

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INITIATING AND PLANNING PROJECT 12

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 13 The Process of Initiating and Planning IS Development Projects

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© 2008 by Prentice Hall 15 Initiating a Project Project initiation – activities to assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support later project activities focuses on activities designed to assist in organizing a team to conduct project planning.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 16 Project Initiation The process of project initiation includes, establishing and developing:  An initiation team Organize an initial core of project team members to assist in accomplishing project initiation  A relationship with the customer  A project initiation plan Define activities required to organize team

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 17 Project Initiation(Cont.)  Management procedures Develop team communication and reporting procedures  A project management environment Collect and organize tools that will be used to manage project

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 18 Planning the Project Project planning – focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 19 Elements of Project Planning Describe project scope, alternatives, feasibility. Divide project into tasks. Estimate resource requirements and create resource plan. Develop preliminary schedule. Develop communication plan Determine standards and procedures. Identify and assess risk. Create preliminary budget. Develop a statement of work. Set baseline project plan.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 20 Describe project scope, alternatives, and feasibility  What problems or opportunities does the project address?  What are the quantifiable results to be achieved?  What needs to be done?  How will success be measured?  How will we know when we are finished?

Detailed business case for the project  Technical feasibility  Economic feasibility  Organizational feasibility Compiled into a feasibility study Feasibility is reassessed throughout the project Assessing Project Feasibility 21

© 2008 by Prentice Hall Chapter 3 Technical Feasibility: Can We Build It? a process of assessing the development organization’s ability to construct a proposed system Users’ and analysts’ familiarity with the business application area Familiarity with technology  Have we used it before? How new is it? Project size  Number of people, time, and features Compatibility with existing systems 22

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 23 Assessing Technical Feasibility The potential consequences of not assessing and managing risks can include the following:  Failure to attain expected benefits from the project,  Inaccurate project cost estimates,  Inaccurate project duration estimates,  Failure to achieve adequate system performance levels, and  Failure to adequately integrate the new system with existing hardware, software, or organizational procedures.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 24 Assessing Technical Feasibility (Cont.)

© 2008 by Prentice Hall Chapter 3 Economic Feasibility Should We Build It? a process of identifying the financial benefits and costs associated with a development project.  Often referred to as cost-benefit analysis.  Project is reviewed after each SDLC phase in order to decide whether to continue, redirect, or kill a project. 25

© 2008 by Prentice Hall Chapter 3 Organizational Feasibility If we build it, will they come? Strategic alignment  How well do the project goals align with business objectives? Stakeholder analysis  Project champion(s)  Organizational management  System users 26

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 27 Assessing Other Feasibility Concerns Operational  Does the proposed system solve problems or take advantage of opportunities? Scheduling  Can the project time frame and completion dates meet organizational deadlines? Legal and Contractual  What are legal and contractual ramifications of the proposed system development project? Political  How do key stakeholders view the proposed system?

© 2008 by Prentice Hall Chapter 3 Project Selection Issue Approval committee works from the system request and the feasibility study 28

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 29 Divide the project into manageable tasks  Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – the process of dividing the project into manageable tasks and logically ordering them  Gantt chart – a graphical representation of a project that shows each task as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional to its time for completion

Identifying Tasks Project manager must identify all of the tasks that need to be accomplished, from beginning through the end of the project, to meet those objectives. Methodology  Using standard list of tasks (SDLC: analysis, design …) Top-down approach  Identify highest level tasks  Break them into increasingly smaller units  Organize into work breakdown structure 30

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 31 Estimate resources and create a resource plan The process of assigning projected values for time and effort (e.g. analysis – 6 weeks, design – 4 weeks, etc) Sources of estimates time and effort  Methodology in use  Actual previous projects  Experienced developers Estimates begin as a range and become more specific as the project progresses (e.g. design will be completed on March 22) Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) – a widely used method which uses parameters that are derived from prior projects of differing complexity

Staffing Attributes Staffing levels will change over a project’s lifetime Using teams of 8-10 reporting in a hierarchical structure can reduce complexity 32

Increasing Complexity with Larger Teams 33

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 34 Develop a preliminary schedule Work Plan -- List of all tasks in the work breakdown structure, plus  Duration of task  Current task status  Task dependencies  Key milestone dates Network diagram – depicts project tasks and their interrelationships

Tracking Project Tasks Gantt Chart  Bar chart format  Useful to monitor project status at any point in time PERT Chart  Flowchart format  Illustrate task dependencies and critical path 35

Gantt Chart Task Week

Gantt Chart (an example) 37

PERT Chart Go to Library 4 weeks Select and purchase book 1 week Go to Bookstore 4 weeks Skim book 3 weeks Write Phase One 2 weeks Read book carefully 3 weeks Write Phase Two 3 weeks 38

PERT Chart (an example) 39

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 40 Develop a communication plan  Who are the stakeholders for this project?  What information does each stakeholder need?  When, and at what interval, does this information need to be produced?  What sources will be used to gather and generate this information?  Who will collect, store, and verify the accuracy of this information?  Who will organize and package this information into a document?  Who will be the contact person for each stakeholder should any questions arise?  What format will be used to package this information?  What communication medium will be most effective for delivering this information to the stakeholder?

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 41 Determine project standards and procedures During this activity, you will specify how various deliverables are produced and tested by you and your project team.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 42 Identify and assess risk The goal of this activity is to identify sources of project risk and to estimate the consequences of those risks. Project Risk Factors:  Project size -- Team size, organizational departments, project duration, programming effort  Project structure -- New vs. renovated system, resulting organizational changes, management commitment, user perceptions  Development group -- Familiarity with platform, software, development method, application area, development of similar systems  User group -- Familiarity with IS development process, application area, use of similar systems

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 43 A preliminary budget outlines the planned expenses and revenues associated with your project. Create a preliminary budget

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 44 Developed primarily for the customer Outlines work that will be done and clearly describes what the project will deliver Provides a clear understanding of project size, duration, and outcomes Develop a Project Scope Statement

Project Scope Statement (an example) 45

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 46 Factors in determining scope  Organizational units affected by new system  Current systems that will interact with or change because of new system  People who are affected by new system  Range of potential system capabilities

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 47 Provides an estimate of the project’s tasks and resource requirements and is used to guide the next project phase – execution Baseline Project Plan (BPP) is a document intended primarily to guide the development team. Setting a Baseline Project Plan (BPP)

Building the Baseline Project Plan  System description section outlines possible alternative solutions.  Feasibility assessment section outlines issues related to project costs and benefits, technical difficulties, and other such concerns.  Management issues section outlines a number of managerial concerns related to the project. © 2008 by Prentice Hall 48

Baseline Project Plan (an outline) 49

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 50 Deliverables and Outcomes Baseline Project Plan (BPP)  A major outcome and deliverable from the PIP phase.  Contains the best estimate of a project’s scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements. Project Scope Statement (PSS)  Describes what the project will deliver.  Outlines at a high level all work required to complete the project.

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 51 Executing the Project Project execution – the third phase of the project management process in which the plans created in the prior phases (project initiation and planning) are put into action

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 52 Executing the Project (Cont.) Executing the Baseline Project:  Initiate the execution of project activities, acquire and assign resources, orient and train new team members, keep the project on schedule, and ensure the quality of project deliverables Monitor project progress against the Baseline Project Plan (BPP) Communicate the project status  Meetings, status reports, meeting minutes, seminars and workshops, bulletin boards, memos, specification documents,

MANAGING PROJECT 53

Four Key Steps in Managing Projects Identifying project size Creating and managing the work plan Staffing the project Coordinating project activities 54

Key Definitions Project management is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified timeframe at a minimum cost with the right functionality. A project manager has the primary responsibility for managing the hundreds of tasks and roles that need to be carefully coordinated. 55

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 56 Project Manager A Project Manager is a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills – management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship – who is responsible for initiating, planning, and executing a project. The project manager’s environment is one of continual change and problem solving. The project manager’s understanding of the project management process is critical.

Project Manager’s Balancing Act Project Management involves making trade-offs… Project Size Project Cost Project Time Modifying one element requires adjusting the others 57

© 2008 by Prentice Hall 58 Project Management Activities