TK3333 Software Management Topic 12: Project Communication & Documentation

Contents Personal Communications Effective Listening Various Types of Project Meetings Formal Project Presentations Project Reports Project Documentation

Real World Example Vignette: Communicating with Digital Images in the Construction Industry Digital images have become essential to the construction industry for project documentation. They provide fast and clear communication for members of project team, while showing progress and potential problems. Camera features can also be used for image security. Michael Mahesh of Bechtel Corp. has taken over 10,000 digital photos in the past 16 months that he’s been working on the Port Authority Trans-Hudson/Downtown Restoration Project. Advantages of digital pictures for construction projects: allows architects, engineers, contractors and owners to track operations and respond quickly to problems; accountability, economy, and speed; and to support valid legal claims, or nullify erroneous ones. Digital cameras are readily available, ranging from $400-$600. Results are economical for the construction field.

Real World Example Vignette: Another Team Meeting? Team or departmental meetings are often viewed as a waste of time where nothing is accomplished, even though they are important communication tools. Advice on running a meaningful business meeting: – Determine the purpose of the meeting. – Invite the right people to the meeting. – Have an appropriate meeting environment. – Begin and conclude on time. – Stay focused, address issues not related to the meeting’s objective later. – Finish with a summary of decisions and a list of actions to take. – Listen for opinions offered at the end of the meeting. Post meeting discussions can be informative.

Personal Communication Can occur through words or nonverbal behavior. (i.e. gestures). Can be face to face or use some other medium (e.g. phone, etc.). Can be oral or written.

Oral Communication Provides a forum for discussion. Body language and tone are important. Body language can be used by the listener to give feedback to the speaker. Body language can be positive or negative.

Oral Communication Awareness of other cultures’ customs is important. One must not to use offensive remarks. Oral communication should be straightforward. The timing of oral communication is important.

Written Communication Carried out through internal memos and external letters. Are ways to efficiently communicate with a group. May be appropriate as a follow-up to a face-to-face conversation or a phone call. Should be used mostly to inform, confirm, and request. Should be clear and concise.

Effective Listening The heart of communication is not words, but understanding. Not only to be understood, but also to understand. Half of making communication effective is listening.

Common Barriers to Effective Listening Pretending to listen Distractions Bias and closed-mindedness Impatience Jumping to conclusions

Improving Listening Skills Focus on the person talking Engage in active listening Ask questions Do not interrupt

Types of Project Meetings Status review meetings Problem-solving meetings Technical design review meetings

Status Review Meetings Usually led or called by the project manager. The primary purposes are to inform, to identify problems, and to identify action items. Should be held on a regularly scheduled basis.

Status Review Meetings: Subjects for Discussion Accomplishments since last meeting. Cost, schedule, and work: – Scope – Status – Trends – Forecasts – Variances Corrective actions. Opportunities for improvement. Action item assignment.

Problem-Solving Meetings: The Process Develop a problem statement. Identify potential causes of the problem. Gather data and verify the most likely causes. Identify possible solutions. Evaluate the alternative solutions. Determine the best solution. Revise the project plan. Implement the solution. Determine if the problem has been solved.

Technical Design Review Meetings A preliminary design review meeting A final design review meeting

Effective Meetings - Before the Meeting Determine: – whether a meeting is really necessary. – the purpose of the meeting. – who needs to participate in the meeting. Distribute an agenda. Prepare visual aids or handouts. Make room & visual aid arrangements.

Effective Meetings - During the Meeting Start the meeting on time. Designate a note-taker. Review the purpose and the agenda. Facilitate—do not dominate. Summarise the results at the end. Do not overrun the scheduled meeting time. Evaluate the meeting process.

Effective Meetings - After the Meeting Publish the meeting results (e.g. minutes) within 24 hours after the meeting. The summary document should be short and concise. It should confirm decisions that were made and list the action items with whom should execute.

Preparing for a Presentation Determine the purpose of the presentation. Know the audience. Make an outline. Use simple language. Prepare notes or a final outline to use during the presentation.

Preparing for a Presentation Practice, practice, practice. Prepare visual aids and test them. Make copies of handout materials. Request the audiovisual equipment well in advance. Go into the meeting room when it is empty and get a feel for the surroundings.

Delivering a Presentation Expect a bit of nervousness. Know the first two or three sentences of your presentation. Talk to the audience, not at it. Speak clearly and confidently. Use appropriate animation. Do not stand in front of your visual aids.

Delivering a Presentation Build interest in your presentation. Keep to the key points in your outline. Know your closing lines. Allow time for interaction with the audience. When responding to questions, be sincere, candid, and confident.

Types of Project Reports Progress reports Final report

Progress Reports May include: – Accomplishments since prior report. – Current status of project performance. – Progress toward resolution of problems. – Planned corrective actions. – Problems or potential problems. – Milestones expected to be reached during next reporting period.

Final Report May include: – Customer’s original need. – Original project objective. – Degree to which the original project objective was met. – Brief description of the project. – Future considerations. – A list of all deliverables provided to the customer.

Preparing Useful Reports Make your reports concise. Write as you would speak. Put the most important points first. Use graphics where possible. Pay as much attention to the format of the report as to the content.

Project Documentation and Controlling Changes Many other documents may be created. Revisions can result from changes initiated by the customer or by the project team. Some changes are trivial, others are major. Various project documents will be revised to incorporate changes. Note when the revision was made and by whom on all documents. It is important to distribute updated documents in a timely manner. To keep track all the changes and documentation – Configuration Management

Thank You Question? Have a short break. Next – Types of Project Organisation

TK3333 Software Management Topic 13: Types of Project Organisation

Contents Types of organisation structures: - Functional - Project - Matrix The advantages and disadvantages of each

Real World Example Vignette: Simple Guidelines for Great Leaders An effective leader: commits people to action, develops team members into leaders, and acts as an agent for change. Guidelines for effective leaders: – Make sure the team understands the mission and vision, and sticks to it. – Make behavioral expectations clear–advocate good behavior, and have consequences for unacceptable behavior. – Make teamwork a criterion for team member’s successful performance. – Focus on encouraging good behavior and producing positive actions, instead of making people fearful. – Cliques are unacceptable. – Work closely to manage and resolve conflict. – Don’t rush or neglect processes.

Real World Example Vignette: The Chicago Police Department Chicago Police Department is using advanced information technology to better protect its 3 million citizens within 228 square miles. The Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting System (CLEAR) provides quick access to shared information about crimes. After 3 years and $40 million, half of the CLEAR’s planned functions have been developed and are in use. CPD processes about 700 arrests each day. The information is entered and stored in CLEAR, providing a central database of searchable information for the CPD and other Illinois police departments. Since CLEAR was introduced, the CPD’s crime-solving rate has increased. The rate went from 21% in 2001 to 26% in Factors leading to the successful implementation of CLEAR: extensive user-input, user- friendly interfaces that resemble existing paper forms, employees trained fellow employees to use the system. CLEAR transformed the CPD’s business practices into highly efficient processes for sharing critical information. Through the integration of technology and the effective use of project management, the city of Chicago is a safer place to live and work.

Functional-Type Organisation Used in businesses that sell and produce standard products. Groups consist of individuals performing the same function. Periodically undertake in-house projects. Team members can be assigned to the project. Team members continue regular functional jobs. Project manager does not have complete authority over team. See the structure pg

Functional-Type Organisation Advantages: Reduces duplication and overlap of activities. Provides specialisation and functional excellence. Disadvantages: Can be insular. Teamwork is not emphasised. Decisions may be narrow. Structure can slow communication, problem solving and decision making. Lack of customer focus. Stronger allegiance to function than project.

Project-Type Organisation Used in companies in the project business, not selling products. Work on multiple projects at a time. Project team is dedicated to one project. Project manager has complete authority over team. Each project team tends to be isolated. The projects can be of high value and long duration. See the structure pg. 408

Project-Type Organisation Advantages: Team has full control over resources. Organisation is highly responsive to customer. Disadvantages: Can be cost inefficient. Tendency to stretch out work during slow periods. Potential for duplication on concurrent projects. Low level of knowledge transfer. No functional “home”. People may be laid off at the end of the project.

Matrix-Type Organisation A mix of functional and project organisation structures. Used in companies that work on multiple projects at a time. Provides project and customer focus. Retains functional expertise. Individuals can be assigned to various types of projects. See the structure pg. 410

Matrix-Type Organisation Both project managers and functional managers have responsibilities. The Project Manager is the intermediary between customer and company. The Functional Manager decides who and how tasks will be accomplished.

Matrix-Type Organisation Advantages: Allows efficient utilisation of resources. – Maximise no.of functional hours; minimise unapplied time. Individuals can be moved among projects. Provides a core of functional expertise. Facilitates information flow. Team members can communicate with project and functional managers. Customer focused.

Matrix-Type Organisation Disadvantages: Team members have a dual reporting relationship. A proper balance of power must be established between project and functional managers. Conflicts regarding priorities can arise between managers.

Thank You Question? End of Lecture – Final Exam Topic 8 onwards. Group Project Phase 3 – Project Submission & Presentation (8/6); starts at 7pm. Next week (1/6) – Revision and Case Study (2-5% – to help improving your final marks)

RECAP - Group Project Phase 1 Each group: – Provide clear definition of the project background – Provide clear definition of the project objective – Discuss the project constraints Divide your group into 2 sub-groups: – 1 st sub-group: Acts as the customer – 2 nd sub-group: Acts as the contractor 1 st sub-group (Customer): – Produce a Request-For-Proposal (RFP) – Create a mechanism to evaluate the incoming contractor proposals (i.e. criteria, documents to use etc.) 2 nd sub-group (Contractor): – Produce a Proposal (Technical, Management, Cost) based on the RFP. Hints: 1 st sub group – throw good questions/requests 2 nd sub-group – respond to what were asked/requested

RECAP - Group Project Phase 2 Given that the proposal that you prepared in Phase 1 has won the bid. Now, you are required to produce a detailed Project Plan that contains the following: – Project Constraints – Work Breakdown Structure – Responsibility Matrix – Activities Required to Complete the Project – Resources Required to Complete the Project – Time Estimates for Activities – Cost Estimates for Activities – Gantt Chart/PERT Chart – Discussion of ES, EF, LS, LF, slack, project duration – Discussion of the Critical Path Hints: How your project scope will be accomplished on time and within budget (what, who, how long, how much, when, where).

Group Project Phase 3 Discuss the following: – Project team/skill set needed to complete the project – Methods to control the project – Tasks needed to close out the project – Critical success factors – Conclusion/lessons learned/next steps

Group Project Presentation Worth 10% of final marks. 15 minutes for each group: – Phase 1 => RFP (3 minutes) – Phase 2 => Project Plan (10 minutes) – Phase 3 => Summary (2 minutes) If time permits, it will be Q&A sessions. Mentor (of course me!) and peers evaluation (i.e. your team evaluates others).

Group Project Presentation Criteria of evaluation: – Personality (About the presenters e.g. the way they stand and talk; attire; confidence level; language proficiency; charisma etc.) – Presentation Skills (About the presentation styles and delivery e.g. clear and understandable; nice and simple; using appropriate words, gestures/body language, eye-contact, hands and projection of voice etc.) – Content (About what they present e.g. the accuracy of the facts and arguments, the relevancy of the topic and answers for questions asked; the criticality of the issues discussed, the quality of the work etc.) – Group Dynamic (About the team e.g. the task distribution, commitment, communication, each member’s involvement etc.)