Common Activities Activities and Tasks in the WBS

Outline of Today's Lecture 1.Common Terms 2.IEEE 1074 Standard Processes for Life Cycles 3.Example Problem creating a goal statement writing a SOW planning activities etc

Jargon Alert! Jargon Alert! Activity – A major unit of work to be completed in achieving the objectives of a software project. An activity has precise starting and ending dates, incorporates a set of tasks to be completed, consumes resources and results in work products. An activity may include other activities in a hierarchical manner. IEEE Std 1058 – Standard for Software Project Management Plans

Jargon Alert! Jargon Alert! Task – The smallest unit of work subject to management accountability. A task is a well defined work assignment for one or more project members. The specification of work to be accomplished in completing a task is documented in a work package. Related tasks are usually grouped to form activities. IEEE Std 1058 – Standard for Software Project Management Plans

Jargon Alert! Jargon Alert! Project Function – An activity that spans the entire duration of a software project. Examples of project functions include project management, configuration management, quality assurance, and verification and validation. IEEE Std 1058 – Standard for Software Project Management Plans

Jargon Alert! Jargon Alert! Work Package – A specification for the work to be accomplished in completing an activity or task. A work package defines the work product(s), the staffing requirements, the expected duration, the resources to be used, the acceptance criteria for the work products, the name of the responsible individual, and any special considerations for the work. IEEE Std 1058 – Standard for Software Project Management Plans

Jargon Summary Jargon Summary A SPMP contains the WBS. The WBS is made up of a list of Activities. Activities are made up of Tasks.

Activity Planning Objectives Feasibility Assessment Resource Allocation Resource amounts and timing Detailed Costing Motivation Providing targets and monitoring achievement vs targets Coordination between Teams Software Project Management by Hughes and Cotterell

IEEE 1074 Activity Groups Software Life Cycle Model Planning Project Management Predevelopment Development Post-Development Integral

IEEE 1074 Software Life Cycle Model Planning 1. Map the SLCM to project needs Project Management 2. Project Initialization 3. Project Monitoring and control 4. Software Quality Management Software Life Cycle Model Planning Project Management Predevelopment Development Post-Development Integral

IEEE 1074 Predevelopment 5. Concept Exploration 6. System Allocation Development 7. Requirements 8. Design 9. Implementation Software Life Cycle Model Planning Project Management Predevelopment Development Post-Development Integral

IEEE 1074 Post-Development 10. Installation 11. Operation and Support 12. Maintenance 13. Retirement Software Life Cycle Model Planning Project Management Predevelopment Development Post-Development Integral

IEEE 1074 Integral 14. Verification and Validation 15. Software Configuration Management 16. Documentation Development 17. Training Software Life Cycle Model Planning Project Management Predevelopment Development Post-Development Integral

IEEE 1074 Activities IEEE 1074 Activities Development 7. Requirements 24. Define and Development Software Requirements 25. Define Interface Requirements 26. Prioritize and Integrate Software Requirements 9. Implementation 32. Create Test Data 33. Create Source Code 34. Generate Object Code 35. Create Operating Documentation 36. Plan Integration 37. Perform Integration

Example Problem Analysis of various data sets (production equipment, sales orders) to automatically forecast raw materials needs for purchasing Experience and a quick survey of industry revels that the needed software to be produced will be unique in nature

Approach Build it a piece at a time start with easy decision feasibility of getting the needed data, determine algorithms, etc. second version will address overall look and feel third version will implement most important decision create something that concretely shows project's value repeat until done

Step One - getting organized create a goal statement identify the key players keepers of data champions of the project final decision makers etc

Step Two - Write the SOW Statement of Work Contents: Goal Scope Deliverables Criteria for Success etc

Step Three - Process Model Selection Spiral Life Cycle 1.Gather Requirements 2.Design 3.Code 4.Test 5.Repeat

Step Four - Plan Activities How do we decide what all we need to do? Based on Past WBSs Based on Brainstorming about Tasks Based on IEEE 1074

Step Four - Using 1074 to select activities 6.Plan Project Management 7.Analyze Risks 9.Manage the Project 10.Retain Records 11.Implement Problem Reporting 15.Identify Quality Improvement Needs 16.Identify ideas and needs 17.Formulate Potential Approaches 25. Define Interface Requirements 28. Define Database 29. Design Interfaces 30. Develop Algorithms 32. Create Test Data 33. Create Source Code 37. Perform Integration 50. Execute V&V Tasks 54. Execute the Tests

Step Five - Build the Work Breakdown Major Activities in the WBS: 1. Project Functions 2. Feasibility 3. Interface Architecture 4. Most Important Problem 5. Next Problem 6. Re-Evaluation of Project 7. Development Continuation 8. Deployment

Step Five - Build WBS 1. Project Functions 1.1 Retain Records (10) 1.2 Plan Configuration Management (55) 1.3 Perform Configuration Control (57) 1.4 Collect and Analyze Metric Data (51) 1.5 Produce Internal Documentation (61)

Step Five - Build WBS 2. Feasibility 2.1 Analysis Identify Major Needs (16) Formulate Potential Approaches(17) Decide what is easiest to do. 2.2 Design Design Database (28) Design Interfaces (29) Develop Algorithm (30) 2.3 Code Create Test Data (32) Create Source Code (33) 2.4 Test Execute Tests (54) Execute V&V (50) Is this Worthwhile? Determine key problem for next phase Decide if to go forward

Step Six - Estimate Size and Duration Step Seven - Estimate Cost Step Eight - Use WBS and size estimates to create project plan Step Nine - Begin Activities 1 and 2

Next Time… Before we can build a work plan, we need to know how much time everything will take, how many people we need, how much money… In other words, estimating