1 Project Planning

2 u What is a project plan? defining a goal and then developing a strategy for achieving that goal. u Who is involved? all those affected by the project:- »student »supervisor »(company??) u When is a plan produced? at the start of the project and then is revised at regular intervals.

3 Managing your project and yourself u Personal project management u Personal time management u Document management u Task management

4 Personal project management u Project Definition clearly specify what it is you hope to achieve with your project and how you propose to do it u Estimation analyse scope and duration of your proposed work u Scheduling set sequences and dates u Monitoring record progress and re-plan

5 Project Definition I u identify the aims and objectives of your intended work One Aim - defines projects main purpose Several Objectives - should identify significant measurable achievements, will assist planning u Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) a structured, top-down description of your project work a project checklist begin by breaking project down into its main objectives

6 Project Definition II u Technical strategy how you will organize your work, in an “engineering” sense depends on your project »incremental build and test, framework incremental? »evolutionary delivery? »spiral model? »waterfall, prototyping? experimentation »early evaluation of technical options Useful starting points: Sommerville, Software Engineering, 6/e, Ch 3 Pressman, Software Engineering 5/e, Ch 2 Useful starting points: Sommerville, Software Engineering, 6/e, Ch 3 Pressman, Software Engineering 5/e, Ch 2

7 Estimation u scope estimation what are my functional requirements? how many screens? reports? features? database tables? fields/variables? algorithms? u time estimation duration of major project phases duration of critical activities »requirements specification; design; coding; testing duration of supporting activities »literature searching and review; documentation. NB: role of WBS in estimating process

8 Time Estimation Strategies I u Top down size/time of project activities is derived from time allocated to higher level project activities. »e.g if 3 weeks allocated to lit. review., then constituent activities will be scaled accordingly u Bottom up size/time of low level activities is used to determine time allocated to major project functions »e.g. if detailed design 2 weeks, coding 4 weeks, testing 2 weeks, then implementation allocated 8 weeks NB: role of WBS

9 Time Estimation Strategies II u Analogy reasoning by analogy with your, or someone else’s experience, on a completed, similar activity, to relate actual size/time to estimate for new project »e.g on a placement project, typically 2 days to fully build and test a data input screen of moderate complexity. u ‘Expert’ opinion ask someone knowledgeable in the area under investigation to advise an estimate u experimentation minimize over-optimistic estimates by trying out some (high risk) activities during semester 1

10 Estimation strategies - contingency planning u time is the enemy, everything takes much longer than expected u assess what can go wrong, and plan accordingly (risk management) u don’t leave critical activities to the last minute, e.g evaluating software system printing final report u allow time for troubleshooting u keep monitoring, prioritizing and re-planning

11 Scheduling u Milestones – significant steps towards project completion module key dates technical key dates »e.g. req. spec complete, risks assessed, design complete, prototype ready u activity sequencing identify order in which work can be done look for parallel activities »e.g. learning new language // literature review u charts (e.g. Gantt charts) present schedule in easily readable form, for yourself and others shows activity duration and parallel tasks u build in contingency

Project Planning Format: u listing of project activities, with start date, end date and duration u explanation of each activity, if required u graphical summary of plan in form of bar chart (e.g. via MS Project) 12

Project Planning 13

14 Project Monitoring u record progress - the project diary important to keep and maintain a tidy, clear record of everything that has been undertaken »makes production of final report easier »frequency not amount is important »helpful for parallel or future work u watch your project milestones u assess progress, prioritize, re-scope if necessary u contingency?

15 Personal time management Some benefits of effective time management achieve better results improved quality of work work faster improved satisfaction with our studies improve the quality of our non- working life …... Treacy D, Successful Time Management, 1993

16 Self-evaluation - identify timewasters u common timewasters? losing things? surfing? travelling? idle conversation? don’t know where to start? TV? perfectionism? …... rank them from most significant to least significant u my timewasters? …

17 Document management Organising your project papers, notes, documentation use simple file headings subdivide large folders separate frequently used papers from inactive documents file new papers, notes, as soon as you receive them always keep a record of where you found something »e.g. URL, journal reference, textbook, … sort out your paperwork regularly, keep it under control

18 u prioritize your tasks on a regular basis project work vs coursework vs revision u take a break! has physiological, social and other benefits ! Task management u maintain monthly, weekly and daily ‘to do’ lists u based on content of your project plan i.e. keep your eye on the ball

19 Project Management Processes PP What To build What To do PMC What To monitor Technical development And support Status, issues, results of evaluations; measures and analyses Commitments Measurement needs Corrective action What to Monitor Schedule Budget Resources Risks Actuals Vs Predicted What to do Activities/Tasks

20 Technical Development Processes u u u RD PI Val Customer TS Ver REQM Requirements Customer needs Product requirements Product components Solutions Require- ments Product PP

21 The IDEAL Model – A Process for Investigating IS Problems and developing solutions

22 Software Concept Requirements Analysis Architectural Design Detailed Design Code & Debug System Testing Pure Waterfall Model