1. Introduction, web project management & risk management
WEB1P Lecture 2
Introduction, web project management & risk management
Topics to cover on my part of the unit: cover the decisions and actions taken to develop and maintain a web site. Other units cover the use of web sites in e-business.
Web project management
Risk management
Content management
Planning, setting up and configuring a web server
Capacity planning and performance monitoring
This session, PM and RM, next session, content management, then third, Apache configuration, and we’ll go into the Comms Lab.
As there is much material to get through, I give you general overview in the lectures. Use the resources on the WEB1P web site and tutorial resources to do further research.
In the revision lecture, consolidate.

2. Web project management
Anyone here with experience of project management or project planning, software development?
In here for 3 hours. Project management, then risk management.

3. Web project management
How are web projects special?
Activities in creating a web site
Project management methodologies
Project life cycles
Activity planning
Project management for information systems is a well-understood if not always well-practised concept, and there are several approaches traditionally taken.
Web development is also increasingly well understood from a technical point of view, and there are many tools and techniques for creating web sites and components of sites.
Where there is much less in the way of useful frameworks/approaches/tools/techniques is in the area of managing web development. This lecture aims to explore some of the ways the gap can be filled.

4. Look at www.port.ac.uk web site.
Identify site components: white board

5. Content formats
Suggestions for content types, and how they are formatted on the web, .
Site content - many formats. If you don’t already have it, you have to create it, or source it, or commission it. Then it needs collating and editing, and assigning to pages on the web site. You also have to keep track of the versions. In last lecture we’ll look at web content management systems which help to do this
Also consider what is behind the pages, e.g. server-side and client-side programs, databases etc

6. What needs to be done? Business content – e-commerce aspects
Presentation – content on web site
Technical content – client-side, server-side programs, databases etc
Server configuration
Site naming, capacity, security, maintenance planning, content management……
Problems with web page development:
Deceptive simplicity of page creation, confusion between (page construction, page design, site design, application development). ‘end-user computing’ , marketing tactics of software industry
Invisible characteristics of web site design: document management, link management, security, infrastructure, information structure, information management, database connectivity, dynamic pages, dynamic content, maintenance, standards, upgrades/service, organizational issues, information ownership, legal and copyright issues(Music industry), social and ethical issues (propaganda), user profiles
This will differ for differing types of site: e-commerce, e-marketing, international sites, intranets, B2B portals (Shelford & Remillard, 2003)

7. Stages in traditional IS development
Project initiation and PID
Requirements engineering
System design
Software construction
Hardware purchase
Integration and system testing
Installation and cut-over
Project close-down
Maintenance
Compare this with what needs to happen in web development:

8. Typical activities for website development
Feasibility study/web strategy
Project initiation/assemble team
Define site requirements, characteristics
Plan site: architecture, functions, appearance
Plan and acquire content
Create/acquire supporting software
Acquire and commission web server/ ISP agreement
Site test, launch and handover
Maintenance/update of site
Evaluation
The following are typical activities when creating a web site:
Determine the case for the site, perhaps linked to an overall strategy (e.g. implementation of e-Commerce)
Determine site requirements: commercial, creative, technical, content
Design the site structure: information, interactions and appearance
Plan content on each web page: produce or acquire content
Determine requirements for server-side software/databases to support functionality of site – produce software ( at this stage a system development life cycle can be used, e.g. prototyping or waterfall)
Obtain hardware to host the web site, configure server software, carry out capacity planning
Ensure site works before launch, submit site to search engines, publicise.
Maintain site – error fixes, keeping content up to date
Seek evaluation feedback from customer.

9. What is special about web projects?
Lack of standards for development
Short time-scales (1 – 6 months)
Interactive development
More diverse teams
Parallel working
Outsourced jobs
Problems with communication and coordination
Use of new tools and technologies
Standards for parts of the work, e.g. compliance with accessibility criteria. Benchmarking.
Web development projects differ from traditional information system projects in the following ways: Will also depend on purpose of site – see
Standards for web site development are still evolving, although software development standards can be applied to certain parts of the development. Industry benchmarks are the best guide; most authors concentrate on team management aspects.
Timescales for development are short and user involvement is likely to be high.
Because of the wide range of activities and site components, many different skills are required, and parallel working is the norm. Specific jobs (such as server-side program development, logo production) are likely to be outsourced. This means that contract management is required.
Many tools and techniques for developing aspects of web sites are new, and often “Beta” in quality, although this situation is improving.
Therefore good project management is needed. Broadly speaking, the larger and more complex the project, the greater the need for processes, structures, specifications and so on. With smaller projects the boundaries of who does what, in what order, can often afford to be more blurred and the working methods more fluid
Production of a web site is often linked to other agendas, e.g. marketing, business
beta releases of software - to demonstrate expertise.
Think about what needs to go on a web site. Broadly speaking - a presentation layer and a functional layer - but the presentation layer alone may consists of dozens of elements of different types - text, graphics, video etc
Wider set of expertise needed, so to the software engineer mix you might add marketing and commercial experts, technical experts, graphic designers, lawyers…
Short timescales, diverse content - parallel working
Sourcing elements, in-house, licencing and copyright, outsourcing - with need to manage it - specify job properly, quality control
Often prototypes are demoed to customer..
Because it’s new, not much in way of standards or even descriptions. Case studies on web.
Also: needs to be maintained and kept up to date
Increasing amounts of information – multi-lingual, multi-server, real time
Enterprise applications, web services.
More part of mainstream business processes – need for reporting and analysis of trends
Communication... How can we bring all these elements under control? First, we need to identify the project activities:

10. Piecemeal development can have undesirable effects
Consider a framework for organising development
This is known as a Project Management Methodology
Takes tasks from project life cycle.
Many companies/individuals/teams develop computer projects in a piece- meal way which can have undesirable side effects
Difference between programme and project – need for overall strategy, feasibility study and commitent to fund – often tied to requirement for consistent project management. Nasty lessons for UK Governmentt with MoD contracts.
Definition of project management methodology:
Project Management Methodology A project management methodology addresses the principles, practices and procedures for performing project management. Project management improves the probability of project success. Benefits of a PM Methodology
Some of the benefits of using a PM Methodology are:
Reduced Risk of Project Failure
Increased Efficiency/Productivity
Improved Quality
Improved Communications

11. Existing methods Answer the question:
What do traditional methods do to help web site development?
Life cycles: waterfall, Boehm spiral, prototyping
PRINCE2, Agile methods: DSDM, Extreme programming, RAD, JAD
Run through these briefly – which ones are suitable for web development

12. Project life cycles …or SDLCs (System Development Life Cycle)
Relate to IS development
Can they be applied to web development?

13. THE WATERFALL MODEL Analysis Design Implementation Maintenance
Although web dev differs in detail from sw dev, I’d like to suggest that SDLC methodologies can still provide structure to project planning. Review the common ones.
Characteristics: a “one-shot” approach, where each stage is completed before the next starts. Recent versions (“modified Waterfall”) allow for feedback between the stages, acknowledging ongoing development in requirements, implications of bug fixing etc.
Advantages: allows forecast of project completion times, good control of project
Good points: clear progression - complete one task before starting another. Don’t start one task before completing another.
Bad points: problems encountered later in the cycle, e.g. at testing, may have implications for previous stages, e.g. implementation or even design - time and cost of rework. Disadvantages: inflexible, difficult to accommodate any necessary rework in a controlled way, not suitable for projects where requirements are evolving. Also “major problems are found late in testing cycle”.
More preferred is the modified waterfall approach, where there is feedback between the stages.
One student a couple of years ago went to work for Scandia Life on their web development team – used Waterfall – attraction because of time element.
Feasibility study and user requirements at the start
Implementation divided into coding and testing
Assumptions made when using the Waterfall model include:
Requirements are known before implementation and there are no unresolved difficulties
Requirements will not change (except in minor ways)
Project stakeholders accept requirements
The architecture for implementation is well-understood
There is enough time to carry out the sequence

14. Prototyping
Prototype = working model of one or more aspects of the new system
Constructed to test or validate understanding or assumptions
Prototyping integral to agile methods such as JAD, RAD, extreme programming
Types of prototyping:
Throw-away prototyping
Evolutionary prototyping
Prototyping definition – creating a prototype of parts of the system, typically user interface, simulated interaction or one or more functions. Main aim of the prototype is to encourage user involvement, hence buy-in, check understanding of requirements, gain feedback on suggested user interface design, assure customer of progress and project control.
Prototype process must include indication of why prototype is being produced, how evaluation will be carried out, what has been learned (from feedback and responses to feedback).
Prototyping methodologies include Joint Application Development (JAD), Rapid Application Development (RAD), extreme programming.
Characteristics of types of prototyping:
Throw-away- prototype developed for demonstration then discarded – feedback used to inform ongoing work. Usually “quick and dirty” development without underlying standards, functionality, target architecture. However, problems:
can lead to false expectations
can be temptation to develop the prototype, without having a good architecture behind it
difficult to control
Evolutionary – aims to counter above problems by developing prototypes using standards, target architecture: goes through iterations aimed at providing final system (cf DSDM). Iterative prototyping a better idea. Need more rigour when setting it up, i.e. host on destination servers, name files properly, project controls in place
Friedlein (2001) recommends T prototyping - breadth and depth with example path through site.
Disadvantages: users can misunderstand role of prototype, difficulty in controlling scope of changes suggested by user feedback, possible lack of project standards, additional expense? Need for clarity about what is being learned from the prototype. e.g. demo machine different specification from target machine.

15. Boehm Spiral
·Boehm’s (pronounced Beem) Spiral combines the Waterfall model with evolutionary prototyping to build up the understanding of the system requirements, then to design, build and test the system. At each cycle, risk analysis is conducted. Each cycle concludes with an evaluation.
Combines features of waterfall model, prototyping, and risk analysis
· Software development is viewed as a cyclic repetition of a sequence of steps
· Accumulated cost is represented by the radial dimension
· Progress on a task is represented by the angular dimension
Idea – identify the most risky areas first – e.g. most problematic sw, difficult to source images, problems with legal and copyright issues, getting the domain name,
Build a succession of prototypes to develop the requirements and design, then the system.
On each iteration, reassess the risks based on user reaction.
Cycles of design, build and test – each cycle based on requirements which give most benefit to client.
Advantages
Extremely realistic view of how large scale software systems are developed
Identifies, evaluates and reduces risks, tries to eliminate errors at early stages
Puts useful software into the hands of users
Valuable feedback provided by production use of prototypes
Work in parallel
Incremental building of successful small system to large one, good for complex and innovative projects
Variants exist for different types of project (see
Disadvantages:
Need for care when planning and controlling the cycles
Model easily misunderstood – provides more flexibility than needed for many projects
Lack of guidance in the cycle process
Need for experts to conduct risk analysis
For a reflection on the use of Boehm Spiral, see

16. PM methodologies Structured, e.g. PRINCE2, SSADM
Agile/Prototyping, e.g. RAD, DSDM
“Socio-technical” e.g. Soft Systems Methodology
Several methodologies – will look at two representing the extremes of the discipline
SSM – see Vidgen paper.

17. PRINCE2 Process Model
Process model

18. PRINCE2 Concepts PRINCE2 distinguishes between
Technical task of delivering products
Management aspects
Involvement of the End User (EU) throughout
Scopes projects using work breakdown structures and stages
Can be tailored to different types of project
PRINCE2 highlights and exploits the difference between the Technical task of delivering products (which may include bought-in products) and the Management aspects (Organisation, plans and controls) of managing the technical task
PRINCE2 gives guidance on scoping projects by means of standard Product Breakdown Structures: and on controlling a project’s relationship with concurrent projects.
End User is given a formal role in approving each stage
PRINCE2 developed to manage large and complex projects

19. PRINCE2 Stages
Large project divided into stages to provide regular formal assessment points
Stages produce specific products
Exception reports if tolerances exceeded
Mid-stage and end-stage assessments
Stages end at key control points – project board gives approval to move onto next stage (
Within PRINCE2, a project is subdivided into Stages, identified in project plan, to provide regular, formal assessment points for senior management to monitor progress and control the project. Stages end at key control points. The number of stages is determined by the project board.
Stages are characterised by the production of specific products,e.g. specifications, segments of code, test results. As part of the management assessment process, Completeness and Quality of products are measured and controlled.
The method describes how a project is divided into manageable stages enabling efficient control of resources and regular progress monitoring throughout the project. The various roles and responsibilities for managing a project are fully described and are adaptable to suit the size and complexity of the project, and the skills of the organisation. Project planning is focused on delivering results, not just when the various activities on the project will be done.
Controls:
Project initiation meeting
Quality reviews
Update plans with actuals
Post-implementation review
Prepare highlight reports
Hold mid-stage and end-stage assessments
Project closure meeting
Project evaluation review
A typical stage might be one or more phase of the SDLC

20. Advantages and disadvantages of PRINCE2
Controlled and organised start, middle and end
Regular reviews Involvement stakeholders
Good communications channels
Disadvantages
Time-consuming?
Too complex for most developments
Expensive?
Controlled and organised start, middle and end
Regular reviews of progress against plan and Business Case
Involvement of management and stakeholders
Good communications channels between project, project management and rest of organisation
But – time-consuming?
Too complex for most developments
Expensive?

21. Agile methods Acknowledge need for flexibility
Focuses on keeping code simple, testing often, delivery of components as soon as they are ready
Client approval as project progresses
Take into account the way teams work
Emphasis on communication and collaboration
Methods to control software application development
– agile development methods and philosophy
- Crystal collects together self-adapting family of "shrink-to-fit," human-powered software development methodologies based on these understandings:
Every project needs a slightly different set of policies and conventions, or methodology.
The workings of the project are sensitive to people issues, and improve as the people issues improve, individuals get better, and their teamwork gets better.
Better communications and frequent deliveries communication reduce the need for intermediate work products.
Extreme programming Extreme Programming is a discipline of software development based on values of simplicity, communication, feedback, and courage. It works by bringing the whole team together in the presence of simple practices, with enough feedback to enable the team to see where they are and to tune the practices to their unique situation.

22. Dynamic System Development Model
Developed from Rapid Application Development methodology
Most project methodologies deliver functionality at expense of timescale and cost
DSDM prioritises functionality to meet timescale and cost (MoSCoW) (
Aspect of Rapid Application Development.
Needs: planning
People management skills
Proper documentation
Proper procedures

23. The project process has five phases: Feasibility Study, Business Study, Functional Model Iteration, Design and Build Iteration and finally Implementation in the working environment. These are preceded by the Pre-Project phase and end with the Post-Project phase making a total of seven DSDM phases.
The Pre-Project, Feasibility and Business Studies are done sequentially. They set the ground rules for the rest of development that is iterative and incremental and therefore they must be completed before any further work is carried out on a given project. How the three later phases overlap and merge is left to a particular project to decide. After the project has delivered the solution to the business problem or opportunity, the project team is disbanded and the Post-Project phase comes into play: this covers activities such as keeping the solution operating effectively and checking that the expected business benefits have been achieved.

24. Core techniques Time boxing MoSCoW prioritisation Modelling
Prototyping
Testing
Most essential are:
MoSCoW Prioritisation
Modelling
Timeboxing
User Involvement
Facilitation
Modelling will depend on type of project being conducted – any modelling tools can be used, bearing in mind that DSDM is a variation on RAD. Prototyping and testing are also important – prototyping is incremental with each stage signed off by customer and incremental delivery.

25. Time-boxing Overall project timebox 2-6 week timeboxes with stages:
Investigation
Refinement
Consolidation
Immovable end date
Prioritised requirements (MoSCoW)

26. DSDM - MoSCoW M = Must haves – critical to project success
S = Should haves – important but not critical
C = Could haves – could be left out with impacting on project
W = Won’t haves – can be left out and done later
The requirements of any DSDM project are prioritised using MoSCoW. The o's are there for fun but they could stand for 'on time' and 'on budget'. The MoSCoW rules provide the basis on which decisions are made over the entire project, and during any timebox.
Timeboxes are fixed; therefore, the deliverables from the timebox may vary according to the amount of time left. Essential work must be done - less critical work can be omitted. So the MoSCoW rules are applied.
Must Haves fundamental to the projects success o Should Haves important but the projects success does not rely on these Could Haves can easily be left out without impacting on the project o Won't Have this time round can be left out this time and done at a later date
A clear prioritisation is developed ensuring the essential work is completed within the given timeframe.

27. DSDM – Advantages and Disadvantages
Control
User involvement
Direction
Prototyping
Testing
Disadvantages
Buy-in by Organisation and people
New roles and processes - training
Need full application of principles
Knowledge and skills to apply
Suitability of project

28. Website development - Typical activities
Feasibility study/web strategy
Project initiation/assemble team
Project initiation document
Work planning (WBS, schedule, resources)
Define site requirements, characteristics
Use-case scenarios
Wireframe prototypes
Feasibility study - takes place before the project starts - business justification. May lead to:
Web strategy - often the case that a web site goes through several evolutions. Having a strategy, or a direction, helps to keep it on track.
Project initiation and specification - Uses info from feas std and web strat to deinf the project and its scope, and produce a specification - the requirements against which the we is to be built and tested. You can see a sample one at e-consultancy.com. Project initiation document contains statement of aim, objectives, estimates, initial plans,work allocation
Some projects introduce workflow
Determine site requirements: commercial, creative, technical, content
Architecture and design - WDIE - how you map content onto the web site, and what underlying functions are needed to make site work, e.g. credit, database query. Design the site structure: information, interactions and appearance
Plan content on each web page: produce or acquire content – wire frames

29. Plan site: architecture, functions, appearance Content
Content map
Plan and acquire content
Technical
Create/acquire supporting software
Infrastructure planning
Acquire and commission web server/ ISP agreement
Site test, launch and handover
Maintenance/update of site
Evaluation
Content – create/ acquire – digital rights, copyright, outsourcing
Programming - activities to provide web site functionality - data design, tech infrastructure, client/server side,web appls, integr with other systems, db mgt.
Obtain hardware to host the web site, configure server software, carry out capacity planning
Testing - is the site working (don’t deter visitors). Types of testing - functional testing (code), user acceptance/usability, scenario/load testing, security/penetration attack, copy proofing, operational (business model)
Ensure site works before launch, submit site to search engines, publicise.
Maintenance - keeps site up to date and operating correctly once it has been launched. Monitoring and evaluation - further development. Procedures for managing site updates – use of content management systems.
Maintain site – error fixes, keeping content up to date
Seek evaluation feedback from customer.

30. Intangibles:
Agree content format, sources, delivery dates for content providers
Capacity planning and server configuration
Security planning
Implement change control/content management
Determine site performance metrics
Determine maintenance types and schedule
Plan for evaluation
Deliverables aren’t just pieces of content, also include the decisions you make:
Most web project management activities are the same as for traditional information system development. The above are some activities which are specific to web development.
Web strategy – overall plan for the direction of the site, needed to guide upgrades or redevelopment. Focused on providing Return on Investment (ROI) for owning company.
Digital rights – ownership of digital content. Project manager may need to acquire/pay for rights to use certain content. Certain functions can be acquired from software vendors, e.g. secure payment systems
Content management – configuration management for web content. Many content management systems exist, some open source. Content management systems often include work flow designed to streamline content production and approval.
Performance monitoring – web administrator can use the web server log files to determine characteristics of visitors (e.g. number, time of day visiting site, client browsers), robustness of site, average and peak site traffic. This information is used to inform decisions about maintenance and site upgrade.

31. Current ideas for website development
Often combination of Waterfall and prototyping project life cycles, some working in parallel
“Agile” methodologies used for development
Workflow – borrowed from editing industries
Benchmarking – experience from previous projects, other web site developments
Need for experienced staff

32. Web project phases, work stages and deliverables
Preproduction
1. Project clarification
Project brief; outline budget and schedule
2. Solution definition
Consultancy recommendations
Project specification document
3. Project specification
Production
Content delivery plan; asset tracking mechanism; content preparation; storyboards
4. Content
5. Design and construction
Project milestones; change control documents
6. Testing, launch and handover
Testing; marketing initiatives; handover briefing and documentation
Example from Friedlein (2001)
Maintenance
7. Maintenance
Maintaining plan/SLA; training and development
Evaluation
8. Review and evaluation
Project review; site performance analysis
From Friedlein (2001)

33. To appreciate some of the problems of planning for web site development:
Read Vidgen paper (hand-out) – for discussion next week.
Have a go at producing a plan, based on current knowledge. Choice – groups to plan technical content, groups to plan presentation, groups to plan logistics (naming, maintenance etc)

34. Activity planning Why we plan the development activities
Creating a project schedule
Work breakdown structure
Gantt chart
How do you produce plans
Have a go
Two tools……
Assume you are planning the activities – have chosen a methodology and life cycle – these will add tasks into plan.
Plan as set of targets – with start and completion date for each activity (or window). Each activity linked with a deliverable, whether it is tangible (artefact, plan) or intangible (decision).
May go through several drafts in planning stage
Why we do it
Take end date and budget into account
Make sure resources will be available when required
Avoid different activities competing for same resource
Indicate who will be doing what
Produce detailed plan against which actual achievement can be measured
Replan project during its life to correct drift from target
Accurate costings

35. Work breakdown structure
Reduces complexity by breaking work down into manageable parts
Helps identify main stages of work/reduces risk of forgetting stages
Ensures tasks happen in the right order
Reduces risk of repeating tasks

36. WBS Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 1st Activity 2nd Activity
3rd Activity
Decomposition
Break down by functions, physical components
Name for each activity
1st Task
2nd Task
3rd Task
4th Task
5th Task
6th Task

37. Gantt chart (Hentry Gantt, American engineer)
Shows WBS against a time axis
Shows duration of each task
Shows dependencies between tasks
Used to show when the project will finish
Used to monitor progress

38. GANTT CHART Activities Stage A Stage B Stage C Stage D Time Units C A
Last Update
Calendar date
Stage A C
Stage B
Stage C A
Stage D
Some characteristics of activities:
Duration
Deliverables
Resource requirement
Precedence
Working in parallel
In-house/outsourced
Critical path 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Time Units

40. Project management summary
Web development project activities
Some project management methodologies and life cycles
Ways of scheduling the work.