1. CHAPTER 3: Managing the Information Systems Project
MSIS 5653 Advanced Systems Development Dursun Delen, Ph.D. Department of Management Oklahoma State University
CHAPTER 3:
Managing the Information Systems Project
1.1

2. Learning Objectives
Explain the process of managing an information systems project
Discuss skills required to be an effective project manager
Describe skills and activities of a project manager during project initiation, planning, execution and closedown
Explain Gantt and Pert charts
Review commercial project management software packages
3.2

3. Pine Valley Furniture Manufacturing Company
Established in early 1980s by Alex Schuster in the US
Product: High-quality wood furniture
Organized into functional areas
Manufacturing
Sales
Orders
Accounting
Purchasing
Moved from a manual IS to a computerized IS, and then converted to a database in 1990’s (three independent computer application systems were established)
>>>
3.3

4. Figure 3-1 Three computer applications at Pine Valley Furniture: Order Filling, Invoicing, and Payroll
3.4

5. Managing the Information Systems Project
Focus of project management
To ensure that information system projects meet customer expectations
Delivered in a timely manner
Meet budget constraints and requirements
Project Manager
Systems Analyst responsible for:
Project initiation
Planning
Execution
Closing down
3.5

6. Project Initiation Process at PVF

7. Project Managers Juggles Numerous Activities

8. Managing the Information Systems Project
Project Manager
Common Activities & Skills of a PM Include:

9. Project Management Process
Planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end
Four Phases
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closing down
3.9

10. 1. Initiating the Project
Establish project initiation team
Establish relationship with customer
Establish project initiation plan
Establish management procedures
Establish project management environment and workbook
3.10

11. 2. Planning the Project
Describe project scope, alternatives and feasibility
Scope and Feasibility
Understand the project
What problem is addressed
What results are to be achieved
Measures of success
Completion criteria
Divide the project into manageable tasks
Work breakdown structure
Gantt chart
Estimate resources and create a resource plan
Develop a preliminary schedule
Utilize Gantt and PERT charts
3.11

12. 2. Planning the Project (cont.)
Develop a communication plan
Outline communication processes among customers, team members and management
Determine project standards and procedures
Specify how deliverables are tested and produced
Identify and assess risk
Identify sources of risk & Estimate the consequences of risk
Create a preliminary budget
Develop a statement of work
Describe what the project will deliver and duration
Set a Baseline Project Plan
Estimate of project’s tasks and resources
3.12

13. 3. Executing the Project Execute Baseline Project Plan
Acquire and assign resources
Train new team members
Keep project on schedule
Monitor project progress
Adjust resources, budget and/or activities
Manage changes to Baseline Project Plan
Slipped completion dates
Changes in personnel
New activities
Bungled activities
Maintain project workbook
Communicate project status
3.13

14. 4. Closing Down the Project
Termination
Types of termination
Natural
Requirements have been met
Unnatural
Project stopped
Documentation
Personnel Appraisal
Conduct post-project reviews
Determine strengths and weaknesses of:
Project deliverables
Project management process
Development process
Close customer contract
3.14

15. Representing and Scheduling Project Plans
Gantt Charts
Useful for depicting simple projects or parts of large projects
Shows start and completion times/dates for individual tasks
PERT Charts (a.k.a. Project Network Diagrams)
Show order of activities (precedence relationships)
3.15

16. Figure 3-16 Graphical diagrams that depict project plans (a) A Gantt Chart (b) A PERT chart
3.16

17. Comparison of Gantt and PERT Charts
Visually shows duration of tasks
Visually shows time overlap between tasks
Visually shows slack time
PERT
Visually shows dependencies between tasks
Visually shows which tasks can be done in parallel
Shows slack time by data in rectangles
3.17

18. Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture
Project: Sales Promotion Tracking System
Steps
Step 1: Identify the activities
Requirements Collection
Screen Design
Report Design
Database Design
User Documentation
Software Programming
Installation and Testing
3.18

19. Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture
Steps …
Step 2: Determine the time estimates and expected completion times for each activity
3.19

20. Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture
Steps …
Step 3: Determine the sequence of activities
3.20

21. Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture
Gantt Chart
PERT Chart
3.21

22. Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture
Step 4: Determine critical path
The shortest time in which a project can be completed.
3.22

23. Example: CPM Calculations
Software development process
TASK
Time Required
(in weeks)
Immediate
Predecessors
A. Perform market survey 3 -
B. Design graphic icons 4 A
C. Develop process and logic flow 2
D. Design input/output screens 6
B, C
E. Module 1 coding 5 C
F. Module 2 coding
G. Module 3 coding 7 E
H. Module 4 coding
E, F
I. Merge modules and graphics 8
D, G, H

24. Example: CPM Calculations
Activity-on-Arrow Representation

25. Example 9.4 – Case (Cont.)
Activity-on-Node Representation

26. Finding the Critical Path
First, we need to compute four values:
ESi = Earliest starting time for activity i
EFi = Earliest finishing time for activity i
LSi = Latest starting time for activity i (without delaying the project)
LFi = Latest finishing time for activity i (without delaying the project)
ti = time required to complete activity i
EFi = ESi + ti and LSi = LFi – ti
Step 1: Compute the earliest times for each activity (by a forward pass through the network)
Step 2: Compute the latest times for each activity (by a backward pass through the network)

27. Finding the Critical Path (Cont.)
Step 1: Forward pass to calculate the Earliest Times
TASK
Time
Immediate
Predecessors ES EF A 3 - B 4 7 C 2 5 D 6
B, C 13 E 10 F 8 G 17 H
E, F 15 I
D, G, H 25
ESD = max(EFB, EFC) = max(7, 5) = 7
General rule: The earliest starting time of an activity is the maximum of the earliest finishing times of its immediate predecessors.
Project completion time

28. Finding the Critical Path (Cont.)
Step 2: Backward pass to calculate the Latest Times
TASK
Time
Immediate
Predecessors ES EF LS LF
Slack A 3 - B 4 7 11 C 2 5 D 6
B, C 13 17 E 10 F 8 9 12 G H
E, F 15 I
D, G, H 25
LFE = min(LSG, LSH) = min(10, 12) = 10
General rule: The latest finishing time of an activity is the minimum of the latest start times of its immediate successors.
Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF
Critical activities = A, C, E, G, I
Critical path = A-C-E-G-I

29. Finding the Critical Path (Cont.)
A. Perform market survey
B. Design graphic icons
C. Develop process flow
D. Design input/output screens
E. Module 1 coding
F. Module 2 coding
G. Module 3 coding
H. Module 4 coding
I. Merge modules and graphics
Gantt Chart allow us to answer questions like…
On what date should the merging of graphics and the programming modules begin in order to complete project on time?
Suppose that the completion of Module 2 is to be delayed by two weeks. Will this delay the completion of the project?
How about module 3?

30. Project Management Software
Many systems are available
Three activities required to use:
Establish project start or end date
Enter tasks and assign task relationships
Select scheduling method to review project reports
3.30

31. Summary Skills of an effective project manager
Activities of project manager
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closedown
Gantt and PERT Charts
Commercial Project Management Software
3.31

32. CHAPTER 4: Automated Tools for Systems Development
2.32

33. Learning Objectives Identify the trade-offs in using CASE tools
Describe organizational forces for and against adoption of CASE tools
Describe the role of CASE tools and how they are used to support the SDLC
List and describe the typical components of a comprehensive CASE environment
Describe the general functions of upper CASE tools, lower CASE tools, cross life-cycle CASE tools and the CASE repository
Describe visual and emerging development tools and how they are being used
4.33

34. Introduction Computer-aided Software Engineering (CASE)
Automated software tool used by systems analysts to develop information systems
Used to support and/or automate activities throughout the systems development life cycle (SDLC)
Increase productivity
Improve overall quality of systems
Purpose of CASE is to facilitate a single design philosophy within and throughout the organization
4.34

35. The Use of CASE in Organizations
CASE Tools may Support all SDLC Phases
4.35

36. The Use of CASE in Organizations
Objectives of CASE
Improve quality of systems developed
Increase speed of development and design
Ease and improve testing process through automated checking
Improve integration of development activities via common methodologies
Improve quality and completeness of documentation
Help standardize the development process
Improve project management
Simplify program maintenance
Promote reusability
Improve software portability
4.36

37. CASE and System Quality
Widespread deployment has been slower than expected
Several factors that inhibit widespread deployment
Cost
Between $5,000 and $15,000 per year to provide CASE tools to one systems analyst
Return on Investment
Biggest benefits of CASE come in late stages of SDLC
Productivity Bottlenecks
Inability of some tools to share information
Difficulty in providing tools for all stages of SDLC
4.37

38. The Outlook for CASE Functionality is increasing Cost is decreasing
Reverse Engineering Tools
Automated tools that read program source code as input and create graphical and textual representations of program design-level information
Reengineering Tools
Automated software that reads program source code, analyzes it and automatically or interactively alters an existing system to improve quality and/or performance
4.38

39. Driving and Resisting Forces for CASE
Driving Forces
(Table 4-3)
Shorter development time
Improved productivity
Improved quality
Improved worker skills
Improved portability
Improved management of the development process
Resisting Forces
(Table 4-4)
High cost of CASE tools
High cost of training
Low organizational confidence in IS dept.
Lack of standard methodologies within the organization
Viewing CASE as threat
Lack of confidence in CASE tools
4.39

40. Components of CASE Upper CASE Lower CASE Cross life-cycle CASE
CASE tools designed to support the information planning and the project identification and selection, project initiation and planning, analysis and design phases of the systems development life cycle
Lower CASE
CASE tools designed to support the implementation and maintenance phases of the systems development life cycle
Cross life-cycle CASE
CASE tools designed to support activities that occur across multiple phases of the systems development life cycle
4.40

41. Components of CASE
4.41

42. Components of CASE Types of CASE tools Security Features
Diagramming tools
Computer display and report generators
Analysis tools used to check for incomplete, inconsistent or incorrect specifications
A central repository
Documentation generators
Code generators
Security Features
Version Control
Import/Export
Backup and Recovery
4.42

43. CASE versus Traditional Systems Development
Traditional approach does not offer support for integration of specification documents
Often, documentation is done after coding is completed in traditional systems development
Traditional approach often leads to out- of-date documentation
4.43

44. CASE Diagramming Tools
Enable representation of a system and components visually
Effective for representing process flows, data structures and program structures
Several types of diagrams
Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)
Functional Hierarchy Diagrams
Entity-Relationship Diagrams
4.44

45. CASE Diagramming Tools
4.45

46. CASE Form and Report Generator Tools
CASE tools that support the creation of software system forms and reports in order to prototype how the systems will look and feel to end users once it is completed
Two Purposes
Create, modify and test prototypes of computer display forms and reports
Identify which data items to display or collect for each form or report
4.46

47. CASE Form and Report Generator Tools
4.47

48. CASE Analysis Tools
Enable automatic checking for incomplete, inconsistent or incorrect specifications in diagrams, forms and reports
Types of analyses vary depending on the organization’s development methodology
Out of balance data flow …
4.48

49. I-CASE & Repository Integrated CASE (I-CASE) Case Repository
Automated systems development environment that provides numerous tools to create diagrams, forms and reports
Provides analysis, reporting and code generation facilities
Seamlessly shares and integrates data across and between tools
Case Repository
Repository is the central place to store information to be shared between tools
Holds complete information needed to create, modify and evolve a software system from project initiation and planning to code generation and maintenance
4.49

50. CASE Repository
4.50

51. CASE Repository
4.51

52. CASE Repository Two Primary Segments 1. Information Repository
2. Data Dictionary
Combines information about an organization’s business information and its application portfolio
Provides automated tools to manage and control access to repository
Business Information
Data stored in corporate databases
Application Portfolio
Application programs used to manage business
4.52

53. CASE Repository 2. Data Dictionary
Contains all data definitions for all organizational applications
Cross referencing
Enables one description of a data item to be stored and accessed by all individuals
Single definition for a data item is established and used
Entries have a standard definition
Element name and alias
Textual description of the element
List of related elements
Element type and format
Range of acceptable values
Other information unique to the proper processing of this element
4.53

54. CASE Repository CASE Repository and the SDLC
During project initiation and planning phase, all information related to the problem being solved is stored in the repository
Problem domain, project resources, history and organizational context
During analysis and design phases, all graphical diagrams and prototype forms and reports are stored
Data structures and diagrams stored in repository can be used to generate code and documentation
4.54

55. CASE Repository Additional Advantages
Assistance with project management tasks
Facilitates in software reusability
The ability to design software modules in a manner so that they can be used again and again in different systems without significant modification
Types of reusability in IS?
Source code
Binary code
Functions
Objects
Application
4.55

56. CASE Documentation Generator Tools
Enable the easy production of both technical and user documentation
Allow creation of master templates used to verify that documentation conforms to all stages of SDLC
Impact of Documentation Quality on System Maintenance
4.56

57. CASE Code Generation Tools
Enable the automatic generation of program and database definition code directly from the design documents, diagrams, forms and reports stored in the repository
4.57

58. Visual and Emerging Development Tools
Object-Oriented Development Tools
Object
A chunk of program and data that is built to perform common functions within a system
Easily reused
Encapsulation
Process of grouping data and instructions together
Development environment includes pre-defined objects and facilitates reuse of code
4.58

59. Visual and Emerging Development Tools
Visual Development Tools
Enable developers to quickly create user interfaces
Popular tools include:
Microsoft Visual Studio
Delphi
Powerbuilder
ColdFusion
4.59

60. Summary Use of CASE in Organizations Categories of CASE Tools
Components of CASE
Upper CASE
Diagramming tools
Form and report generators
Analysis tools
Lower CASE
Code generators
Cross Life-cycle CASE
Project management tools
Repository and Data Dictionary
Visual and Emerging Development Tools
4.60

61. Assignment #3 Individual Assignment Team Assignment
Solve the problems 14 and 15 from Chapter 3:
In problem 14:
Draw a network diagram
Calculate the Earliest and Latest times
Determine the Critical Activities and the Critical Path
Team Assignment
Discuss the BEC Case questions at the end of Chapter 4 within your project team. Write a report (as a team) summarizing the answers of each question (resulted from your group discussions).
Assignments should be typed, professionally organized, and should have a cover page.