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10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis1 Software Project Planning © Ian Davis.

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Presentation on theme: "10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis1 Software Project Planning © Ian Davis."— Presentation transcript:

1 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis1 Software Project Planning © Ian Davis

2 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis2 Observations What do you want of a project manager –Someone who knows what will go wrong before it does. –The courage to estimate when the future is cloudy. –The ability to allocate resources to tasks effectively, so that tasks are completed on schedule. –Crisis do not happen!

3 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis3 In the words of Aristotle It is the mark of an instructed mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits, and not to seek exactness when only an approximation of the truth is possible...

4 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis4 The starting point How much is the customer willing to spend on this project How much time is the customer willing to allow between project initiation and completion. At a gut level is the project doable within the funding and time constraints.

5 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis5 Sanity checks How will restrictions on time or funding impact upon the quality of the results achieved by this project. Is the customer paying a lot for startup costs and short changing themselves on the end deliverables needlessly. How much flexibility is there likely to be in funding levels and or time. Can either be expressed as ranges.

6 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis6 Gross scheduling Identify the major activities which must be completed. Identify the constraints on start times of these activities. Balance the times for activities so that they fit into the schedule. Identify the critical paths. Use critical path analysis (PERT).

7 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis7 Sanity check At a gut/instinctive level do you feel equally comfortable [uncomfortable] with the times allocated for each of the gross activities. Raise a red flag if you feel at a gut level uncomfortable with schedule at this point. Have someone else independently do the same exercise. Did they identify the same gross activities. Were the relative times allocated for each in the same ballpark.

8 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis8 Observation Have not yet considered number of people allocated to any one gross activity. Why? The number of people allocated to a task is largely irrelevant when doing initial gross scheduling. A tasks will take a definable amount of time if it is assumed that the right number of people are assigned to complete this task. More or less people will only delay task. More, more so than less.

9 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis9 Subdivide gross activities Attach clear milestones/deliverables to each of the steps needed to complete a gross task/activity. Allow no more than 3 months between identifiable milestones with an activity. Does the schedule still seem doable when viewed in more detail?

10 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis10 Allocate resources to activities Identify who [or what type of individual if not yet hired] should undertake each of the gross activities. Avoid targeting individuals at one delayable activity, if they could usefully be involved in multiple concurrent activities. Try to allocate work to all individuals throughout lifetime of project. Sketch out probable division of time per person involved in project.

11 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis11 Sanity check Are there any glaring responsibilities which no one seems competent to assume: –Do you have people who can interact with the customer and the developers effectively. –Do you have people who ENJOY the challenge of the unknown. –Do you have people who ENJOY testing. –Do you have people who ENJOY technical writing. How do people feel about your schedule?

12 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis12 Funding Construct a spreadsheet: –Tabulate across top by each month of project. –Total by Quarter, by year, and by project. Tabulate down for each person in project: –Salary and overheads. –For each activity: Percentage of time spent on each activity. Actual cost (time spent * (salary+overhead)) Budgeted cost (established at start of project) Forecasted future costs (may be adjusted) Actual cost + forecasted future cost

13 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis13 Labour funding continued For each person: –Show total budget, actual, forecast and actual + forecast amounts. –Show cumulative values for budget, actual, forecast, and actual + forecast. For each activity: –Sum details derived from all people. For project: –Sum details derived from activities.

14 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis14 Other costs Types of cost: –Direct labour (Previously discussed) –Direct materials (paper/ink etc). –Special equipment (hardware used in project) –Capital expenses (things which are assets) –Travel & training (things which enrich staff) –Subcontracts (funds spent outside staff) –Support fee’s (equipment support costs) –Software costs (Software purchased) –Other (Slush fund)

15 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis15 Tracking costs For each type of cost track: –Budgeted cost, actual cost, forecasted cost, actual+forecasted cost. –Actual costs should be supported by receipts. –Need to track equipment/software over project. Show cumulative totals for these values. Sum these costs to derive budget for project. Divide total cost among independent participants in project.

16 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis16 Sanity check Budgeted labour costs should not exceed 90% of funding allocated to project. Budgeted costs derived from project costs.. not from funds available for project. This provides a sanity check on funds allocated for overall project. Process may iterate, until balance achieved between requirements, resources and funds.

17 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis17 Sample breakdown (Percentage of total budget) Actual –0.8507 Labour –0.0673 Equipment –0.0282 Travel –0.0252 Support fees –0.0013 Material –0.0000 Subcontracts –0.0000 Capital –0.9727 Total Budgeted –0.8721 Labour –0.0650 Equipment –0.0295 Travel –0.0322 Support fees –0.0011 Material –0.0000 Subcontracts –0.0000 Capital –1.0000 Total

18 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis18 Tools Managing resources and activities: –Microsoft Project (Gantt charts) –Timeline (much like Microsoft Project) –Others Accounting for expenditures –Excel –Others Timesheets –Either

19 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis19 Mathematical formulae E = [LOC * B 0.333 / P] 3 * t -4 –E = Effort in person months/years –t = Duration of project months/years –B = Skills factor 0.16 for 5k-15k LOC 0.39 for > 70k LOC –P = Productivity parameter 2000 real time embedded control system 10000 systems software 28000 application software

20 10/25/1999(c) Ian Davis20 Mathematical formulae How accurate are the mathematical inputs –They seem ad-hoc and arbitrary How much faith do you put in the output –Probably very little How easy are the results to defend –Probably indefensible Will your staff understand them –No Will staff have confidence in them –No


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