Research

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Research Development Project

• Week 3
• Planning Your Project

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Session Objectives

• The purpose of this presentation is to
• Discuss the project timescale,
• Indicate some of the milestones during the
  timescale of the project
• Offer some tools and methods which may help in
  project planning.

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Menu

• Project Planning Management Overview
• Structure of The Year
• Tools Techniques for Planning
• Tools Techniques for Managing
• The Project File

NOTE As this presentation is very lengthy,
sections have been hyperlinked for ease so that
you can jump straight to them.
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Project Planning and Management

• An Overview

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Project Elements

• In any project, the following elements need to be
  managed
• Time This is finite. In your case it is 300
  hours.
• Cost For most of the time, in your case this is
  not a concern. However, you will incur printing
  costs, possibly software costs, reading
  materials. Etc.
• Quality The appropriateness or
  fitness-for-purpose of the end-product.
• Scope The breadth of the end-product. What it
  achieves, its limits and its overall worth.
• Resources The elements needed in order for the
  project to be successfully completed.

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Project Planning Management

• The purpose of Project Planning is to work out
  how you will deploy these five elements
• The purpose of Project Management is to ensure
  that your planning is effective and is kept
  on-track

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What is Project Planning ?

• Project Planning is the process of mapping out
  in advance what is to be done.
• There are six main features
• Breakdown of work into subtasks
• Estimating Time for these subtasks
• Identifying Milestones
• Sequencing of Activities
• Scheduling of Activities
• Adjusting and Replanning

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What is Project Management?

• Project Management is the control that you exert
  over the project during its execution.
• There are five main features
• Keeping Project Logs
• Monitoring Making Evaluations
• Assuring Quality
• Monitoring Dealing with Slippage
• Establishing Change of Control (where
  necessary)

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The Structure of the Year
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The Stages of a Project

• Definition deciding on your project getting it
  approved
• Planning identifying how to approach the work
• Initiation sorting out a routine
• Control ensuring that the project is on track
• Closure preparing a final report, and
  demonstrating the results.

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A Systems Approach

• The approach adopted in this module attempts to
  model how a project would be tackled in a real
  context.
• This normally occurs as a cycle of
• analysis-proposal-development-testing-evaluation
  report.

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Sequencing the Project
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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1. Introductory Phase
The Introductory phase you are in currently is
where you simply gather together information in
order to understand the problem. This culminates
in the Basic TOR
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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2. Planning Phase
The Planning Phase leading up to The NLA is
simply a part where you have gathered basic
information, and are beginning to map out what
you will actually do.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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3. Research Phase
The Research Phase leading up to the Literature
Review is where you investigate what has been
done previously, and ideas for your project begin
to be consolidated.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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Design Phase
The Design Phase leading up to the Design Study
is where you refocus and now specify exactly what
you are going to do
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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Development Phase
The Development Phase is where you actually
undertake the work you have planned according to
the designs you have stipulated.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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Testing Evaluation
After the Development Phase, you will need to
carry out some testing and/or evaluation in order
to assure that the product is both valid and
reliable.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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6. Reporting Phase
The Final Phase asks you to put together a
written report, and present it to all parties
concerned.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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Iteration of the Phases
After completing one cycle, the developer would
normally engage in further cycles of design,
development testing.
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Product Evaluation
Product Testing
Design Proposal
Product Development
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The Main Activities
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Your Project

• From this point onwards every element of what you
  do potentially contributes to your project.
• This will involve negotiating, researching,
  learning new skills, designing, developing and
  testing materials, and writing documentation
  reports.
• In order to do this successfully, the projected
  must be planned and managed effectively.

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Starting Your Planning

• The NLA section 2 is at the heart of all your
  subsequent planning.
• If you get this right, most of the rest will
  follow.
• You will need to consider ALL of the elements
  that you will undertake over the course of the
  next academic year.

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Identifying Activities

• It is essential to break down the project into
  sections and subsections. Section 2 of your NLA
  gives you 7 broad headings
• Meetings Consultations
• Planning, Monitoring Evaluation
• Background Research
• Literature Review of the Current Situation
• Skill Enhancement
• Design Study
• Project Execution Implementation

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Further Activities

• To these headings we can add the following
• Product Testing Evaluation
• Reporting
• These nine activities now encapsulate all of the
  main sections of the project, and the essential
  core of what needs to be done.

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1 Meetings Consultations

• You will need to meet and consult with
• your supervisor, to agree the details of the
  project, to plan and to ensure that what you
  produce meets the course specifications.
• the client/sponsor, to ensure that you have all
  the data that you need, and that what you are
  producing meets expectations.
• other students to ensure that you are on track,
  well-focused and that the ideas are feasible and
  the product is viable.

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2 Planning, Monitoring Evaluation

• You will need to create a coherent system of
  project planning, a method of monitoring, and an
  evaluation at the end, to determine what has
  worked effectively.
• There should be an overall strategy which maps
  out what you will do over the course of the year,
  how the whole fits together, and the purpose of
  each element within it The Master Plan
• There should be some method of day-to-day
  recording what occurs, with a reflective account
  of how closely the plan is being followed.
• There will also be an evaluation of the extent to
  which you have achieved what you set out to do.

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3. Background Research

• You will need to find out all that you can about
  the topic - what has been done previously in the
  area of your topic, and how this has been carried
  out.
• Much of this is a Search of the available
  Literature, either in the library or on the
  internet.
• However, it is potentially much broader you may
  need to consult with tutors, read newspapers,
  join on-line communities and post messages on
  bulletin boards.
• You will need to position yourself so that you
  are at the forefront of knowledge in your chosen
  field.

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4 Literature Review

• This will be a well-written 3000-word summary of
  what you have discovered as a result of your
  researches.
• It will be written in clear sections, with all
  statements justified and evidence supplied for
  all claims.
• Sources should be referenced clearly within the
  text.
• A Bibliography will be supplied which is recent,
  relevant and extensive.

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5. Skill Enhancement

• You will need to develop new skills in order to
  complete your project.
• Some of these skills may well relate to
  particular technologies or to particular pieces
  of software, either learning them from scratch
  or enhancing already-existing skills.
• Other skills may be related to the methodology of
  your study interviewing, questionnaire design,
  statistical analysis etc.
• Further skills may even relate to your personal
  development negotiating with professionals,
  communication skills and organisational
  capabilities.

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6 Design Study

• You will need to create project designs,
  prototypes mock-ups. These designs will be
  part-written, part visual.
• There should be an overall design structure which
  shows how the whole fits together, and the
  purpose of each element within it A Product
  Specification
• There may be some items which are produced in
  order to establish the look feel of the
  finished product
• There could be some items produced to establish
  principles, methods and demonstrate proof of
  concept

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7 Project Execution Implementation

• At some point, the discussion, planning and
  design stops, and you will need to actually carry
  out the project.
• When that time comes you should be absolutely
  clear upon what is needed, what the various
  elements are, how long each task is likely to
  take, and how each task enmeshes with all the
  other tasks

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8. Testing Evaluation

• After the development work has been completed,
  you should test the applications to see that all
  elements function appropriately, and evaluate
  whether they are fit for purpose.
• In Testing, you should devise a testing scheme
  whereby you systematically check every feature
  for all possible responses.
• In Evaluating you should ask a potential user to
  use the software in a realistic task, observe
  their actions and ask them to comment on the
  software.

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9 Reporting

• There are two essential elements to the written
  reporting
• A Final Written Report to be submitted.
• Your Project File
• In addition there is a Viva, consisting of
• A Walkthrough of the finished product
• A reflective account of the process
• You may decide to add another element
• Report to the client

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Tools Techniques for Planning
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Planning Tools

• There are four essential tools that can be used
  in the planning process
• Work Breakdown Structures
• Milestone Identification
• Activity Sequencing
• Scheduling

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Work Breakdown

• The secret to good management is the ability to
  break the project down into smaller activities,
  specifying clearly what is required for each
  activity.
• Two examples are given here
• one which is a top-level down approach, using a
  tree diagram Work Breakdown Structure
• The other is a more informal, organic breakdown
  of a proposed application

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Work Breakdown Structure
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Informal Breakdown Structure
Web-Pages for advertising Marketing
Initial Query Form
Customer Database
This proposed system is designed for use in a
small plumbing repairs installation
company. This example simply shows the elements
of the application to be developed.
Quotation Brief
Completed Quotation
Schedule of Jobs Costings
Bill for work carried out
Payment Records
Receipts
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Tasks Subtasks

• Typically, all major tasks should be between 5
  and 25 of the project
• Try to break down all major tasks into subtasks
• These subtasks should be subdivided further where
  possible.

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Milestones

• Some of the tasks in the work breakdown structure
  should be your milestones
• These should correspond to some of your project
  objectives, and possibly your deliverables.
• Apart from the completion of the project itself,
  you should identify five or six separate
  milestones.

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Milestone Identification
This list of activities gives a title and a brief
description of each activity attempting to
capture what is needed for each one.
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Estimating the Time

• It is easier to estimate time for small tasks
  than it is for larger tasks
• Each activity should be allotted a specific
  amount of time in order for it to be completed.
• This is a bit like budgeting. Activities should
  be given enough time to ensure that they are
  completed in time for the next activity
• Each Activity should be allocated a start
  finish date.

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Allocating Time Starting Point

• Projected Outcomes
• Investigating Current System 5 hrs
• Enhance Excel Skills 10 hrs
• Develop Accounting Knowledge 30 hrs
• Initial Designs 20 hrs
• Product Creation 30 hrs
• Testing/Evaluation 8 hrs
• Training 3 hrs
• Total 106 hrs

• Projected Outcomes
• Here a project is very simply broken down into
  the different tasks needed to achieve the
  project.
• These are given a number of hours
• Some of these will need to be further broken down
  into sub-targets.

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Time Allocation Example
There are several ways of allocating time. This
could be a number of days or a number of hours.
In the example above, start and end dates have
been identified.
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Project Tasks Target-Setting

• There are many other ways of doing the same
  thing. You should choose the method you feel most
  comfortable with.

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Project Tasks Target-Setting
Here is a very detailed completion of the Project
Tasks and Target-Setting Proforma.
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Project Tasks Target-Setting

• Ideally you should have have about 6-12 tasks,
  and have allocated around 200 hours in total.
• This allows for the time spent already on your
  NLA, and builds in some spare time for when
  things go wrong.

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Determining the Sequence

• Some of these activities can be started
  immediately
• Some activities will need to wait until previous
  activities have been completed.
• An Activity Diagram can help to work out a viable
  sequence of activities.

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Quotation and Billing System Activity Planning
Diagram
Construct Quotation Forms
Write Quotation Forms Macros
Design Database Forms
Construct Query Form
Write Queries Macros
Construct Customer Database
Test System
Connect Customer Jobs Database
Decide on TOR
Design Job Schedule
Construct Job Schedule
Construct Payments Database
Design Payment Records
Write Macros to Update Billing Receipts
Construct Billing Receipts
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Activity Diagrams

• These diagrams are mainly used where several
  people are working on tasks simultaneously.
• However, they are still useful where one person
  is carrying out the tasks, as they help identify
  where activities can run simultaneously, or need
  to run sequentially

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Scheduling Activities.

• Finally, all the activities need to be scheduled
  in one overall plan.
• One way of doing this is to use a Gantt Chart.
• There are many different formats for Gantt
  Charts. In essence they display in a neat visual
  format exactly when the activities are to be
  carried out.

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Extract from the NLA

• Proposed Timetable
• You were asked to fill this out using the
  Timetable of Events.
• This could now be used as a basis for the Gantt
  Chart, showing where and when the tasks will be
  done.

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Scheduling Activities - Gantt
Investigate Firewall Technology
Source Firewall Kit
Write Literature Review
Milestone 1
Design Firewall
Develop Firewall
Teat Firewall
Milestone 2
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
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Simple Gantt Chart

• This is a very simple version used to allocate
  time and to take account of changes.

Weeks
Time allocated in hours
Task Names from AP5
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Gantt Chart

• This is a simple version used to allocate time
  and to take account of changes

• In the week beginning 15th March there will be
  three tasks
• Action Planning (1hr)
• Product Design (4 hrs)
• Product Creation (6 hrs)

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Gantt Chart Including Targets
This is a different version of the Gantt Chart
which includes Task Activity Descriptions
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Gantt Chart Scheduling
Here is yet another version of a Gantt Chart.
Instructions on how to use this chart are
included in the software. You can use any tools
which achieve the equivalent results.
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Gantt Chart Requirements

• This should show the same information as the
  Tasks and Subtasks. Total time allocated for each
  task must agree with this.
• Project Tasks must be sequential (e.g. ensuring
  design stage completed before beginning to create
  the project )
• Weekly time allocations must be sensible (i.e.
  should be around 8 10 hours per week)
• In your planning you should take account of your
  other University work deadlines.

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Adjusting Replanning

• When you have completed your planning you will
  find that the plans will simply not work.
• You will end up with activities out of sequence,
  you will overload yourself in one week, have
  major gaps, too many deadlines coinciding.
• You will need to cut your cloth accordingly,
  making decisions on how much time you can afford
  to spend on activities, and possibly cutting down
  what you plan to do, until it all fits together
  and works.

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Tools Techniques for Managing
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Managing The Project

• Good management rests on Good Record Keeping, and
  a clear sense of purpose.
• If you are to succeed in this project, it is
  imperative that you maintain a weekly or
  fortnightly record of your activities, that you
  record what your intentions are, and then
  afterwards, evaluate whether or not you have
  achieved what you set out to do.

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Project Logs

• A project Log is simply a record of what has been
  done during a particular period of time.
• It could be daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly,
  or even related to a particular phase of the
  project.
• It is up to you to decide on the timescale and
  the format for your project log.

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Project Log Example
This is one example of what a Project Log might
look like.
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The Log Principles

• You should
• Keep the log on a regular basis for a specific
  period of time.
• State in advance what you will do in that time,
  giving specific targets, and allocating a number
  of hours for the task.
• After the activity, record what happened
  whether the activity was completed, whether it
  took longer or shorter than the time predicted.
• Give an evaluation of the outcome whether this
  achieved the targets set and to what extent and
  why.

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Evaluating

• It is important that you provide critical
  evaluations of the work that you are doing as you
  go along. This can be done at the end of each
  week.

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Assuring Quality

• There are several mechanisms built in to this
  module in order to assure quality of your
  deliverables.
• Formal Project Reviews require you to undertake a
  review with a supervisor at four points in the
  year, and obtain feedback on your progress.
• Quality Assurance Walkthroughs are conducted by a
  reciprocal arrangement with another student.
• You should also build in some testing and/or
  evaluation of your final product.

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Quality Assurance Walkthroughs

• Quality Assurance Walkthroughs will take place at
  three points in the year.
• You will be expected make reciprocal arrangements
  to conduct these with another student who will
  comment on your work in a structured manner.
• These will have a specific agenda and focus
  determined by you. Read the QA section of the
  module handbook for more details.

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Dealing With Slippage

• From time to time, your activity completion will
  become out of step with your planning, and you
  will slip behind schedule.
• You will need to deal with this by redrawing your
  Gantt Chart to take account of this slippage.

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Change of Control

• In exceptional cases, it may be that as the
  project progresses, it becomes clear that what
  you had agreed to produce is not viable or
  relevant in the form you had originally
  specified.
• You may therefore need a Change of Control. This
  will be a restatement of your original Terms of
  Reference to0 incorporate new features, or to
  refocus the project. This will need the approval
  of your supervisor.

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Choosing Your Tools

• The choice of which tools to use to do the
  planning and managing is yours you could go with
  some very straightforward ones, or you could make
  this as complex as you like.
• Good grades will be obtained for high quality and
  clear planning however, please be aware that the
  more complex the planning, and the more
  sophisticated the tools, the more work that you
  are creating in managing the process, and it
  becomes less likely that you will be able to
  sustain it throughout the year.
• In particular, your Gantt Chart is crucial in
  this regard. You must choose a form which is easy
  to modify in order to take account of slippage.

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The Project File
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Your Project File

• You will need an A4 Lever Arch File to contain
  all of the materials that you collect over the
  course of the year.
• This needs to have dividers, and possibly
  subdividers.
• The file will be handed in at the end of the
  year, and is evidence of your project planning
  management..

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Possible File Contents

• Negotiated Learning Agreement
• Project planning and monitoring documentation
• Project Log
• Background information
• Documentation for results of Project Reviews
• Documentation for results of Quality Assurance
  Reviews
• Specimens of documents collected during
  investigation
• Records of interviews, meetings etc.

• Correspondence
• Evidence of skill development
• Designs for the Project
• Examples of Research Instruments
• Notes to the file
• Raw data preliminary analysis
• Draft product documentation
• Research findings
• Investigations undertaken to explore ideas.
• Product testing Evaluation
• Annotated bibliography

Items in BOLD should be included.
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Marking Your File

• At the end of your project, Your Project File
  will become the evidence base on which you will
  be awarded a grade (weighting 30) on how you
  have conducted the Research Process.

Marking Criteria The extent to which you have
managed the entire process, using the resources
available, making effective use of meetings,
monitoring and evaluating your own work, and
documenting the process effectively.
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Obtaining Good Grades

• The Planning Section of your NLA will be used to
  judge the extent to which you have extended and
  enhanced your understanding of Project Management
• You are expected to select the most appropriate
  (but not necessarily the most complex) tools for
  the job.
• Utilising these tools effectively throughout the
  project will potentially allow you to score much
  higher grades.

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When should I start my File?

• NOW!
• You should begin this file as soon as possible.
  It will be one of the elements addressed in your
  first Project Review.

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Further Reading

• Dawson, C.
• The Essence of Computing Projects
• Chapters 3 5
• This discusses in some detail what is required.

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Effective Planning Management

• In summary, this will normally involve
• Identifying activities which need to be carried
  out breaking these down into smaller tasks
• Specifying what exactly is required in each case,
  by use of clear targets.
• Determining the sequence in which activities will
  occur with estimates the time needed to complete
  each of the activities
• Producing a schedule of events.
• Carrying out the tasks in the timescale specified
• Creating a Log of Activities and Evaluating
  outcomes.
• Creating Mechanisms for Quality Assurance
• Where the reality and the planning do not
  coincide, making modifications to the original
  planning.

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Confused?

• This week is the first time that you are really
  on your own, with no clear guidance (but lots
  of advice).
• This is deliberate.
• In this presentation, you have heard about
  project planning and management, and some
  suggestions for how to carry this out.
• It is now up to you to choose how to do this for
  your particular project.
• There is no right and wrong answer here. You
  must do the best you can for your project, in the
  time available and with the level of expertise
  and understanding you possess.