Project Tracking

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Project Tracking
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Questions...

• Why should we track a project that is underway?
• What aspects of a project need tracking?

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Reasons for Late Projects

• overly optimistic scheduling
• bad estimations during proposal or planning
• tardy identification of schedule and budget
  problems
• noticing too late that we are late
• tardy reactions to important events
• bad risk management

Galin page 401
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Solution to previously listed problems

1. better estimation
2. better project tracking
3. better project tracking

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Objectives of Project Tracking

• Short Term
• early detection of irregular events
• Long Term
• creation of preventive actions
• improvement of estimation accuracy

modified from Galin page 402
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What do we need to track?

• Project Schedule
• are we hitting the milestones on time
• what about the "critical path" milestones
• Risks
• what might happen
• how likely is the problem
• what can/should we do
• Resources
• Humans
• Budget

Galin section 20.1
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Key Aspects of Continuous Risk Management

• Identify Continually asking, what could go
  wrong?
• Analyze Continually asking, which risks are
  most critical to mitigate?
• Plan Developing mitigation approaches for the
  most critical risks
• Track Tracking the mitigation plan and the risk
• Control Making decisions based on data
• Communicate Ensuring a free-flow of information
  throughout the project

Carnegie Mellon SEI
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Example 1

• You notice that design, implementation, and
  testing of the database component is running
  about a week behind.
• Instead of one week for each of the three tasks,
  the database tasks will take a total of four
  weeks.
• However, the database can be a week late because
  it is not on critical path.
• Any potential problems?

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Example 2

• Task Testing the Database
• Estimated Duration
• 3 days
• Required Resources
• the database requirements specs
• the implementation (source code)
• real data from customer
• test person that has a DB Test certificate
• Any Special Scheduling / Tracking Issues?

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Example 3

• Initial Unit Testing reports indicate a bug rate
  of 4.5 / KSLOC.
• Should you be concerned?
• Further checking finds
• Average initial bug rate is 3.1 per KSLOC
• StdDev of 0.5
• weighted rate is also higher than average
• What actions should be taken?

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Example 4

• Well into development, you get an email
  indicating changes in the interface requirements
  are necessary based on a demo of the prototype
  done for the customer. The changes will require
  a good amount of recoding.
• Any SQA tasks necessary?

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How do we track projects?

• Use tools!!!
• a tool can track the critical path
• a tool can track the budget
• a tool can alert you to potential resource
  conflicts
• Status Reports
• both formal and informal

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And of course, Follow Up

• Audit the Tracking Procedures
• are we really seeing what is going on
• are the progress reports reporting the important
  info
• are we tracking what needs to be tracked
• are we talking to the right people

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CMM on Project Tracking

• "The purpose of Software Project Tracking and
  Oversight is to provide adequate visibility into
  actual progress so that management can take
  effective actions when the software project's
  performance deviates significantly from the
  software plans."
• Goals
• Actual results and performances are tracked
  against the software plans.
• Corrective actions are taken and managed to
  closure when actual results and performance
  deviate significantly from the software plans.
• Changes to software commitments are agreed to by
  the affected groups and individuals.

adapted from http//www2.umassd.edu/swpi/sei/tr25f
/tr25_l2c.html
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CMM on Project Tracking

• Ability to Perform
• A software development plan for the software
  project is documented and approved.
• The project software manager explicitly assigns
  responsibility for software work products and
  activities.
• Adequate funding and resources are provided for
  tracking the software project.
• The software managers are trained in managing the
  technical and personnel aspects of the software
  project.
• First-line software managers receive orientation
  in the technical aspects of the software project.

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CMM on Project Tracking

• Activities performed
• A documented software development plan is used
  for tracking the software activities and
  communicating status.
• The project's software development plan is
  revised according to a documented procedure.
• Software project commitments and changes to
  commitments made to individuals and groups
  external to the organization are reviewed with
  senior management according to a documented
  procedure.
• Approved changes to commitments that affect the
  software project are communicated to the members
  of the software engineering group and other
  software-related groups.
• The size of the software work products (or size
  of the changes to the software work products) are
  tracked, and corrective actions are taken as
  necessary.
• The project's software effort and costs are
  tracked, and corrective actions are taken as
  necessary.
• The project's critical computer resources are
  tracked, and corrective actions are taken as
  necessary.
• The project's software schedule is tracked, and
  corrective actions are taken as necessary.
• Software engineering technical activities are
  tracked, and corrective actions are taken as
  necessary.
• The software risks associated with cost,
  resource, schedule, and technical aspects of the
  project are tracked.
• Actual measurement data and replanning data for
  the software project are recorded.
• The software engineering group conducts periodic
  internal reviews to track technical progress,
  plans, performance, and issues against the
  software development plan.
• Formal reviews to address the accomplishments and
  results of the software project are conducted at
  selected project milestones according to a
  documented procedure.

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Costs of SQA
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Reality Check...

• Is all this QA work really worth the effort and
  costs,
• what are the benefits?
• what are the costs?
• and how do you prove it is worth it?

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What are the SQA Costs

• Contract Reviews
• SRS Reviews
• Design Reviews
• Code Walkthrough Checklists
• creating the checklists
• training people to use the checklists
• filling out the checklists
• reviewing the checklists data
• auditing the checklist process

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even more SQA Costs

• Tools o' Plenty
• progress tracking tool
• estimation and scheduling tools
• testing tools
• Metrics
• time spent creating forms and gathering the data
• time spent analyzing performance data
• Yadda yadda yadda
• etc
• etc
• etc

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but don't forget to ask

• What are the costs of not conducting SQA?
• accurate proposal accurate time estimate
  happier customer
• better SRS fewer changes to design
• better design easier to maintain
• better unit testing better beta test

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How much SQA is cost effective?
Costs
Software Quality
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How much SQA is cost effective?
Costs
b
Cost of SQA
a
Note b 2 x a B lt 2 x A
A
B
Software Quality
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How much SQA is cost effective?
SQA Failure
Costs
Cost of SQA
Cost of Failure
Software Quality
Optimal Quality Level
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How much SQA is cost effective?
SQA Failure
Initial Cost of SQA
Costs
Eventual Cost of SQA
Cost of Failure
Software Quality
Optimal Quality Level
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Real NumbersCost of Software Quality for 15
Projects at Raytheons Equipment Division
http//www2.umassd.edu/swpi/costmodeling/papers/sc
oqpap1.doc
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Next Time

• CMM
• characteristics of the five levels
• key practices
• practical ways to advance to the next level