Introduction to Computer Science

1
(No Transcript)
2
Objectives

• Explain the elements of project management and
  the responsibilities of a project manager
• Describe how the UP disciplines of business
  modeling and environment relate to the inception
  phase
• Describe the project management activities that
  are done during the inception phase 
• Develop a project schedule using a work breakdown
  structure (WBS) and PERT and Gantt charts

3
Objectives (continued)

• Use Microsoft Project to build the project
  schedule
• Perform a risk analysis of potential project
  risks 
• Develop a cost/benefit analysis using net present
  value calculations
• List the key deliverables and activities of the
  end of the inception phase 
• Discuss three techniques for monitoring and
  controlling a system development project

4
Overview

• Unified Process (UP) development methodology
• Consists of phases, iterations, and disciplines
• Provides framework for project definition and
  execution
• Project management critical support discipline
• Project Management prominent in inception phase
• Tasks include monitoring and controlling projects
  

5
Project Management

• Development project artifacts (products)
• Development of a new software system
• Enhancement or upgrade of an existing system
• Integration of software into existing environment
• Projects constrained by schedule and resources
• Project novelty presents great challenges
• Different products are produced
• Different activities required for varying
  schedules
• Different resources are used

6
Project Success Factors

• Development projects produce software systems
• Projects are wide ranging
• Simple Web sites
• Implementation of real-time business applications
• Issues complicating project management
• Sophisticated business needs
• Changing technology
• Integrating OS, support programs, and new
  systems
• Project success rate very low 28 percent as of
  2000

7
The Role of the Project Manager

• Project manager coordinates project development
• Specifications in a detailed plan at project
  inception
• Activities that must take place
• The deliverables that must be produced
• Resources needed
• Project manager accountable for success or
  failure
• Project manager has internal/external
  responsibilities
• Many career paths lead to project management

8
Figure 3-1 Various Roles of Project Managers
9
Project Management Knowledge Areas

• The Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Professional organization promotes project
  management
• PMI provides extensive support material and
  training
• Defines specialists body of knowledge (BOK)
• PMBOK organized into nine knowledge areas
• PMBOK principles to be applied to iteration
  activities 

10
Project Management within the Unified Process

• Project management is a support business
  discipline
• Project management tasks prominent at inception
• Other important disciplines of inception phase
• Business modeling
• Environment
• Requirements
• Design

11
Figure 3-2 UP Phases and Iterations with
Disciplines
12
The Unified Process and the Inception Phase

• Inception phase of the UP has (5) objectives
• Identify the business need for the project
• Establish the vision for the solution
• Identify scope of the new system and the project
• Develop preliminary schedules and cost estimates
• Develop the business case for the project
• Inception phase may be completed in one iteration

13
Business Modeling and the Inception Phase

• Primary purpose understand business needs
• Chief activities
• Understand the business environment
• Create the system vision
• Create business models
• Business modeling interwoven with requirements

14
Understanding the Business Environment

• Objective understand project operational context
  
• Initial document statement of business problem
• Two follow-up activities
• Considering needed interfaces to other systems
• Evaluating existing architecture
• Criticality of performing stakeholder analysis
• Stakeholders people with an interest in the
  system
• Users, sponsors and support staff

15
The Stakeholders for Rocky Mountain Outfitters

• Identify all of the stakeholders
• Most important executive stakeholders
• RMO project sponsor VP William McDougal
• Executive stakeholders John and Liz Blankens
• Other stakeholders
• Operational users such as sales reps and mail
• Warehouse workers
• Technical staff

16
Figure 3-5 Sample Stakeholder Analysis Form for
RMO
17
Creating the System Vision

• Purpose justify strategic importance of new
  system
• Clear vision statement includes (3) essential
  pieces
• Precisely specified objective(s)
• Concrete (dollar value) benefits tailored to
  sponsors
• System capabilities meeting objective(s)
• Project charter defines need, objective,
  benefits, scope
• System vision
• Statement of business need
• Stakeholder analysis form

18
Figure 3-6a Objectives, Business Benefits, and
System Capabilities
19
Figure 3-6b Objectives, Business Benefits, and
System Capabilities
20
Creating Business Models

• Three major areas normally require business
  models
• Business events
• Business processes
• Information repositories and flows
• Business models tied to system requirements
• Model format and rigor vary with each project

21
Environment and the Inception Phase

• Discipline concerned with development environment
  
• Several activities are included
• Select and configure the development tools
• IDEs and CASE
• Tailor the UP development process
• Defining the rigor of a project
• Provide technical support services

22
Figure 3-7 Sample Criteria for Defining Rigor of
Project Controls
23
Finalizing the System and Project Scope

• System scope defines capabilities of new system
• Project scope describes how project is to be
  built
• Provides disposition toward staff training
• Provides data conversion information
• Sets parameters for quality control
• System scope is part of the larger project scope
• Essential use case model helps delineate scope
• Essential use case list attached to the project

24
Figure 3-8 System Scope and Project Scope
25
Figure 3-9 Sample Essential Use Case List for RMO
26
Developing the Project and Iteration Schedule

• Development team sets schedule for project and
  iterations
• Tasks involved in scheduling
• Develop the work breakdown structure (WBS)
• Develop the schedule
• Develop resource requirements and staffing plan

27
Developing the WBS

• Two general approaches for building a WBS
• By deliverable timeline
• By a sequential timeline
• Four techniques for identifying WBS tasks
• Top-down Identify major activities first
• Bottom-Up List all tasks first and organize
  later
• Template Use standard template of tasks
• Analogy Copy tasks of similar completed project

28
Developing the Schedule

• Project schedule orders all activities and tasks
• Building the schedule
• Identify dependencies between the tasks on WBS
• Estimate the effort that each task will require
• Dependencies identify related tasks
• Finish-start relationships
• Start-start relationships
• Finish-finish relationships
• Scheduling tool Microsoft Project

29
Entering the WBS into MS Project

• Two types of charts used to show project schedule
• PERT/CPM chart
• Gantt chart
• Charts show same information in different formats
• Key metrics
• Critical path
• Slack time, or float
• Milestones

30
Figure 3-11 Entering the WBS Into MS Project
31
Figure 3-13 Gantt Chart of RMOs Inception
Iteration
32
Develop the Resource Requirements and the
Staffing Plan

• Core team members very active in inception
  iteration
• Most early tasks are project management
  activities
• MS Project allows several ways to input resource
  information
• Formula for effort Effort Duration x Persons

33
Figure 3-16 Entering Resources for the Scheduled
Tasks
34
Identify Project Risks and Confirm Project
Feasibility

• Feasibility analysis verifies project viability
• Activities used to evaluate a projects
  feasibility
• Assess the risk to the project (risk management)
• Determine the organizational/cultural feasibility
• Evaluate the technological feasibility
• Determine the schedule feasibility
• Assess the resource feasibility
• Perform cost/benefit (economic) analysis

35
Assessing the Risks to the Project (Risk
Management)

• Feasibility analysis also includes risk
  management
• Risk management identify potential trouble spots
  
• Organize potential problems in risk matrix
• Project manager bases two strategies on matrix
• Preventing the negative event
• Developing a contingency plan

36
Figure 3-17 Simplified Risk Analysis
37
Determining Organizational and Cultural
Feasibility

• Identify organizational and cultural risks
• Some potential human risks impacting new system
• Low level of computer competency among employees
• Perceived shifting of organizational power
• Fear of employment loss due to increased
  automation
• Reversal of long-standing work procedures
•  One way to counter risks training sessions

38
Evaluating the Technological Feasibility

• Staffing should have technological proficiency
• Solutions to problem are straightforward
• Provide additional training
• Hire consultants
• Hire more experienced employees
• Possibly alter scope and approach of the project
• Realistic assessments speedup corrective response

39
Determining the Schedule Feasibility

• Development of project schedule involves high
  risk
• Assumptions and estimates made without adequate
  information
• Adaptive projects very susceptible to schedule
  risks
• Project managers use milestones to evaluate pace
  and compensate for slippage
• Contingency plans help reduce the risk of slippage

40
Assessing the Resource Feasibility

• Human and other resources to assess
• Primary resource consists of team members
• Systems analysts, system technicians, users
• Support staff
• Computer resources and physical facilities
• Factors adversely impacting human resource
• Lack of required people skill sets
• Relocations or departures

41
Determining the Economic Feasibility

• Economic feasibility consists of two questions
• Does anticipated value of benefits exceed project
  costs?
• Is there adequate cash flow to fund the project?
  
• Cost/benefit analysis determines economic
  feasibility
• Developing cost/benefit analysis is a three-step
  process
• Estimate anticipated development and operational
  costs
• Estimate the anticipated financial benefits
• Subtract costs from benefits
• MS Project supports cost/benefit analysis

42
Figure 3-18 MS Project Showing Project Labor Costs
43
Figure 3-22 Net Present Value, Payback Period,
and Return on Investment for RMO
44
Completing the Inception Phase

• Inception activities are project foundation
• Summary of key deliverables of inception
• Project charter package
• Essential use case list
• Project schedule
• Cost/benefit analysis
• Project feasibility and risk analysis
• General scope and approach should be clearly
  defined
• Scope and essential use case lead to elaboration
  phase

45
Project Monitoring and Control

• Maintaining pace requires periodic adjustments
• Methods for overseeing UP phases
• Manage and control plan (schedule and
  deliverables)
• Manage and control internal/external
  communications
• Manage and control the risks and outstanding
  issues
• Schedules should balance flexibility with firm
  targets
• Project manager is communication gateway or nexus
• Project manager should maintain log of open issues

46
Summary

• Project management processes initiating,
  planning, monitoring, controlling, closing
• Project manager is liaison and project focal
  point
• Project Management Institute divides knowledge
  into nine major areas (PMBOK)
• Develop skills managing integration, scope, cost,
  quality, communication, human resources, risk,
  and procurement

47
Summary (continued)

• Unified Process (UP) methodology for software
  development
• UP basic premise software developed in
  iterations
• Iteration mini-project
• Four phases inception, elaboration,
  construction, and transition
• Phases include development activities, called
  disciplines

48
Summary (continued)

• Nine disciplines in UP
• Chief inception phase disciplines (1) business
  modeling (2) environment (3) project management
• After inception, project manager tracks and
  controls project