ISM 6121

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ISM 6121

• Managing Software Development Projects

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Project Management

• Process, Techniques and Tools

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What is Project Management?

• A project is something that is undertaken on a
  temporary basis for a predetermined goal
• Project Management
• application of knowledge
• skills, tools, and techniques
• to a broad range of activities in order to meet
  the requirements of a particular project.

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Why Project Management

• Standardizes routine tasks
• Reduces the number of tasks that might be
  forgotten
• Ensures that available resources are used in the
  most effective and efficient manner

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Project Management Phases

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Controlling
• Closing

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Project Management Phases

• Initiation/Defining
• Problem Statement
• Careful for Scope Creep (more later)
• Resource Identification
• Staff
• Tools
• Capital
• Risk Assessment
• Feasibility Analysis

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Project Management Phases

• Planning
• Identify Objectives and steps to complete
  objective (Work Breakdown Structure)
• Sequence Activities
• Order that WBS steps need to be done in
• Tools
• Network Diagrams, Gantt, Pert charts
• Estimate Time of Activities
• Critical Path
• Estimate Costs
• Guess
• Hey its better than nothing
• With experience might be OK
• Analogy
• Only as good as the analogy
• Theory/Formula
• Best approach????
• Write the Plan

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Project Estimate Example

• E (O 4M P)/6
• E Average task completion time
• O Optimistic time
• M Most likely time
• P Pessimistic time

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Project Management Phases

• Execution
• Do the project!
• Controlling
• Reporting

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Control Reports

• Variance Report
• Planned vs. Actual
• Status Report
• Where are we?
• How did we get there?
• Resource Allocation
• Whats being utilized

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Importance of Project Control
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Project Management Phases

• Closing
• Review Status of Project
• Release Project Resources

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Techniques

• Work Breakdown Structure
• PERT Chart
• Gantt Chart
• Critical Path

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Work Breakdown Structure

• Identify all project objectives
• List in Sequential Order
• List all Activities for each objective

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Textual Work Breakdown Structure

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• First Project Objective
• First activity required to meet objective 1.1
• Second activity
• Third activity
• (Until all 1.1 activities are listed)
• Second Project Objective
• First activity required to meet objective 1.1
• Second activity
• Third activity
• (Until all 1.1 activities are listed)
• Until all Project Objectives are listed

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Simple Network Diagram
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The Critical Path
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PERT/CPM Using Activity on Arc
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PERT/CPM Using Activity on Node
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GANTT Chart
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5 Ways to Insure Failure

• Failing to Communicate
• We must educate the end-user
• Confront Conflict
• Unrealistic Plan
• Poor Scheduling
• Poor Budgeting
• No Project Buy-In
• Top Management Support
• Scope Creep (more)
• Throw Resources at the Problem

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Scope Creep

• Subtle, but pervasive increase in scope of
  project such that the original estimates of
  resources and original problem statement become
  lost because of new desires and requirements

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Scope Creep

• Causes
• Changing Environment
• Customer Requests
• Marketing Requests
• Developers Desires
• How do you know when its gone bad?

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Managing Change Requests

• Use Customer-oriented requirements determination
• JAD
• Change Analysis
• Feasibility study for each change
• Version 2
• Change Board
• Analysis
• Triage
• Bundling

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Scheduling
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Schedule Pressure Problems

• 50 of Projects set Schedule BEFORE requirements
  are set!
• Average small project estimate is off by more
  than 100
• Average large project estimate is off by more
  than 1 year
• 40 of S/W errors are related to stress

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Overly Optimistic Scheduling

• Why?
• Underscoping or pricing
• Fixed Deadline (launch date?)
• Misuse of Challenging Goal
• Project Poorly Estimate
• Scope Creep

• Impacts
• Quality Gets Shot
• Gambling
• The Plan Becomes the Goal
• Time Effort Goes Up
• Forced Convergence
• Turnover Burnout

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What to Do?

• Get to Yes
• (with apologies to Fisher, Ury Patton)
• Separate the People from the Problem
• Focus on Interests, not Positions
• Invent Options for Mutual Gain
• Objective Criteria

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Scope Creep

• Causes
• Changing Environment
• Customer Requests
• Marketing Requests
• Developers Desires
• How do you know when its gone bad?

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Overcoming Scope Creep

• Early On
• Minimal Requirements Specifications
• Requirements Scrubbing
• Versioned Development
• Staged Delivery
• Mid-Project
• Killer-App Syndrome
• Tie to Project Goals
• Late Project
• Drop if not related to Goals
• Drop if you cant meet deadline (if youre
  allowed)

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Some Change is Necessary

• Customer doesnt know what they want
• Appear responsive towards customer
• Changing market conditions

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Managing Change Requests

• Use Customer-oriented requirements determination
• JAD
• Change Analysis
• Feasibility study for each change
• Version 2
• Change Board
• Analysis
• Triage
• Bundling

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Miniature Milestones
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What is it

• Tool for project tracking
• Tool for project status determination
• Defined set of targets to be met on a near-daily
  basis

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Why

• Easier to meet smaller targets
• Less chance of getting off course
• If off course, easier to get back on quickly
• If your never behind schedule by more than 1-2
  days, you cant get behind months or years

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How

• Milestones must be exhaustive
• Milestones must be doable in 1-2 days
• Milestones are either done or not
• Regularly assess progress
• Recalibrate if necessary

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Hubble

• Who are the key players?
• What were their goals?
• What evidence of schedule pressures did you see?
• How did they affect the project?
• In what ways were the schedule pressures for the
  Hubble similar to other projects you are familiar
  with?
• What could be done to address these issues?