CS616 Software Engineering

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CS616 Software Engineering School of CSIS, Pace
University
Software Project Management Practical Approach By
the Current Industry
QA Team Presentation
03/30/2006
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Presentation Overview

• Introduction
• Project Management Basic Terminology
• Why Project Management?
• Project Life Cycle
• Project Risk Management
• Communication
• Project Closure
• PM Fun!!
• Conclusions

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Introduction
Team 1 Team Members
Srinivas Vittal
Raghu Basavaraju
Ancey Varghese
Hanting Lin
Team Website http//utopia.csis.pace.edu/cs615/2
005-2006/team1/
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Why Project Management?
To avoid this
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What is a Project? What is Project Management?
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What is a Project?

• Definition

A project is a temporary effort, undertaken with
a defined start and end date, to create a unique
product, service, or result.
Source Project Management Institute http//www.
pmi.org
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What is Project Management?

• Definition
• The art of balancing competing demands among
  scope, time, cost and quality.

Project Management is the application of
knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet or exceed the
Sponsors needs and expectations.
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Project Characteristics

• What are the 3 characteristics which define a
  project?
• Scope/Objectives (products, deliverables)
• Time (project schedule)
• Cost (budget)
• Implemented against
• Resource constraints / availability
• Risks issues
• Other competing priorities

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Value of Project Management

• Why Undertake Projects?
• To deliver a benefit to the organization
• To support the business strategy
• To identify and resolve major problems / issues
• To establish a solid foundation for a new product
• To provides guidance in organizing and staffing
  deliverables
• In summary
• To enhance the value of the organization through
  the timely delivery of objectives, in the most
  cost effective way possible with the right
  resources providing subject matter expertise.

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Benefits of Project Management

• What are the benefits?
• Less wasted effort
• Less hassles due to clear objectives
• Projects delivered on-time and within budget
• Projects meet the needs of the business and
  deliver business benefits.
• Improved resource and budget control
• Better coordination of efforts and activities
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Recognition of success

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Project Initial Days
Stakeholders
Non-human Resources
Development Team
Development Models
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How to get from a Concept to a Product?

• Coordinate requirements definition, architecture
  definition, system implementation and testing
  efforts Project Management
• Use process models to guide you through these
  activities
• What activity needs to be done next
• How much of the it needs to be done
• Project plan Instance of process model

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Project Plan What does it provide

• Why?
• What?
• When?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
• How Much?
• Whereas

• Objectives
• Milestones Products
• Responsibilities
• Approach
• Resources Effort
• Assumptions

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Project Planning - How to Begin?
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1st Step

• Sit with the Project Sponsor to discuss and
  document what he/she is looking to achieve by
  this project.
• understand their passion for the end result
• clarify the real scope and objectives of the
  project
• determine constraints (time, , dependencies)
• answer the question What do I have to do?
• be able to successfully create a Project Charter
  and get it approved / signed-off by the Project
  Sponsor

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2nd Step

• Break down the scope into manageable pieces -
  Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A planning
  exercise designed to
• break down the project by component of work, not
  by department
• ensure that you have captured and identified all
  of the tasks and activities involved to
  successfully deliver the project
• allow you to easily quantify and estimate each
  deliverable with more confidence
• involve the Team in the planning process to
  create ownership

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Sample WBS
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Sample Utopia Project Schedule
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Risk Management
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Issues vs. Risks
An issue is a problem that is currently impacting
on a project..
A risk is a problem which may impact the project
and jeopardize its success.
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Risk Management

• Definitions
• What is Risk?
• The chance of exposure to the adverse
  consequences of future events - i.e. threats to
  the management of the project.
• What is Risk Analysis?
• The identification and definition of risks, plus
  the evaluation of impact and resulting action.
• What is Risk Management?
• The activities involved in the planning,
  monitoring and controlling of actions that will
  address the threats and problems identified, so
  as to improve the likelihood of the project
  achieving its stated objectives.

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Types of Risks

• Typical Project Risks
• Project timescales, deliverables, milestones
• Requirements definitions, specs
• Project management and control
• Resource limitations, constraints
• Technical complexity
• Contractual obligations with consultants /
  external suppliers
• Internal organizational constraints, policy,
  priorities

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Risk Management Process

• Risk Assessment

High
ADDRESS ACTION !!!
CONSIDER
PROBABILITY
WATCH !!!
CONSIDER
Low
Low
High
IMPACT
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Communication Reporting
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Communication Reporting

• Why is Communication Reporting important in the
  conduct of a project?
• Keeps everyone up-to-date
• Promotes confidence
• Builds understanding throughout Team, projects
  culture
• Builds good working relationships
• Creates discipline
• Removes immediacy - I need this information now
  !!
• Eliminates surprises !!

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Communication Reporting

• What ways can the Sponsor and Project Manager
  communicate?
• Progress Reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)
• Checkpoint Meetings (at the end of each Phase of
  Work)
• Review progress since last meeting
• Agree to proceed to next phase
• Steering Committee Meetings
• Team Meetings
• Chat in the hallway - Hows it going?

Dont wait for problems to occur to start
communicating !!
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Communication Reporting

• What is reported on?
• Good News
• Bad News
• Issues Risks
• Achievements for the period

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Communication An In Depth Look
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What is Communication anyway?

• Communication is defined as the interchange of
  thoughts or opinions through shared symbols e.g.
  language, words, phrases
• Some synonyms of the word communication message,
  directive, word, contact, commerce, communion,
  intercommunication converse, exchange,
  interchange, conversing, discussing, talking

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The facets of Communication

• Sender the person trying to communicate a message
• Receiver the person at whom the message is
  directed
• Information that a message is sent to convey
• Behavior that the Information is meant to change
  (Value added)

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Barriers to Communication

• Human nature Peoples egos, prejudices, and
  traditions can get in the way
• Conflicting feelings, goals, opinions If people
  feel on opposite sides of an issue they may not
  share
• Power The idea that knowledge is power can lead
  to information hoarding

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Barriers to Communication

• Unclear process The receiver and sender may not
  share the same language, slang, jargon,
  vocabulary, symbols
• Chain of command There may be too many layers
  that a message passes through between sender and
  receiver
• Large size of an organization, geographic
  distance Large numbers of receivers require good
  message sending methods
• Personal limitations Physical and mental
  disabilities, and differences in intelligence and
  education

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Its time for some PM Fun !!!
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Managed the resources ?
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Managed the resources ?
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(No Transcript)
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• Buck passer
• The wise project manager maintains a list of
  people to whom the buck can be passed when this
  becomes necessary and allocates priorities
  (proportionate with the degree of aggravation
  casued to the project manager).
• line managers who failed to give up their claim
  to resources...
• controllers of corporate purse strings who failed
  to cough up the necessary readies..
• project board members, who questioned the
  validity of the project, or started raising
  awkward bloody questions about status reports,
  self righteous, megalomaniac, meddling
  gits....er you get the message.

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The wise project manager maintains a list of
people to whom the buck can be passed.
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(No Transcript)
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Project Closure

• What is it? (continued)
• Formalizing acceptance
• By the Project Sponsor
• Customer confirms all requirements for the
  product have been delivered
• Noting open items
• Analyzing project success and effectiveness
• Studying what went right and what went wrong
• Archiving project records

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Project Closure

• Lessons Learned
• A forum to discuss and document positive and
  negative attributes of a completed project
• Dissect the project process, NOT the people
• No finger pointing
• Dont gloss over specifics ideas for
  improvement grow out of the specifics
• The Project Manager can get the session rolling,
  but the information should come from the Team
• Conclude by translating recommendations into
  action items

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Conclusions
Team 1 Quality Assurance
QA with QA Team