Lecture 9

Project Management

Definition of a Project

"The accomplishment of a number of actions in series and in parallel in order to reach an objective."

(Robertson 1967).

Project ManagementAny large-scale project needs to be planned and managed.

Do you understand the problem?Can you design and build a satisfactory solution?How long will it take?How much will it cost?

Project Management in Computing

Is a Software Engineering project any different to any other project?

Constantly increasing levels of technology.Change is inevitable and hard to deal with.Intangible. When is a project 90% finished?Projects are often unique so historical data is often not applicable.

Additional SE problemsProject management - has a history of being carried out badly in computing. Software maintenance is now a huge overhead on companies.

What Do Businesses Require From Their Systems Departments?

A recent commercial study listed the following:Dependability

• Being able to deliver on time – even more important than satisfying requirements!

Fast Response • The ability to implement solutions rapidly

Productivity • improved productivity without compromising on quality

….Study Continued

Value • Project managers need to demonstrate the

value of the project to the business

Integration • Project must integrate with

– the business processes that surround it – the people who are expected to use it

Reasons for FailureThe UK Office of Government Commerce (2000) notes the following reasons for failure:

Design & Definition• No clear goals• Over ambitious

Decision Making• Management by committee• “No decision” is the worst decision

Reasons for Failure..cont.Project Discipline• Poor milestone setting• Slippage not managed• Change not managed• Risks not recognised

Reasons for Failure..cont.Supplier Management• Poor Quality products• Poor Services• Lack of Support/Communication

People• Poor communication• Not spotting/acknowledging problems• Poor technical ability

Successful Projects“Success” factors:

Project mission• Management support from the top• A realistic project plan and schedule

Sensible client consultation.• Client agreement and acceptance.• Feedback mechanisms in place

Good Quality Personnel • Technical task capability.• Communication skills• Troubleshooting skills

Project PlanningIn almost any discipline, we can divide a project up into a number of phasesA project schedule is needed, comprising of a list of :

Activities; parts of a project carried out over timeMilestones; completion of activities at particular points in time

Knowledge of previous, similar projects helps to provide guidelines for estimates

Project planning – cont.ComplexityCoordination (if more than one person ) Cost estimationResource allocation -

People (and specializations)Computer equipment

Project Planning If we assume sequential stages to a project then a possible set of planning items might include:

Definition of Objectives.Work Breakdown.Work ScheduleBudgeting and Project Organisation.

Software Is Often Late Some of the reasons may be:

Unrealistic deadlinesChanging customer requirementsUnderestimation of required resourcesUnconsidered riskTechnical difficultiesHuman difficultiesPoor communicationFailure to spot or to deal with problems early on

Control Through Scheduling and Tracking

General project scheduling tools can be used.Specific tools for software development include:

Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)Critical Path Method (CPM)

PERT & CPMThese cover:

Estimates of effortDecomposition of product functionSelection of appropriate process model and task setDecomposition of tasks

PERT & CPM cont…And result in:

Determination of “Critical Path”Estimation of “most likely times” Calculation of “Boundary times” (windows)

(considered in a later lecture)

Gantt chartsDiagrammatical tool for showing what should happen when

May cover the whole projectMay detail specifics for either a task or a personAllows illustration of milestones

Gantt Charts – The processDraw up a list of appropriate project activities.Estimate their duration.Note any deadlinesList available personnelAllocate activities to people

Identifying Activities The following are all POOR choices of individual activities:

Carry out entire operating system designImplement 50% of the XYZ file update routineWrite 10 lines of code

When making decisions bear in mind:SIZE – set a max duration for any one task e.g. 2 weeks;IDENTIFIABLE COMPLETION - thus avoiding the 90:90 syndrome

Gantt Chart

Time in days

Activities

Analysis of XAnalysis of YDesign of XDesign of Y

Develop interface

Code XCode Y

8 DecPrototype session

BS

BS/HPCD

CD/JH

AW/BS/HP

CD

JH

Gantt chartGood points:

Clear SimpleEasy to identify areas of high activity.

Bad points: No Dependencies Take up a lot of room• Difficult to follow if long time scale or large no.

of activities

TrackingTools for checking the progress of the project

Qualitative techniques e.g.:Project status meetingsEvaluation of the results of reviewsChecking milestonesInformal meetings

Quantitative Techniques e.g.:Earned Value Analysis (considered in a later lecture)

Time-BoxingA method used for incremental delivery

Define a set of subtasksDefine a (short) timescale for deliveryDo not allow the task to over-run

ConclusionsProjects are difficult to manageWe need tools and techniques for

PlanningSchedulingControlling