tcs2411 software engineering1 project plan “what are you going to do in the project?”

TCS2411 Software Engineering 1

Project Plan

“What are you going to do in the project?”


Lecture Objectives

To discuss the tasks in planning a project

To describe the tools that can be used for developing a project plan

To illustrate the use of graphical representations of project activities

To understand the importance of the critical path in scheduling


Planning

Meaning:“Organizing project in logical order and Identifying and defining work

activities in a manner that help achieve project objectives”


Basic Reasons for Planning

To element/reduce uncertaintyTo improve efficiency of the

operationTo provide better understandingTo provide a basis for monitoring and

controlling work


Project Planning and Control System

Time/Cost/Performance

Tracking

Goals/Objectives

Work Descriptionand Instructions

ManagementDecision-Making

SystemReports

NetworkScheduling

Master/Detailed

Schedules

Budgets


Planning Steps

1. Establish objectives2. Develop a plan3. Construct project planning diagram4. Identify timing duration of each

activity in planning diagram5. Identify costs and labor/personnel

associated with each activity


Establish Objectives

State objectives Project start/end dates Budgets Technical results

List milestonesMilestone: a scheduled event for which

some person is held accountable and which is used to measure and control progress.

Designate responsible personnel to meet objectives


Develop A Plan

List activitiesDevelop Work Breakdown Structure

(WBS): The WBS reflects the decomposition of a project into subtasks down to the level for effective planning and control.

Determine relationships of activities job precedence/succession concurrent jobs


Work Breakdown Structure

Break project tasks into successively finer levels: Program - Project - Task - Work Package - Work Unit

Each work unit short time span specific start & end point budgetable in terms of money, resources can be assigned an individual

responsibility can be scheduled


Purpose of WBS

ManageableIndependentIntegratableMeasurable


WBS Example

ABC Project

ProgrammingDesignAnalysisDefinition

Risk AnalysisFeasibility

StudyRequirements

Documentation...

...

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3


WBS of a simple project

Design Test plan Code Test

Project

Code A Code B

•Each activity has a duration and consumes resources.

•Each activity has a constraint(example: one must be finished before the other starts; so activities are executed in order).


Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) diagram

•The numerical number represents the duration of each activity.

•PERT is mainly concerned with time of each activity and interrelations among activities.

Design 15

Test plan 10

Test 15Code A 18

Code B 18


Critical Path Method (CPM)

By drawing a network diagram, you can figure out the critical path of your project.

The critical path is the longest path through the network. If something falls behind schedule on the critical path, the whole project falls behind schedule unless time is made up elsewhere.

It’s easier to adjust other activities (allocate more/less resources) when you know the interdependencies of activities


Construct Project Planning Diagram

Draw the logical sequence of activities

Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) Activity on Node (AON)

Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) Activity on Arrow (AOA)


Terms Activity - A task or job which takes time & use up

resourcesRepresented by labeled arrow A

Event - An instantaneous point representing the start or finish of an activity Represented by node

Slack time: indicates that the corresponding activity may consume more than its estimated time, or start later than the earliest possible start time, without affecting the total duration of the project.

Critical path: a path that has activities without any slack time

1


Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) Diagram

G

1

2 5

3

4

6B

C

A

F

E

D

Each activity has only one arrow associated with it.


Activity Precedence

Activity ImmediatePredecessor

Duration

A - 2B - 1C - 3D A 2E B,C 4F C 5G D,E 3


Network CharacteristicsConstruct from left to rightAny activity can have only one start

nodeNo two activities can have the same

start and end nodeDummy activities are used in AOAStart the network by finding those

activities that have no predecessorsCalculate activity times using

probabilistic or deterministic means


Dummy Activity

Represented by dotted arrowUsed when relationships between

activities require no workApplied when

two activities start and end similarly succeeding activities have partial

dependencies on predecessor activities


PERT and CPM

PERTR&D DevelopmentOriginally focused

on time onlyUses probabilistic

time estimatesAOA basedCritical path & slack

CPMConstructionTime and CostUses deterministic

time estimatesAON basedCritical path & slackUsed in most

software


GANTT Charts

Horizontal time representation of PERT/CPM, aka Timeline charts

Slack times shown as dashed linesCritical path events are often milestonesInadequate for showing dependenciesPERT/CPM is required to control the

scheduleCan be used as a scheduling

mechanism.


Gantt Chart Example

A

DB

C

E

F

G

timeMilestone


Project Planning Summary

ObjectivesScopeSpecs

OrganizationalStructure

WBSResponsibility

Chart

Work Packages

Networks

Technical Criteria

Project Plan

Material &Manpower

Schedules

Documentation


Decision Tree Analysis

Software engineering managers are often faced with a make/buy decision to acquire a computer software.

This decision can be solve by computing Decision Tree Analysis.

Example : System X, can be build (in-house developer), reuse, buy or contract (employees outside vendor).


The Make-Buy Decision

system Xsystem Xreusereuse

simple (0.30)simple (0.30)

difficult (0.70)difficult (0.70)

minorminor changeschanges

(0.40)(0.40)

majormajorchangeschanges

(0.60)(0.60)

simple (0.20)simple (0.20)

complex (0.80)complex (0.80)

majormajor changeschanges (0.30)(0.30)

minorminor changeschanges

(0.70)(0.70)

$380,000$380,000

$450,000$450,000

$275,000$275,000

$310,000$310,000

$490,000$490,000

$210,000$210,000

$400,000$400,000

buybuy

contractcontract

without changes (0.60)without changes (0.60)

with changes (0.40)with changes (0.40)

$350,000$350,000

$500,000$500,000

buildbuild


Computing Expected Cost

(path probability) x (estimated path cost) (path probability) x (estimated path cost) ii ii

For example, the expected cost to build is:For example, the expected cost to build is:

expected cost = 0.30($380K)+0.70($450K) expected cost = 0.30($380K)+0.70($450K)

similarly,similarly,

expected cost = $382Kexpected cost = $382K



buildbuild

reusereuse

buybuy

contrcontr

expected cost =expected cost =

= $429 K= $429 K


References“Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s

Approach” 5th Ed. by Roger S. Pressman, Mc-Graw-Hill, 2001

“Project Management: A Managerial Approach” by Jack R. Meredith & Samuel J. Mantel, Jr. , John Wiley, 1989

“Project Management: Principles and Practices” by M. Pete Spinner, Prentice-Hall, 1997

“Goal Directed Project Management”, 2nd Edition, by Erling S. Andersen, Kristoffer V. Grude & Tor Haug, Kogan Page, 1995

tcs2411 software engineering1 project plan “what are you going to do in the project?”

Documents

work slide

project zto

project objectives

activity slide

tcs2411 software engineering7

tcs2411 software engineering8

project plan zto

program project