universtity report

7/29/2019 Universtity Report

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PROJECT REPORT ON

Business Analysis for Systems Development

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE COURSE

MASTER OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

SUBMITTED BY

MISS.SHEETAL ASHOK SARATE

ROLL NO: 2008-42

BATCH: 2008-2010

SPECIALISATION: SYSTEMS

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF.ANJALI KULKARNI

VISHWESHWAR EDUCATION SOCIETYS

INDIRA INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SANPADA, NAVI MUMBAI


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Certificate

VISHWESHWAR EDUCATION SOCIETYS

INDIRA INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SANPADA, NAVI MUMBAI

It is hereby certified that the Project Report onIt is hereby certified that the Project Report onIt is hereby certified that the Project Report onIt is hereby certified that the Project Report on Business Analysis forBusiness Analysis forBusiness Analysis forBusiness Analysis for

System DevelopmentSystem DevelopmentSystem DevelopmentSystem Development has been successfully completed in MMS Semesterhas been successfully completed in MMS Semesterhas been successfully completed in MMS Semesterhas been successfully completed in MMS Semester

III of the academic year 2008III of the academic year 2008III of the academic year 2008III of the academic year 2008----2010 by2010 by2010 by2010 by Miss. Sheetal Ashok SarateMiss. Sheetal Ashok SarateMiss. Sheetal Ashok SarateMiss. Sheetal Ashok Sarate

underunderunderunder the guidance of Prof.Anjali Kulkthe guidance of Prof.Anjali Kulkthe guidance of Prof.Anjali Kulkthe guidance of Prof.Anjali Kulkarniarniarniarni....

PROF. ANJALI KULKARNI DR. RITU BHATTACHARYYA

(Project Guide Internal) DIRECTOR


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Acknowledgement

I express my profound sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to the

management of Alcove Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for having offered me an

opportunity to work on this project in their esteemed organization.

I extend my special thanks to Mr. Ravi Rao, who gave me a wonderful

opportunity to select and work on this topic and understand the challenges

which we face in our career path while dealing with people and thecomplexities of the job.

I would also express my sincere thanks to our Director, Dr. Ritu

Bhattacharyya for enabling me to undertake such an excellent project, which

made me to acquire tremendous knowledge and self- confidence.

I would also like to place on record my sincere thanks to Prof.Anjali Kulkarni,

my guide, for her valuable guidance and inputs which helped me to select and

focus my work on this project.

MMS: Systems/IT


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Index

1. Executive summery 52. Objectives of the project 63. About alcove technologies

a. Introduction to alcove 8b. Information technologies services 15c. Business/Knowledge processing outsourcing 17d. Competitive pricing 18e. Quality assurance and risk management 19f. Infrastructure and environment 22g. SWOT 24h. Hierarchy of Management 25

4. Analysis of current system at alcove technologies 265. Suggestions 306. Recommendations

a. The Design of recommendation 31b. Management authorities flow 34c. Strategy 35

7. Implementing the recommendations 388. Recommended checklist for CEO 459. Methodologies use for clients opportunities used in alcove 4610.Practices at Alcove 4711.Limitations of approach 5412.Roles and responsibility 5513.Interpretation and findings 6214.Conclusion 6315.Annexure 6416.Bibliography 70


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Executive summery

Global outsourcing is enabling business without barriers in a borderless world. As

enterprises think global, their outsourcing models have changed to follow suit.

Outsourcing is no longer just a short term quick-fix to achieve cost reduction. Global

outsourcing uses a blend of onsite, offshore and near shore outsourcing solutions to

achieve strategic business objectives for the outsourcing company. Today, there are job

titles like "Chief Globalization Officer" and "Strategic Services Manager" - which just

goes to show that organizations are taking seriously the impact of global outsourcing on

the revenue growth and business value of their companies.

Global outsourcing takes a long-term holistic view of the client enterprise and aligns its

business goals to the outsourced service offerings, in contrast to tactical short-term

contracts that take a piecemeal project-by-project or simple "out-tasking" approach to

outsourcing.

As customers get more demanding, competition gets more intense and product life-cycles

shrink, there is increasing pressure on operating margins. The complexity of global cross-border business management presents new challenges as companies try harder to stay

agile, profitable and innovative. Business processes need to be flexible and adaptable to

enable people to respond faster to changing business needs. Services outsourcing must be

aligned to business goals, rather than be seen as just a tool for enhancing operational

efficiencies.

Global outsourcing mitigates risks for the customer as it is not country-specific or

geography-dependent and allows more freedom and flexibility in decision-making and

operations during the outsourcing process. It allows businesses to learn, adapt, grow and

evolve while ensuring predictability in quality and delivery in their business processes.

- Sheetal Sarate


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Objective of the project

This project aims at studying the business operations and systems effectiveness in an

organization. System Analysis is the most significant and indispensable tool for the

management as it provide useful information for decision making in area of services

offerings and productivity reviews.

Thus a broad objective of the study includes:

To know the present system of business operations at Alcove Technologies To know the extent of effectiveness of the present system To identify and know the area for improvement system To provide a productive framework to alcove technologies. To identify, analyze and generate new business opportunities To understand the client requirements and delivering them the premium value set.

Sample of the study

The area covered for the present study consisted of managers belonging to supervisory

and the level above.

Methodology of the project

As the project is application based, the methodology used was the involvement in the

practical operations of the business, finding the shortcomings and areas of development

in the present system, and to provide the suggestions and recommendations to the

management.


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Limitations

1. Being a novice in the business partners and associates were reserve in dealingwith me.

2. Some of them did not reveal the real problems due to lack of confidence.3. Responses and contract agreements were handled by top level management only

so information shortage was experienced

4. The confidentiality of the system created some problem in getting information.


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About Alcove Technologies

Alcove technologies is a Hyderabad based IT Company .It is a multi-faceted

organization, providing the following services to its world-wide clients.

Information Technology

Business & Knowledge ProcessOutsourcing

Recruitments,Staff Augmentation, Temp Staffing

CorporateTraining

Alcove services are managed by seasoned professionals and Industry experts

with decades of experience in delivering strategic value to their global customers.

Alcoves professional services teams have served global organizations and have

delivered multiple complex projects in each line of their services.

Alcove is recognized for its ability to provide thoughtful and efficient services based

on an intimate knowledge of their clients business needs, they strive to ensure their

clients retain their competitive edge in the market place with their strong emphasis

on quality assurance, efficient processes, cost effective services and well qualified

people.

Alcove has grown in terms of its available skills (Technical, non-Technical and

Project Management), resources and experiences. Alcove follows global standards to

deliver products and services. Alcove focuses continuously on its People, Processes,

Tools, Technologies and Methodologies to deliver best solutions to its customers.


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Alcove is recognized for its ability to provide thoughtful and efficient services based

on an intimate knowledge of their clients business needs, they strive to ensure their

clients retain their competitive edge in the market place with their strong emphasis

on quality assurance, efficient processes, cost effective services and well qualified

people.

Alcove has its objectives to provide cost-effective and high quality solutions and

services using leading edge technologies through its secure state-of-the-art

facilities and Infrastructure to undertake large client projects in each of their service

lines.

Alcove has grown in terms of its available skills (Technical, non-Technical and

Project Management), restheirces and experiences. Alcove follows global standards to

deliver products and services. Alcove focuses continuously on its People, Processes,

Tools, Technologies and Methodologies to deliver best solutions to its customers.

A growing number of Project Managers in Alcove have earned the Project

Management Professional (PMP) certificate from the Project Management Institute (PMI),

Pennsylvania, U.S.A, which is widely recognized the world over as a leading certification

for the project management professionals.

Vision

In their chosen lines of business, they strive to be the leader in service delivery,

client, satisfaction, professionalism, superior quality and innovation. They aim to

architect, develop and implement state of the art and creative solutions and services

for their global clients.

Their teams combine technical excellence with a superior understanding of clients

varied business needs and the environments in which they operate and delivery

solutions & products that exactly meets their requirements. They are committed to

partnerships with their clients that add value and consistently exceed their expectations.


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They aspire to be a leading global Technology Solutions and Services provider

by delivering integrated consulting, software services, all related business process

services and training services, bringing value and lasting impact to the business of their

world-wide clients through the best services of their dedicated and motivated projects

personnel.

Alcove aims to be among the top 3 business partners of each of their client

organizations and be their long term value added partner.

Mission

Alcove is an enabling company. Through its solutions and services, Alcoves mission

is to assist global organizations to transition their businesses to next level of maturity.

In carrying out its mission, Alcove aims to;

Assist their clients in transformation of business practices and processesin order to establish and use secure, robust and efficient IT systems and

Business processes

Provide state-of-the-art, efficient and cost-effective business solutions,computer applications and related services and infrastructure support

Be a catalyst and a facilitator that integrates different stakeholders interests,technologies and service providers, in order to develop sound business solutions

for mutual benefit

Adhere to and promote international best practices, standards andprinciples for the benefit of their client organizations


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Alcove's Services Delivery Capabilities

Alcove's value Proposition

Alcove is guided by a strong value system. These values nurture ethics

empowerment, commitment and resilience and are practiced at every level. We provide

continuous value" to our customers through combination of mature processes,

best practices. Rapid deployment, accountability, global experience, and commitment

to customer success combined with a wealth of experience in cutting edge technologies

form the cornerstones of Alcove professional services.

To discerning customers, we aim to provide a virtual extension of their existing facilities,

backed with our commitment to 24x7 service time frames. Our offshore delivery model

offers the Tangible benefits such as;

Faster time-to-market: Alcove with its domain expertise and superior technologyservices delivery capability ensures quicker turn-around in delivering solutions

and services to its clients

Reduced Development, Maintenance and Support Costs: Clients can get the workdone at lower costs by saving out on expensive programs and equipment

required for the completion of a particular task, thereby giving them an

opportunity to control their IT budget and costs as these are taken care by our

Offshore Delivery Center (ODC).

High service and product quality and assured results: Clients can beassured of high quality work as our world class professionals will be

focused on the particular task concerned.

Access to Global expertise: Alcove's clients can have access to the besttechnology skills, expert manpower and equipment and Alcove global


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knowledge and experience that support to our client business needs and

imperatives.

Achieve Business Goals 24x7: we support our clients with 24x7 productivity,taking advantage of the time-zone differences

Alcove's maturity in offshore delivery model in labor and process transformationdelivers greater value for each dollar to our clients.

We are a low risk provider with years of experience in transitioning projects forglobal customers from multiple countries.

Our human resource model makes Alcove the employer of choice that in turnbenefits our client organizations by our efficient service delivery

Alcove could help you reduce infrastructure cost by 30-40%.

Alcove strives for highest level of customer satisfaction, adherence tocustomers' development processes, strict management of schedule and cost

variances; and

Create a work culture, which is based on accountability, ownership ofcommitments, integrity, initiative, innovation, teamwork and mutual respect and

trust


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Alcoves partnership philosophy;

Alcove is committed to creating and nurturing strong partnerships with its clients.

Our mission statement is as follows;

Alcove seeks to be a trusted partner in the growth and success of clients business.

We will leverage the breadth and scope of service offerings from conceptualization

to post- deployment support to deliver business solutions & Services and strengthen

our clients competitive position. We strive to be viewed as a partner that competes

aggressively and earns more business every dayfrom each of our clients.


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Project Delivery Capabilities & Project Management

Alcove provides project delivery through all aspects of the project life cycle from

analysis and design through development and testing. Projects are either delivered wholly

by Alcove staff or in conjunction with the clients business and development teams.

Based on our clients specific requirements, Alcove can deploy multiple delivery models

such as;

Onsite resource deployment, wherein the Alcove resource completes outsourcedwork at the client's premises

Offshore delivery, wherein the Alcove resource completes outsourcedworked at our remote delivery centers in India

Onsite-Offshore delivery model wherein Alcove resources will be distributedbetween client's on-site location and our offshore delivery center in India

Project Teams can range from single developer to large multi-disciplined teams, built onour solid experience in consistently delivering successful projects for client

organizations. Our Project delivery services features strong governance model, excellent

project management methodologies,

Best delivery practices, tools, checklists, and templates designed to complement and

support of leading industry methodologies such as RUP, CMM and Six Sigma etc.


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Information Technology Services

Alcove provides consultancy and information technology solutions to meet

the requirements of global client organizations across a wide variety of business

areas. Alcove provides a range of services include;

Business Sectors

Banking and Financial Services Sector Telecommunications Sector Manufacturing Sector Retailing Sector Government Sector Services Industry Sector Hospitality and Entertainment sector Healthcare and Pharmaceutical sector

Technology Services

Alcove believes in supporting its client with its comprehensive and

complementing Technologies and services. Alcove has capabilities to support its global

customers on the following Technology service;

Management Consulting Project Definition and Planning Business Requirement Specifications Systems Design Software Development Software Products Installation and Implementation Systems Support & Maintenance


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Systems Integration Training and Support Applications Management Advanced Technology Research.

Technologies

Alcove Technology specialists have delivered multiple applications on all

leading technologies to global customers in the past and look forward to deliver

cutting edge solutions to needy clients.

Java Technologies .NET Technologies Web Technologies Mainframe Technologies Multiple Databases Microsoft Applications Business Intelligence Data Warehousing SAS, Informatics, Ab- Initio, Business Objects Multi-Tiered Architecture Multiple Hardware platforms Different Application Servers Open Systems Enterprise Appl. Integration(EAI) Tools Oracle Applications CRM People Soft SAP Microsoft Dynamics Axapta


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Business/Knowledge Process Outsourcing Services

BPO/KPOExpertise

Alcove has an in-depth expertise in Business Process outsourcing for clients in

different business sectors, Alcoves experienced BPO / KPO professional have

been servicing multiple clients in these sectors for the past many years and have

seen the industry growing from close quarters. Our BPO expertise span across;

Do cu me nt Processing Dat a Entry and Processing IT Help Desk Services Technical support services Process Development Enterprise Resource Planning processes Telecommunication Services Medical Transcription Medical content, coding and services Equity, financial, and insurance research Data search, integration, and management Analytics (data analytics/risk analytics) and data mining services Research and information services Business and market research (including competitive intelligence) Engineering and design services Intellectual Property (IP) research Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology Research and Development (IT and non-IT areas) Quality reviews & Feedback Remote education and publishing Knowledge Process Outsourcing


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Competitive Pricing

Alcove is interested in working with a large number of customers in each of our

service offerings. We realize that a key driver in your offshore decision process will

be the cost of the solution. We also believe that you require a pricing solution that is

flexible, easy to manage, and one which offers our clients access to top skills and

capabilities.

With these imperatives as a guide, we offer an aggressive fee structure that provides

access to a wide range of Alcoves skills. Our pricing includes resources from India

and at onsite. We have also developed several pricing and staffing models that

serve to highlight the different price points you may expect for different types of

work, staffed with resources from several different countries. We have modeled

staffing solutions for application maintenance, application conversions, new

development and iterative developments. While these models will vary during an

engagement, they do serve to highlight the different percentages of onshore and

offshore resources you may anticipate to perform various development activities.

We also believe that our ability to source skills from multiple locations benefits our

client organizations, and we are certain that our rates will help you achieve its goal of

reducing the cost of application development and maintenance.

In addition to a competitive starting rate, we can also offer a volume incentive.

This incentive is based upon the number of FTEs sourced from Alcove over the next

several months/years.

We provide the full range of Technology and Business services. Our innovative

financial models minimize the cost of transition and knowledge transfer and ensure

our clients benefit from outsourcing from the first day of the engagement. Services are

provided as per defined, agreed upon service levels.


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Quality Assurance & Risk Management

Overview

Alcove management approach is guided by a well-established quality system and

effectively supported by appropriate tools & technology. The Quality Management

function within Alcove is driven by ISO 9001 guidelines and conforms to SEI-CMM

model and thus is process driven rather than product driven. It is our firm belief that

quality processes are essential to produce good quality solutions and services.

Quality Policy

We are committed to total satisfaction of our customers, both external and internal,

through innovative and competitive solutions. We nurture excellence by empowering

employees with tools, techniques, methods, skills and by providing a pleasant as well as

stimulating work environment. Continuous Quality improvement is the essence of

everything we do. Every one at Alcove is committed to delivering quality.

Quality Management System

The Quality Management system implements the above stated Quality Policy and

includes organizational Processes, Life Cycle Processes, Life Cycle support Processes,

Quality Processes and various departmental manuals.

Quality Processes

Quality processes, such as the Quality Plan, Reviews, Product Certification, and Internal

Audits help focus on quality of deliverables and documentation so that Alcove delivers

Quality Products to its customers.

Quality Objectives


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As part of the policy to maintain strict control on the quality of deliverables, it is

mandatory for each project to have a quality plan that sets the level of the quality goals

for the project. The adherence to quality goals is continuously monitored at different

levels and verified at the end of the project using quantitative project metrics.

The Quality objectives for each project are defined during the project initiation stage.

There are organization-wide quality objectives (across different projects) and project

specific quality objectives, some of which are driven by explicit customer requirements.

Quality Assurance

Alcove follows strict quality procedures and Quality Assurance processes, which ensures

lasting value to our global customers. We ensure the quality process as listed below.

Quality Standards

Alcoves Quality processes are a blend of ISO and six sigma best practices, each of the

process are evolved over a period of time and integrated into the operations. Alcove

believes continuous improvement and Total Quality Management.

Alcoves approach involves identifying KPI (Key Performance Indicators) and SLA s

(Service Level Agreements) and working towards surpassing both the parameters.

Confidentiality

NDA / SLA- Client Level and service Level Information Access Control Security Configuration Management Security Management Process Media Controls (no floppy drives or CD-Writers in any of the machines)


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No Public Network (Controlled Internet Access)

Operation Level Quality Measures

Monitoring and Reporting Coaching/ Feedback Calibration Program level Analysis/Trending - Fatal

Defect Analysis

Performance Management Security Policy

Data Privacy

Centralized Data storage IP Level security Desktop Level security controlled by a domain Authentication Controls (Login IDs, Password) Authorization Controls Logging (Can be enabled to monitor Keystrokes)


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Infrastructure

Alcove operates and offers its offshore delivery services from two locations based in

Hyderabad and Mumbai in India. These centers have security and access controls so

that only Alcove authorized personnel are provided access to the required facilities.

Alcove is currently in the process of setting up a software Technology Park

(STP) facility in Hyderabad. The STP facility helps us to avail of tax and duty

exemptions from the Government of India. It also helps to expedite clearance from

the Customs Department for capital equipment imported for specific projects. This

facility could be used to import necessary equipment for various offshore projects.

Alcoves offshore centers offer Ready to Use Facilities consisting of necessary

office space and infrastructure (PCs on LAN, e-mail, Fax lines, communication

facilities like Internet and connectivity to customers net works etc.). This allows our

employees to work on various off-shore projects for our global customers. The Ready

to Use Facility allows customer projects to be planned and initiated within a very

short time frame.

Alcove has in-house technical training facilities. These facilities could be used for

project specific training. Alcove installed necessary backup systems like

Uninterrupted Power supply (UPS) systems, backup computers to provide

uninterrupted service to our customers.


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Environment

Alcove can support our clients on a variety of computer platforms and operating

systems and computing environments interconnected in a LAN environment. Each

machine can be interconnected using NetWare or TCP/IP over Ethernet. This local

network can further connect via satellite link or leased lines to our customer

locat ions. All personnel are provided e-mail facilities.

Alcove has a 2 MB and a 512 KBPs lines for global connectivity which can be used

as the communication facility for data transfer with our client locations.

Alcove has plans to set up a secure Multi-protocol Network (MPN) facility

which supports TCP/IP and SNA, which would allow it to access machines

connected to the MPN network. This facility allows remote login and the use of FTP

services on customer designated machines if need arises.

Alcoves secure and supportive infrastructure allows us to service our customers

for various development, Maintenance & support projects simultaneously onmultiple applications of varied platforms and operating systems. Alcove installs the

dedicated servers for client specific projects depending on the project size and

customer needs.


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SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

1. Loyal employees2. Sufficient workspace3. Highly competent project managers4. Fast fulfilling of staffing needs5. Reputed clients in India and global as well6. Good trainers in different areas.

Weaknesses

1. Employees not so experienced.2. Less number of permanent manpower3. Micro management at senior level4. Less revenue due to global slowdown5. High work pressures and no uniformity in tasks.6. Exhaustive use of social networking sites.

Opportunities

1.

Easily changeable strategies2. Less operating costs3. Huge opportunities nearby area (hi-tech city)4. Highly grown network and contacts5. Easy access to global markets.

Threats

1. Recessionary pressures in market2. fear of loosing contract because of shortage of manpower3. Inadequate infrastructure4. High attrition rates.5. Highly demanding employees6. High dependence on freeware and open source softwares.


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Hierarchy of management


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Analysis of current system at alcove

The Project Management processes at Alcove encompass the entire span of the project's

life cycle i.e. Project Initiation, Project Planning, Development and Support, Installation,

Implementation, Progress Monitoring User Acceptance, Training and Project Wind-up.

Professional Project Management is the key for successful execution of any project to

control the Cost, schedule integrity, and quality deliverable. Recognizing this fact, the

Quality Management System (QMS) forms an important component of Project

Management process at Alcove.

Figure 1: Project management/Execution Methodology

Alcove's standard Project Management Methods (PMM) are founded on the Project

Management Institute principles, and are standardized across all Alcove's Projectsto ensure seamless and effective project management of onsite, offshore and

blended applications development and maintenance initiatives. The PMM includes the

following functions which are used consistently across projects.

Project Scheduling, Cost and Resource Planning


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Risk Management Planning

Quality Assurance

Communication Planning

Project Effort & Cost Estimating

Project Tracking and Control

Alcoves methodology is designed to ensure quality products and services. It focuses on

processes, clear roles & responsibilities, continuous project monitoring, risk

analysis, quality assurance at each stage, measurable progress at each stage and

participation by management when necessary.

Project Planning Methodology

Alcove's Project planning includes quality assurance and risk management

Figure 2: Project Planning Methodology

The left column of the diagram divides a project into three stages of how Do I...


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Start a New Project

Manage a Project

Finish a Project

The middle column expands on the three stages of a project with the Project Management

Life- Cycle. The Life-Cycle divides a project into phases:

Project Proposal - where the project idea is developed and approved (or rejected). Project Initiation - the initial planning and mapping out of the project. Work phases - where the actual project work is done and managed using

the Phase Management Life-Cycle: Initiate Plan, Organize, Control, and Close.

Alcove achievement-driven planning and scope control methodology includes:

Planning & negotiating with users and pinning down the requirements Motivating the team with clear assignments so everyone knows what is expected Estimating hours and duration accurately Building accurate schedules so we deliver on time Controlling Scope

Highlights of our Project Management Methodology:

Detailed tasks and action steps for each phase of an effective project managementprocess

Learning guides and resources to keep you up-to-speed on the latest issuesconcerning project management

Comprehensive reference guide that provides all the tools and guidanceyour project managers will need

Interactive tools and templates to keep you working efficiently


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Our SDLC approach to problem solving is made up of several phases, each comprising

multiple steps:

The software concept - identifies and defines a need for the new solution A requirements analysis - analyzes the information needs of the end users The architectural design - creates a blueprint for the design with the

necessary specifications for the hardware, software, people and data resources

Coding and debugging - creates and programs the final solution System testing - evaluates the system's actual functionality in relation to

expected or intended functionality.


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Suggestions

1.

Start by identifying current project success rates and making these numberspublicly available to IT staff. People need to acknowledge that there is a problem.

In addition, these metrics will form a base for future comparisons.

2. Be specific about what it takes for a project to be considered a success. Andcommunicate these expectations to everyone.

3. Make sure IT staff are familiar with the project management methodologies thatare already in place or those that are going to be in introduced as part of the

improvement process.

4. Make sure business users are familiar with the methodology for deliveringprojects. They should ideally be on board with existing processes as well as new

ones being introduced.

5. Look for ways to establish joint accountability between project managers andfunctional managers. This probably means having them work more closely

together.

6. Monitor and report on project progress. Also, hold people accountable forcompleting projects successfully.

7. Encourage project managers to improve their communication skills and tocommunicate with project sponsors and stakeholders more often. In addition, have

project managers report on the business value that a project is providing and not

just the latest schedule and costs


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Recommendation

Design of recommendation

1. Define the Scope

The first, and most important, step in any project is defining the scope of the project.

Defining the scope of a project develops a common understanding of what is included in

and excluded from the project. The scope builds upon the project concept developed in

the Conceptualize Stage.

Identify and clarify the project business need Define project goals Define the characteristics of the product or service Identify name and organization of the customer, sponsor and project manager Identify what is In Scope and Out of Scope Identify the project critical success factors Identify project assumptions Identify project constraints Identify key project deliverables

2. Define Requirements

Defining requirements specifies the capabilities, features or attributes of the projects

deliverables. Stakeholder needs, wants and wishes are analyzed to derive the

requirements. Requirements are prioritized to determine which requirements will be

included and excluded from the project.

3. Determine Available Resources

What people, equipment, and money will company have available to achieve the project

objectives? Each of the resources has its importance for the project and the project

manager should know how to deal with each one and how to plan their use. Project


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manager, usually will not have direct control of these resources, but will have to manage

them through matrix management.

A good project means a large use of resources which in general cost money so the cost

should be optimized always.

4. Check the Timeline

When does the project have to be completed? As you develop project plan company may

have some flexibility in how use time during the project, but deadlines usually are fixed.

If company decides to use overtime hours to meet the schedule, you must weigh that

against the limitations of your budget.

5. Assemble Your Project Team

Get the people on your team together and start a dialog. They are the technical experts.

That's why their functional supervisor assigned them to the project. Your job is to

manage the team.

6. Develop a Plan

This involves the drawing of the plan, the resource plan and the schedule considering also

the budget.

In this phase milestones are established and the work is broken down into smaller pieces

and activities than can be done easier. After you complete each activity, you move on the

next one and so on until you finish them all.

In addition, in this phase you must also plan how to use the available resources and

budget so you won't realize after a time that they are all gone and you cannot finish the

project anymore. So you must consider also the risks and allocate the budget according to

them.

The way you set milestone goes like this:

First you split the project into subprojects and further split them into activities ortasks.

You identify the duration taken to complete a task.


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You identify the resources needed to complete a task. You identify how this task is connected with other tasks. In the end, you arrive to certain parameters for every task: the earliest time for the

task and the later time for the task. Practically, you will be in between these

values. In addition, you'll also find an optimistic value for the duration of the

project and a pessimistic one. The most likely duration is what matters the most

because this is probably what will happen.

7. Develop a High level Budget

A high-level budget is a summary of the estimated costs to complete the high-level

project milestones. Generally, there are three types of costs that can be included in a

high-level budget:

1. Labor costs2. Material costs3. Non-labor costs.

8. Work Your Plan, but Don't Die For It

Making the plan is important, but the plan can be changed. You have a plan for driving to

work every morning. If one intersection is blocked by an accident, you change your planand go a different way. Do the same with your project plans. Change them as needed, but

always keep the scope and resources in mind.

9. Monitor Your Team's Progress

You will make little progress at the beginning of the project, but start then to monitor

what everyone is doing anyway. That will make it easier to catch issues before they

become problems.

10. Document Everything

Keep records. Every time you change from your plan, write down what the change was

and why it was necessary. Every time a new requirement is added to the project write

down where the requirement came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted


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because of it. You can't remember everything, so write them down so you'll be able to

look them up at the end-of-project review and learn from them.

11. Keep Everyone Informed

Keep all the project stakeholders informed of progress all along. Let them know of your

success as you complete each milestone, but also inform them of problems as soon as

they come up. Also keep you team informed. If changes are being considered, tell the

team about them as far ahead as you can. Make sure everyone on the team is aware of

what everyone else is doing.

Management authority flow

Figure 3.Management Authority

CEO

Project Manager

Project Team Expert


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Strategy

Project communication strategy

A communications strategy defines a high-level plan for how members of the project will

communicate during the course of the project.

A general communication strategy is all that is needed. The more detailed

communication plan is completed in the Plan Stage and includes the details of who, what,

when, where, why and how of the communications.

A good communications strategy addresses the following:

1. Identify the projects communication objectives or purposeAnswer the following questions:

Why are you communicating? What do you hope to achieve? What do you want people to do as a result of receiving your communications? Look at the objectives established for this project.

2. Develop the key message for the communicationsIs there a succinct message for your project?

Determine other key communications items targeted for your key audiences.

Quality Management Strategy

To provide the highest quality products and services, every project should address quality

management.

Project quality applies to both product quality and process quality.

A Quality Management Strategy should include:

1. Determine the quality management objectivesIdentify the overall objectives to be attained with regard to quality.

2. Identify the key project deliverablesDescribe the important project deliverables that are the object of the quality

strategy. Refer to the key deliverables identified in the project scope statement.

3. Identify the key project processes


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Describe the important project processes that must be undertaken correctly and

are the object of the quality strategy.

Processes can be both project processes and project management processes.

4. Determine the relevant quality standards and methods to be used to determine asuccessful outcome

A quality standard is a measure used to determine the successful outcome of the

project.

Ideally the organization will have some established standards that would be used.

Change Management Strategy

A change management strategy defines at a high level the factors to be used to control

changes that occur after the project baseline has been established in the Plan Stage. The

project baseline includes a detailed description of scope, budget, schedule, and plans for

managing quality, risk, issues, and change.

Changes can occur at any point in the project life cycle. Unmanaged change can cause a

project to fail to meet its objectives. The key to success is to permit changes to the project

during the execute and control stage only through a deliberate and controlled process in

clear view of the project team, the sponsor, and the stakeholders. Specifics of the process

to be followed are defined in the Change Management Plan during the Plan Stage.

Risk management strategy

A risk management strategy defines a high-level plan for how project risks will be

managed during the course of the project. Risks are possible events that may cause

deviations from the planned outcomes of a project. Deviations can be positive

(opportunities) or negative. Risk management is an iterative process that begins

immediately and continues throughout the life of a project.

A general risk management strategy is all that is needed in the Initiate Stage. The more

detailed risk management plan is completed in the Plan Stage and includes the details of

how to manage risk.

A good risk management strategy addresses the following:

1. Determine general areas of risk for the project


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Assess, list and describe at a high level the most significant areas of risk that

could contribute to deviations from planned outcomes for the project. For

example:

Project resources availability of staff with relevant experience Technology robustness and maturity Visibility of project i.e., importance to the organization Project requirements thoroughness of understanding and definition Project complexity project size, interrelationship to existing systems Stakeholder commitment degree of collaboration expected

2. Determine risk management objectivesBased on findings in the preceding steps, identify the overall objectives to be

attained with regard to risk management. Answer the following questions, for

example:

Are any of the known areas of risk significant to the success of thisproject?

Are any risks unacceptable? How aggressively will risk be managed for this project? Might any realized risks result in project cancellation?

3. Identify risk management decision makersDetermine roles for assuring risk management objectives are met throughout the

project life cycle. Consider, for example, responsibilities for determining answers

to the following questions, which will be thoroughly specified in the Plan Stage:

Who will approve the Risk Management Plan? Who will determine whether to use a qualitative, quantitative, or combined

risk analysis approach in the Plan Stage?

Who will determine risk response strategies in the Plan Stage? At what frequency should the project monitor for realized risks? At what frequency should the Risk Management Plan be reviewed and

updated?


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Implementing the Recommendation

The points below describes actions company can perform to define the

scope of a project.

Identify and clarify the project business need

Write an overview of the purpose of the project. Specify the business value or benefits to the organization. Use functional business terms to state the business need

Define project goals

A good goal statement has these characteristics:

Specific define what should be accomplished Measurable define how much, how many and how well the problem will be

resolved

Understandable understood by all involved Acceptable agreement that the goal is necessary and desirable Reasonable can be achieved in the time allowed Time Bound has a deadline or time horizon

Identify name and organization of the customer, sponsor and project manager

Customer: The entity who will realize the benefits of the project and may haveinitiated the project.

Sponsor: The person who is championing the project and will help resolve issuesand make resources available to the project.

Project manager: The person responsible for leading the project to a successfulconclusion

Identify what is in Scope and out of Scope

Describe what the project will accomplish in scope and what the project will not

accomplish out of scope.

Identify the project critical success factors


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Describe the key areas in which the project must perform well on a consistent basis to

achieve the goals of the project.

Identify project assumptions

Identify items taken as being true for the purposes of planning a project but could change

later. Indicate the potential impact if the assumptions prove to be false.

Identify project constraints

Describe the real-world limits for the project. Constraints are usually mandated,

unavoidable, or may prevent delivering the project in the most appropriate way. Types of

constraints are budget, schedule, staff, equipment, facilities and infrastructure, etc.

Identify key project deliverables

Describe high-level key deliverables. A deliverable is a measurable, tangible, verifiable

outcome, result, or item that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project.

The point below provides the key strategies for defining requirements.

Review project business needs

Refer back to the Scope statement of the project to get a better understanding of the

business needs.

Gather the requirements from the customer

Consider techniques such as facilitated requirements workshops. Focus on customer needs rather than solutions. Focus on product benefits (necessary requirements) rather than features. Identify the capabilities, features or attributes of the deliverable. Also can include

quality and operational requirements.

Evaluate the requirements

Make sure the requirements are necessary, attainable, unambiguous, complete, consistent

and concise.

Prioritize the requirements

Identify those needed to meet real customer needs. Some classifications include: need,

want, dream or must have, desired, and like.

Align requirements with project scope

Identify which requirements are included and are not included in the project scope.


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Examine assumptions

Identify and document any assumptions upon which the requirements are based.

Hold reviews of requirements

Reviews validate and verify the requirements resulting in more accurate requirements

specification and higher customer satisfaction.

The point below describes several actions that company can perform to

assemble project team.

Create a list of the required project roles

List all the roles that will be involved at some capacity in the project. Some may be

indirectly involved as supporting organizational unit, a steering committee, or as an

external vendor or supplier.

Some roles have on-going work assignments such as the members of the project team.

Define the responsibilities

For each role, briefly describe its responsibility.

Define skills required

For each role as needed, list the skills the staff resource filling the role must possess.

Example: Technical writing, Java programming

Determine the full time equivalent (FTE) level of effort for each roleBreak this into a given time frame usually the fiscal quarter or fiscal year at this level of

planning. A person working full-time would be equivalent to 1.0 and half-time would be

.50 etc.

Determine the potential source for each role

Indicate the business organization from which the resource might be recruited or indicate

if the resource will be sourced from outside as a contactor.

Create a project organization chart

The chart should show the reporting relationships of the roles.

Note: When actual team members are recruited and assigned in the planning stage, the

project organization chart can be updated with the team members name.

Identify planning stage team members


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List the names and responsibilities of the project team members who will be responsible

for the planning stage activities.

The point below provides key strategies for defining project milestones

and a timeline.

Identify the milestones for the project of detail

Specific milestones will vary according to the type of project and circumstances, but

milestones often include these types:

Proposals and Recommendations Provide a basis for approvals and decisions Approvals and Decisions Provide acceptance and authority to proceed Deliverables Provide a measure of progress, an opportunity for evaluation,

proof of deliverable

Events - Provide specific project events (example a project kick-off meeting)Provide a brief but relevant description for each milestone

Construct the timeline

Create the estimated target completion date for each milestone

The point below describes several ways to estimate project costs.

Principles for developing a high level budget

Estimating project costs involves a combination of science, logic, common sense and

experience. Listed below are several guiding principles to keep in mind:

Focus on the costs factors that depend on the needs of the specific project. (i.e., asystem development project may have different costs than a project to install a

new network.)

Refer to cost estimates of similar projects in the past that were accurate. Solicit the opinions and feedback of project participants to get a broad spectrum

of information, experience and opinion.

Estimate the cost for each high-level milestone

Cost can be categorized as labor, material and other costs as appropriate.

Examples of cost factors:


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Labor - Labor Rates Material - Vendor Quotes Material - Platform Site Cost Other - Training Cost

Estimate on-going maintenance and support costs

Estimate the costs at the level of detail you understand

If the project spans a long period of time, it is difficult to predict the estimate for work a

year or more in the future. In this case provide an estimate for the entire project at a high

level, and a detailed estimate for work for the next phase or period of time.

Identify the project cost by fiscal quarter and/or fiscal year

Determine the budgeting period based on the needs of your customer and the size of your

project.

Document the basis for the cost estimates

Identify fundamental assumptions used to develop, calculate or explain the cost

estimates. For example, the basis for calculating the labor cost might be a standard labor

rate multiplied by staff hours.

The points below describe the several ways of Kickoff Meetings

Project Kickoff Meeting

The Project Kickoff Meeting formally recognizes the start of the project. The project

manager uses this meeting to communicate a shared view of the project to ensure

understanding of the approved project charter and to clarify next steps involved in

producing the Planning Stage deliverables.

The Project Kickoff Meeting provides an opportunity for the following:

Introduce Official Sponsor(s) and Project Manager Introduce Key Customers and Stakeholders Review Project Scope, Definition and Objectives Review High-level Timeline & Milestones, Roles, and Budget Review Deliverables Review Challenges


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Explain Next StepsProject Team Kickoff Meeting

This Kickoff Meeting brings team members together to review the Project Plan and to

discuss the management methods to be used in the Execute and Control Stage.

Schedule Project Team Kickoff Meeting

Determine when team members are available and schedule the meeting.

Prepare Agenda and Meeting Materials

Several days prior to the meeting, prepare and send the agenda, completed Project Plan,

and Management Methods/Expectations Worksheet to team members.

Hold Project Team Kickoff Meeting

Gather in a room conducive to presentation and discussion. Review and discuss details of the Project Plan. Hold a discussion to refine and clarify the management methods and expectations

for the Execute and Control Stage.

Keep the conversation focused and note all contributions using flip charts,projected computer screen, or other.

Managing the Customer/Vendor Relationship

In order to maintain a healthy Customer/Vendor relationship an ongoing process needs to

be established. The process should provide assurances to the customer that they are

receiving the appropriate products and services as contracted from the vendor. From the

vendor's perspective, the process should help manage quality, productivity and costs

which are critical to the success of the relationship. In total, processes are required to

track performance, communicate status and document results.

The first process to be addressed is the Systems Development Methodology (SDM). Use

of the vendor's methodology versus the customer's must be decided. Great care must be

taken in making this decision to ensure that the method used will fit the current

development environment and allow for future maintenance. When outsourcing the

complete development function the vendor usually prefers to use their own methods and

techniques. In the event that the customer requires the vendor to use an in-house


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methodology they must realize that the use of unfamiliar techniques may have a negative

impact on quality and productivity and, as a result, the ongoing relationship. Typically,

modifications to the selected methodology are often necessary to satisfy the needs of both

parties.

The second process to be considered is Project Management. A large majority of the

work associated with outsourcing arrangements are project based. Standard project

management techniques often require modifications due to the addition of the

outsourcing organization. Changes may include: tighter control over project deliverables;

formal budget/schedule variance analysis; well documented Customer/Vendor roles and

responsibilities; and a change control process that quantifies impact on time and cost.

Software Measurement is required to effectively manage the Customer/Vendor

relationship and ultimately measure success. As previously discussed, measurement will

help identify the need for outsourcing and is often the basis for contract payment.

Measurement should also be the primary tool for evaluating the quality of deliverables,

quantifying changes in scope and identifying process improvements. Used properly,

measurement can become the most effective communications tool available to customers

and vendors.

It is important to recognize that establishing the processes discussed takes time. Many

organizations require a full year to implement these ongoing processes. Time is required

to develop the processes, train personnel and integrate the techniques into the daily

software development and support activities. In addition, management will need to

monitor, modify and mandate as appropriate.


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Recommended Checklist for CEO

Evaluate the present situation and assess resources. Review and approve project requests and allocate funding. Develop standard project processes, tools and templates. Establish and contextualize best practice methodology. Develop common expectations and language. Allocate project staff and manage all projects centrally. Track the status and achievements of all the organization projects. Advocate for project management and provide education within the organization.


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Methodologies

The various methods used at Alcove Technologies for reaching out for clients and

projects are

1. BiddingBidding is an offer (often competitive) of setting a price one is willing to pay for

something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of

auctions, stock exchange, card games, or real estate transactions.

2. Social networking websitesSocial networking has encouraged new ways to communicate and share

information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of

people.

3. OutsourcingOutsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing,

to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interestof lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or

conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particular business, or to

make more efficient use of land, labor, capital, (information) technology and

resources. It is essentially a division of labor.

Outsourcing involves the transfer of the management and/or day-to-day execution

of an entire business function to an external service provider.

4. Conference callsMaking International calls is one of the approaches that Alcove uses to reach for

the global clients. It is more effective when you are talking to people in person, it

has more impact on them and they feel comfortable when talking to us.


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Practices at alcove

The technologies I worked upon are Mobile Applications, Multimedia Applications and

Microsoft Dynamics. I worked on developing the profile of mobile application which was

started when I joined this organization. I was assigned to work on this technology. The

respective Methodologies in brief is as follows

The Methods used for reaching out for clients for finding possible business opportunities

in these two technologies were

1. Social Networking Sites

The Social Networking Sites are the most preferred way of finding clients worldwide,

which has grabbed the attention of everyone. We at Alcove Technologies also find social

networking sites as a useful tool for reaching our customers. Not only we get client but

we also build long lasting relationships. While it could be said that email and websites

have most of the essential elements of social network services, the idea of proprietary

encapsulated services has gained popular uptake recently.

The main types of social networking services are those which contain category divisions

(such as former school-year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with

self-description pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods

now combine many of these, with Facebook widely used worldwide; MySpace, Twitter

and LinkedIn being the most widely used in North America, Nexopia (mostly in Canada);

Bebo, Hi5, MySpace, dol2day (mostly in Germany), Tagged, XING; and Skyrock in

parts of Europe; Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America; and Friendster,

Multiply, Orkut, Wretch, Xiaonei and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

There have been some attempts to standardize these services to avoid the need to

duplicate entries of friends and interests (see the FOAF standard and the Open Source

Initiative), but this has led to some concerns about privacy.


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The use of social network services in an enterprise context presents the potential of

having a major impact on the world of business and work.

Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and

small businesses looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as a

customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services.

Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners and text

ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in

touch with contacts around the world.

One example of social networking being used for business purposes is LinkedIn.com,

which aims to interconnect professionals. LinkedIn has over 36 million users in over 200

countries.

2. Bidding

One of the different ways that alcove uses for getting projects. I have been bidding for

Alcove for various projects online. "Bidding up" means raising a price for an item by a

series of rising bids. It may be unlawful, if done by a group of persons with an interest in

raising the price. In traditional auctions, bidding up is a natural course of events. Since

1990s, with the emergence of online auctions, reverse auctions gained popularity, in

which the traditional roles of buyers and sellers are reversed, and the goal of bidding is to

drive the price down, similar to bid shopping practice of selecting a contractor to do a

job.

Some terms related to bidding;

Bid price

A bid price is the highest price that a buyer (i.e., bidder) is willing to pay for a good. It is

usually referred to simply as the "bid."

In bid and ask, the bid price stands in contrast to the ask price or "offer", and the

difference between the two is called the bid/ask spread.

An unsolicited bid or offer is when a person or company receives a bid even though they

are not looking to sell. A bidding war is said to occur when a large number of bids are


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placed in rapid succession by two or more entities, especially when the price paid is much

greater than the ask price, or greater than the first bid in the case of unsolicited bidding.

In the context of stock trading on a stock exchange, the bid price is the highest price a

buyer of a stock is willing to pay for a share of that given stock. The bid price displayed

in most quote services is the highest bid price in the market. The ask or offer price on the

other hand is the lowest price a seller of a particular stock is willing to sell a share of that

given stock. The ask or offer price displayed is the lowest ask/offer price in the market

(Stock market).

Bidding fee scheme

A bidding fee scheme is a grey area business model that involves gambling on the

outcome of an auction. However, a bidding fee scheme differs from an actual auction by

the fact that participants must pay a non-refundable fee for the privilege of placing a bid

in an auction-like process. Because the outcome of the auction-like process is uncertain,

the "fee" spent on the bid is actually equivalent to a wager, and the whole enterprise is

actually a deceptive form of gambling.

Bidding fee schemes are most commonly encountered on the internet, where internet

gambling sites are dressed up in online auction drag. While some sites are very explicit

about the fact that they are not actual auction sites (one Bidding Fee Scheme site refers to

itself as "shopping entertainment"), other sites are more deliberately deceptive,

attempting to blur the distinction between auctions and gambling. Customers are drawn

to these sites through advertisements that publicize the lower-than-cost final winning bids

of many products, without publicizing the cost in fees of the bids that were necessary to

reach that price.

Bidding fee scheme sites are enormously profitable. The "auctioneer" receives income

both in the form of the fees collected for each bid, and in the form of payment for the

winning bid.


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Ask Price

Ask price, also called offer price, offer, asking price, or simply ask, is a price a seller of a

good is willing to accept for that particular good.

In bid and ask, the term asks price is used in contrast to the term bid price. The difference

between the ask price and the bid price is called the spread.

In the context of stock trading on a stock exchange, the ask price is the lowest price a

seller of a stock is willing to accept for a share of that given stock. For over-the-counter

stocks, the asking price is the best quoted price at which a Market Maker is willing to sell

a stock.

For mutual funds, the asking price is the net asset value plus any sales charges. It is also

called asked price or offering price or asks.

The ask price is the lowest price a seller of a commodity is willing to accept for that

commodity.

In auctions the ask price is the reservation price. Some auctions may not have such a

price. This price is the minimum that the seller will agree to for the object being sold.

Price war

Price war is a term used in business to indicate a state of intense competitive rivalry

accompanied by a multi-lateral series of price reduction. One competitor will lower its

price, and then others will lower their prices to match. If one of them reduces their price

again, a new round of reductions starts. In the short-term, price wars are good for

consumers, who can take advantage of lower prices. Often they are not good for the

companies involved. The lower prices reduce profit margins and can threaten their

survival.

In the medium to long term, they can be good for the dominant firms in the industry.

Typically, the smaller, more marginal, firms cannot compete and must close. The


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remaining firms absorb the market share of those that have closed. The real losers then,

are the marginal firms and their investors. In the long term, the consumer may lose too.

With fewer firms in the industry, prices tend to increase, sometimes higher than before

the price war started.

Procurement

Procurement is the acquisition of goods and/or services at the best possible total cost of

ownership, in the right quantity and quality, at the right time, in the right place and from

the right source for the direct benefit or use of corporations or individuals, generally via a

contract. Simple procurement may involve nothing more than repeat purchasing.

Complex procurement could involve finding long term partners or even 'co-destiny'

suppliers that might fundamentally commit one organization to another.

Almost all purchasing decisions include factors such as delivery and handling, marginal

benefit, and price fluctuations. Procurement generally involves making buying decisions

under conditions of scarcity. If good data is available, it is good practice to make use of

economic analysis methods such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-utility analysis.

Tenders

For example a Website Tender is a document outlining a new website design and

development requirement from a company or organization. This is part of a tender

process meaning there may be several companies competing for the design and

development of a website.

Unique bid auction

A Unique bid auction is a type of strategy game related to traditional auctions where the

winner is usually the individual with the lowest unique bid, although less commonly the

auction rules may specify that the highest unique bid is the winner. Unique bid auctions

are often used as a form of competition or lottery.

This type of auction requires bidders to place bids that are unique. That is, for a bid to be

eligible to win no other bidder can have made a bid for the same amount. Bidders are


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generally able to place multiple bids and the number of current bids at each amount is

typically kept secret.

There are two major variants of unique bid auctions:

Highest Unique Bid: The bid that is the highest and unmatched when the auction closes

is the winning bid. A maximum bid value is usually set at a much lower level than the

actual value of the lot.

Lowest Unique Bid: The bid that is the lowest and unmatched when the auction closes is

the winning bid.

In this type of auction the bids of other participants are necessarily secret, although some

companies may provide broad guidance following a bid, such as whether the winning

unique bid is higher or lower than one's last bid.

Unique bid auctions will typically allow bids to be very precise, in that each bid can be

specific to the 'penny'.

Virtually all instances of unique bid auctions are heavily dependent on the use of

technology, in that they are either run solely using mobile technology (e.g. bidders submit

their bids via text messages) or they are on-line auction sites, or both.

The open unique bid auction model is unlikely to be suitable for serious auctions as it

essentially defeats the main purpose of auctions, to achieve the highest price for the

seller.

3. Conference Calls

A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than

one called party listens in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be

designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up

so that the called party merely listens into the call and cannot speak. It is often referred to

as an ATC (Audio Tele-Conference).


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Conference calls can be designed so that the calling party calls the other participants and

adds them to the call. In most cases, the participants are able call into the conference call

themselves, by dialing into a special telephone number that connects to a "conference

bridge" (a specialized type of equipment that links telephone lines).

Usually, most companies use a specialized service provider who maintains the conference

bridge, or who provides the phone numbers and PIN codes that participants dial to access

the meeting or conference call.

We here at Alcove Technologies used Skype for making international calls. Skype is a

software application that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. Calls to

other users of the service, and in some countries to free-of-charge numbers are free, while

calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features

include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

Skype In allows Skype users to receive calls on their computers dialed by regular phone

subscribers to a local Skype phone number; local numbers are available for Australia,

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France,

Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland,

Romania, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and

the United States. A Skype user can have local numbers in any of these countries, with

calls to the number charged at the same rate as calls to fixed lines in the country. Some

jurisdictions, including France and Germany, forbid the registration of their telephone

numbers to anyone without a physical presence or residency in the country.


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Limitations of the approach

Fake profiles on social networking sites No direct contact information due to security reasons. Exchange of contacts on these sites can be monitored by hackers Danger of profile hacks, e-mail hacking Only limited number of sites used for bidding Most of the sites used for bidding are fake providing fake information Hyper competition in bidding for good projects Sometimes there is lack of description about the project on the bidding sites

and we cannot contact the project provider until and unless our bid wins

Restriction on number of bids we can submit in some sites in a month Sometimes our bidding profile gets blocked if we bid a lot in some sites It takes a lot of time for our bidding profile to get activated. Time Zones should be kept in mind when making international calls. Language constrains The concerned person is unavailable Skype credits Not possible to call all of the countries around the globe


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Roles and responsibilities in Alcove

Generated positive replies using social networking sites

The job I did regarding the generating the positive responses through the social

networking sites, was like this-

Alcove launched the new range of services in Mobile Application Development. I was

exclusively given assignment to work on that project. I was assigned to prepare the

services profile of the company. And acquiring the clients for the services.

So I took following steps in developing new service.

1. Study the recent trends in mobile technology services:With the help of business networking and exchange sites I searched the

companies offering and using the mobile application technologies, in their

products like symbien, java. Etc. I also considered the trends in usage of

technologies in recent times

2. I observed the existing service offerings in mobile application from many othercompanies.

From the list of service offerings I downloaded the service profiles of

competitors. I studied that thoroughly, I sorted out the services which can be

provided from our end. And which can be outsourced if feasible.

3. Recognized the highest demanded servicesFrom the profiles I listed out the services which were getting the highest

responses. From the client organizations. I recommended that to be included in

the service profiles.


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4. Compared the costs involved in services.Though many companies were reluctant to disclose the cost of services, I was able

to know few of the services costs. Again the cost of services was to be decided by

the management solely. So I just mentioned the market costs in the reports.

5. Observed the companies which are to be targeted for these services.I observed and collected the data and details about the companies, who were

major customers for the existing services in the market.

6. Prepared the detailed profile of mobile application services for alcove [seeannexure for details]

Based on the work done before, I designed the service offering profile for alcove

technologies. This included the most desirable services and most cost effective on

part of organization.

7. I put the profile in front of CEO and Departmental heads for further decisions andchanges.

8.

When it was approved I finalized the draft of it in the mailing format for sendingit to prospects.

9. Using Social networking sites.Once that profile was ready, I sent the profile to the companies who were most

likely to hire the services of alcove technologies. In addition to that I sent the

mails to all people who were connected to the mobile application services hiring

positions and industry. I searched out the companies location wise. Response to

the service offering was 20% of the approaching.

10.ContractsOut of the positive responses few of the companies were agreed to sign a contract

with alcove technologies.


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Requirement Gathering and Analysis

Requirement gathering is usually the first part of any system development.

In this phase, I gathered all positive replies of world wide clients, analyzing market

requirements and features that are in demand. I also find out if there is a real need in the

market for the software product companies are trying to develop.

In this stage, I also collected clients direct contact or collect there Skype ID for direct

contact and communicate with these customers and try to understand what they need. A

comprehensive understanding of the customers needs and writing down features of the

proposed software product are the keys to success in this phase.

Requirements Analysis is the process of understanding the customer needs and

expectations from a proposed system or application and is a well-defined stage in the

Software Development Life Cycle model.

Requirements are a description of how a system should behave or a description of system

properties or attributes. It can alternatively be a statement of what an application is

expected to do.

Given the multiple levels of interaction between users, business processes and devices in

global corporations today, there are simultaneous and complex requirements from a

single application, from various levels within an organization and outside it as well.

The Software Requirements Analysis Process covers the complex task of eliciting and

documenting the requirements of all these users, modeling and analyzing these

requirements and documenting them as a basis for system design

Fundamentals of requirements

There are two types of requirement

1. Functional Requirement:

Functional requirements are the capabilities that the system will perform. The system

performs the input, process, and outputs for each function.


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System Requirements: In a system requirements are system as a whole. In asystem containing software components, software requirements are derived from

system requirements. It also called Users requirements.

2. Non Functional Requirement:

It refers to the constraint on the system. Constraints are the restrictions on the system to

use and reuse certain hardware, software and communication methods. Non Functional

Requirements are categorized:

Performance Requirement: Performance requirements are the numeric valuesfor measurable attributes of the IT System behavior. Ex: The latency for each

interruption shall not exceed 200 microseconds.

Behavioral Requirement: These cover dynamic aspects of the system, includingcontrol, timing, different states, and modes.

Operational Requirement: Operational Requirements define how the ITSystem will run and communicate with human users. They cover the number of

users at any time that can access the system operators qualifications.

Interface Requirement: It defines the interaction between computers andhumans. The interfaces are between screen formats, available operations

functions, and interface optimization.

Safety and security Requirement: The requirement that address to Security Quality Requirement: It defines the desired performance. Product and Process Requirements: Product parameters are requirements on

software to be developed. Process parameter is essentially constraint on the

development of the software.

System Requirement Process

It is the process whereby users, customers, and management of company determine

exactly what is needed. This process involves sub processes, such as the customer

defining the requirements and the system developer learning those requirements.


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Figure 4.system requirement process

Requirement Elicitation

Requirement elicitation is the process of gathering, negotiation and understanding

requirements. It is the first stage in building and understanding the system.

Requirement

Communication

Clarification

What Requirement

Feedback

Figure 5. Requirement Elicitation

Requirement

Proposal

Requirement

Analyst

System

Developer


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Requirement Analysis contains several steps:

Requirement Classification: Requirement Classification is important step in

Requirement Analysis.

Whether the requirement is functional or non functional Whether requirement is derived from one or more high level

requirements or an emergent property or imposed directly on the

software by a stakeholder or some other sources

Whether the requirement is on the product or the process. Requirement Priority The scope of requirement Volatility or Stability

Conceptual Modeling: The development of models of a real world problem is a key to

software requirement analysis.

Conceptual model comprise models of entities from the problemdomain configured to reflect their real world relationships and

dependencies.

Several kinds of models can be developed. These includes Data and control flows State models Event traces User Interactions Object Models Data Models

The factors that influence the choice of model include The nature of the problem The expertise of the software problem The process requirements of the customer The availability of methods and tools

Architectural Design and Requirements Allocation

At some point, the architecture of solution must be derived.


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Architectural design is the point at which the requirement process overlaps withsoftware or system design and illustrates how impossible it is to cleanly decouples

two tasks

Identify Vendors and sub vendors

It was a sourcing responsibility assigned to me. When a client approaches to the

organization some part of his project is outsourced to third party vendors who are

specialist in the respective area. My job was to shortlist the vendors from all part of

country. And ask them about fulfillment of the requirement. After that vendors used to

quote the time cost and quality, based upon the quality standards of the alcove. The final

contract was signed.

Fixing appointments with Vendors

Business collaboration of alcove with vendors, temporary and permanent was handled by

me for the period of two months. This includes the negotiating terms and conditions of

contract. And setting up meeting in order to maintain a long-term relationship with the

vendor organizations.

Data Consolidation

Data consolidation was to support the management decision. Its started from receiving

the responses from the vendors. And keep the responses and past project profiles of

vendor companies at a place. And when alcove finds a project requirement, I used to

search firstly in the database already with us. And calling the company who has matching

profiles with the project requirements.


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Interpretation & Findings

During the period of my internship, I used the three approaches for finding clients and

projects worldwide. I used social networking sites

On an average, around 800 messages were posted on the social networking sites and 10

percent of those messages generated positive replies. Then the further interactions were

done by the company itself, mutually. The same procedure was followed in the calling

process also; we need to get the e-mail id of the concerned persons by telling them the

possible business opportunities that can be explored by business collaborations. The next

steps include gathering requirements and setting up conference calls with the higher

authorities in the management to talk about the other related things


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Conclusions

During these two months of my internship at Alcove Technologies, I learned the various

processes involved in finding new business opportunities in the respective technologies

assigned to me for working on, and following are the task performed by me at Alcove:

1.

universtity report

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