Chapter 3

• Project planning, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting are essential aspects of managing systems projects
• A project triangle shows the relationship among project cost, scope, and time
• Work breakdown structures, task patterns, and critical path analysis are important in project management
• Techniques for estimating task completion times and costs are crucial for project success
• Scheduling tools like Gantt charts and PERT/CPM charts are commonly used in project management
• Task dependencies, durations, start dates, and end dates are analyzed in project scheduling
• Project management software assists in guiding, supervising, and coordinating project teams
• Managing project risks and understanding why projects sometimes fail are key considerations in project management
• Successful projects must balance cost, scope, and time against a set of constraints
• Project managers play a crucial role in project leadership, planning, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting
• Gantt charts show planned and actual progress on a project
• PERT and CPM charts are tools for managing complex projects and displaying task patterns and relationships
• Gantt charts offer a snapshot view of a project, while PERT is more useful for scheduling, monitoring, and controlling work
• Work breakdown structures must clearly identify tasks, estimate durations, and include predecessor tasks
• Task durations can be in hours, days, or weeks, with person-days as a unit of measurement
• Factors affecting task duration include project size, human resources, experience with similar projects, and constraints
• Task patterns involve dependent tasks, multiple successor tasks, and multiple predecessor tasks
• Task boxes contain important information about tasks, including task name, ID, duration, start day/date, and finish day/date
• Identifying task patterns involves recognizing dependent tasks, multiple successor tasks, and multiple predecessor tasks
• Action words like "then," "when," or "and" signal a sequence of events in task patterns
• To work with complex task patterns effectively:

  • Study the facts carefully to understand the logic and sequence
  • Incorrect task patterns can lead to a wrong schedule
• A critical path in project management:

  • Consists of tasks that, if delayed, would impact the project's completion date
  • Delays in any critical path task will delay the entire project
• To calculate the critical path:

  • Review patterns and determine start and finish dates, which define the critical path
• Monitoring and Control Techniques:

  • Structured walkthroughs
  • Anticipating, avoiding, and minimizing problems
  • Identifying potential solutions and selecting the best way to solve problems
• Maintaining a Schedule:

  • Schedule regular project status meetings
  • Project status reports are usually written and may include Gantt charts
  • Handling potential problems effectively is crucial for project success
• Steps in Risk Management:

  • Develop a risk management plan
  • Identify risks and assess their likelihood of affecting the project
  • Analyze risks qualitatively and quantitatively to understand their impact
• Risk Management Software:

  • Assigns specific dates as constraints
  • Aligns task dependencies
  • Tracks progress and displays tasks behind schedule
  • Links risks with specific tasks and projects
  • Specifies probability and impact, assigns ownership, and manages projects efficiently
• Common Project Issues:

  • Business issues: Systems should provide solutions to business problems
  • Budget issues: Unrealistic estimates, poor monitoring, and schedule delays
  • Schedule issues: Problems with timetables, milestones, and project management techniques
• Project Management:

  • Involves planning, scheduling, monitoring, and reporting on information system development
  • A successful project must be completed on time, within budget, and deliver a quality product
  • Project managers must be alert, technically competent, and good communicators