Project Management

• Project


  • Temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources
  • Unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal
  • Team often includes people who don't usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies
• Projects


  • The development of software for an improved business process
  • The construction of a building or bridge
  • The relief effort after a natural disaster
  • The expansion of sales into a new geographic market
• Project management


  The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements
• Project management processes


  • Initiating
  • Planning
  • Executing
  • Monitoring and Controlling
  • Closing
• Project management knowledge areas

  • Integration
  • Scope
  • Time
  • Cost
  • Quality
  • Procurement
  • Human resources
  • Communications
  • Risk management
  • Stakeholder management
• Cost


  A resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something given up in exchange
• Cost management processes


  • Planning cost management
  • Estimating costs
  • Determining the budget
  • Controlling costs
• Types of costs and benefits

  • Tangible costs or benefits
  • Intangible costs or benefits
  • Direct costs
  • Indirect costs
  • Sunk cost
• Estimation


  The process of assigning projected values for time and effort
• Estimation can be performed manually or with the help of an estimation software package
• Function point


  A unit of measurement used to express the amount of business functionality an information system provides to a user
• Gantt chart


  Provides a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format
• Gantt chart symbols


  • Black diamond: a milestone
  • Thick black bars: summary tasks
  • Lighter horizontal bars: durations of tasks
  • Arrows: dependencies between tasks
• PERT


  A network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates
• PERT three-point estimate


  Estimated duration = (Optimistic + (4 X Most Likely) + Pessimistic)/6
• PERT rules


  • Tasks (activities) are represented as arrows
  • Milestone dates are nodes
• Forward pass method


  Determine the earliest possible dates for each milestone
• Backward pass method


  Determine the latest possible date for each milestone
• Earliest Start (ES) date


  The earliest possible date that the task can start given all of tasks before it
• Latest Finish (LF) date


  The latest possible date that the task must be complete without affecting the overall completion date
• Latest Start (LS) date


  Calculated from the Latest Finish (LF) date and the task duration
• Earliest Finish (EF) date


  Calculated from the Earliest Start (ES) date and the task duration
• Float


  The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date
• Critical path


  The sequence of interdependent activities or tasks that must be finished before the project can be finished
• Work plan


  A dynamic schedule that records and keeps track of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished over the course of the project
• Developing the work plan

  1. Identify tasks

  2. Create a work breakdown structure

  3. Develop the project work plan
• Staffing plan


  Describes the kinds of people working on the project
• Project charter


  Describes the project's objectives and rules
• Functional lead


  Manages a group of analysts
• Technical lead


  Oversees progress of programmers and technical staff members
• Intrinsic rewards


  • Recognition
  • Achievement
  • The work itself
  • Responsibility
  • Advancement
  • Chance to learn new skills
• Group cohesiveness


  The attraction that members feel to the group and to other members
• Clearly defining the roles on the project and holding team members accountable for their tasks is a good way to begin mitigating potential conflict on a project
• The act of coordinating project activities continues throughout the entire project until a system is delivered to the project sponsor and end users
• Efficient development practices and risk mitigation activities occur over the course of the entire SDLC