SEF9 - 19 Reading on Software Project Management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

What is a project?
===========================================================
A project is a series of activities leading to defined goals and deliverables achieved in a specified time frame.

A project has a specific starting date, and a specific ending date.

A project may involve the activities of a team of people, or be a relatively complex series of activities completed by a single person.

The team members may all come from one department, or they may include persons from many departments or even other companies.

While a particular type of project may occur many times, ongoing or routine activities are not considered projects.


What Steps Go into Managing a Project? Five main steps.
==========================================================
Initiating ==> Planning ==> Executing ==> Controlling ==> Closing.

Activities in management are PRMCC ==> Planning, Reviewing, Monitoring, Control and Coordinate.

(1) Initiating.
=============================
This initiating phase involves defining the overall scope of the project, (apply W5H2 principle)

EXAMPLES:

- define objectives (goals and deliverables) of the project,
- what the overall project due date will be,
- who the stakeholders are who will be involved in or affected by the project and its outcomes,
- what people and equipment will be available to contribute to the project,
- what the budget limitations are,
- what other performance measures such as quality standards must be met. During this process,
- identify underlying assumptions that might impact project outcomes in a positive or negative way,
- what departments can really make the type of contribution required.

Before proceeding to the next phase, all stakeholders should agree on the project’s parameters.

(2) Planning (the DETAILS)
=============================
The Planning phase can make or break the project. During this phase, the project manager must

EXAMPLES:

- detail the specific activities needed to achieve the project deliverables;
- detail and define the specific people, equipment, and materials involved and the cost for each;
- determine which people will handle which tasks;
- create the detailed schedule for all aspects of the work;
- identify how activities relate and may impact one another;
- firmly solidify the budget.

Once the project manager believes that the project plan is thorough, complete, realistic, and accurate and will result in the required goals and deliverables, she should make sure that all stakeholders buy in to and agree to the plan. At that point, the project manager should secure formal approval and signoffs as required in her organization to proceed with the project, at which point work can begin.

(3) Executing.
=============================

Just before work begins, the project manager should make a record of the original project plan to use as a tool for later evaluation.

The project manager should set up regular communication avenues to urge team members to complete work and to gather information about actual progress in completing project activities.

Tracking tools can help gauge overall project progress.

(4) Controlling.
=============================

Controlling a project primarily happens concurrent with project execution (although you can think of discipline during the initiation and planning phases as control, too).

As the project manager tracks progress, she needs to identify deviations from the original plan as quickly as possible and take corrective actions, such as reassigning work, seeking more tools to complete the work, adjusting the schedule based on changes, and managing and limiting budget issues.

During this phase, the project manager must respond to and manage needed changes. Execution and control also involve reporting project progress to team members and stakeholders as required.

(5) Closing
=============================

While this phase may be the least formal in any company’s project management routine, some type of closure typically occurs when the project is declared finished and the project team members are released from project obligations.

The project manager should document lessons learned, either for herself personally or for the whole team, and provide final reports and documentation.

===========================================================
Project Management Body of Knowledge => PMBOK versus SWEBOK
===========================================================

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the leading project management organization that develops the standards and models for professional project management, brought together in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

==========================================================
THE ISSUES FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERING - PROJECT MANAGEMENT
===========================================================

One of the biggest problems managers face when dealing with a software development project is that by its very nature, the project is invisible (cannot see) and non-tactile (cannot touch and feel). It’s not like building a bridge, where everyone can see the progress that’s being made.

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

==============================================================
THIS IS FAMOUS: Project Management is about four(4) Ps (pees):
==============================================================

PRODUCT ==> Software is not tangible, invisible, non-tactile, etc. Imagination ... Abstraction ... Virtualization, etc. Can monkeys produce software?

PROCESS ==> Estimation is not an exact science. Can be off by a mile in cost and time ..., etc.

PROJECT ==> A director with brains, eyes, ears, a gun (to use) ... to get things done, by hook or by crook. Managing the project PRMCC (Planning, Reviewing, Monitoring, Control and Coordination)

PEOPLE ==> Human beings have thousands of different behaviours. You think about this ..., etc.

The PM (Project Manager) must be guided by some principles .... needs experience ...

OBJECTIVES:

(1) Provide the software product that meets client requirements (correctly, etc)
(2) Deliver the product "on-time" (within time, below time, timely, etc)
(3) Complete the project "on-cost" (within budget, below budget, on-budget, etc)


PM ==> THE COMMON SENSE PRINCIPLES
===========================================================

(1) PLANNING - plan everything ===> determining deliverables, effort, schedule and cost estimation, resource allocation, etc. Prioritize the activities. Identify risks, mitigating measures, etc.

(2) REVIEW OF PLANS - SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Bound), make changes where necessary, contingency plans, worst case scenarios, etc.

(3) MONITORING/MEASURING PROGRESS - proceed knowing what is happening (not blind). Assessment. On track, or delayed, etc.

(4) CONTROL (DECISION MAKING) - right decisions, right decisions at the right time. Attitudes: Shoot to kill ... Fire employees ... etc, when required.

(5) COORDINATE (TEAM COMMUNICATIONS) - make sure every one that needs to know knows. Communicate timely, clearly and effectively.

Go to Good Book 1 (Dr Roger Pressman)
===========================================================
Chapter 21 - Project Management then answer the questions on Project Management:

PM = Project Management

What is it (PM)?
Who does it (PM)?
Why is it important (PM)?
What are the steps (PM)?
What is the work product (PM)?
How do I ensure that I have done it right (PM)?

REMEMBER: Doing the right things is VALIDATION, and doing the things right is VERIFICATION.

So what is doing both "the right things" and "the things right" called? Ha ha ha (ANSWER: V & V)

SWEBOK versus PMBOK (he he he)
===========================================================
SWEBOK said - The Software Engineering Management Knowledge Area (KA) addresses the management and measurement of software engineering.

While measurement is an important aspect of all KAs, it is here that the topic of measurement programs is presented. There are six subareas for software engineering management. The first five(5) cover software project management and the sixth describes software measurement programs.

(PMBOK) - Project Management Body of Knowledge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Guide_to_the_Project_Management_Body_of_Knowledge

Processes overlap and interact throughout a project or its various phases. Processes are described in terms of:

* Inputs (documents, plans, designs, etc.)
* Tools and Techniques (mechanisms applied to inputs)
* Outputs (documents, products, etc.)


The Guide recognizes 42 processes that fall into five basic process groups and nine knowledge areas that are typical of almost all projects.

The five process groups (activities) are:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling (Milestones)
5. Closing

In PMBOK, the nine knowledge areas (KA) are:

1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Time Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Human Resource Management
7. Project Communications Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management

MAPPING SWEBOK (BELOW). Can we do the same for PMBOK?
===========================================================

Business Modeling ====> SWEBOK Software Requirements Engineering
Implementation ====> SWEBOK ....
Configuration and Change Management ====> SWEBOK ....
Requirements ====> SWEBOK ....
Test ====> SWEBOK ....
Project Management ====> SWEBOK ....
Analyses and Design ====> SWEBOK ....
Deployment ====> SWEBOK ....
Environment ====> SWEBOK ....

===========================================================
PM ==> Decomposition Techniques and Planning tools.
===========================================================
(EXAMPLES: OpenProj, Microsoft Project, Primavera)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenProj
===========================================================

OpenProj is an open source project management software intended as a complete desktop replacement for Microsoft Project, being able to open existing native MS Project files. (SEF Tutorial No. 6)

It was developed by Projity in 2007. OpenProj runs on the Java Platform, allowing it to run on a variety of different operating systems.

Compared to MS Project, which it closely emulates, OpenProj has a similar user interface (UI), and a similar approach to construction of a project plan:

create an indented task list or work
breakdown structure (WBS),
set durations,
create links either by
(a) mouse drag,
(b) selection and then button-down, or
(c) manually type in the 'predecessor' column),
assign resources.


The columns (fields) are the same as for MS Project. Users of the one software should be broadly comfortable using the other. Costs are the same: labour, hourly rate, material usage, and fixed costs: these are all provided.

The current version of OpenProj includes:

* Earned Value costing
* Gantt chart
* PERT graph
* Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) chart
* Task usage reports
* Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) char

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Project
===========================================================

Microsoft Project (or MSP or WinProj) is a project management software program developed and sold (not free) by Microsoft which is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads.

The application creates critical path schedules, and critical chain and event chain methodology third-party add-ons are also available. Schedules can be resource leveled, and chains are visualized in a Gantt chart.

Additionally, MS Project can recognize different classes of users. These different classes of users can have differing access levels to projects, views, and other data. Custom objects such as calendars, views, tables, filters, and fields are stored in an enterprise global which is shared by all users.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primavera_(software)
===========================================================

Primavera P6 is a leading software solution for project portfolio management. Primavera P6 was developed by the US company [Systems]. In October 2008 Oracle acquired Primavera Systems. Primavera applications include:

- Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management;
- Primavera P6 Professional Project Management;
- Primavera P6 Analytics;
- Primavera Portfolio Management;
- Primavera Contract Management;
- Primavera Risk Analysis;
- Primavera Inspire for SAP;
- Primavera Earned Value Management.

PRIMAVERA costs a bomb. Ha ha ha. A premier, top of its range software - It can handle large projects and large number of tasks. He he he. http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/Acquisitions/primavera/index.html

Gantt Chart, PERT/CPM, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
===========================================================
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule.

Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts also show the dependency (i.e., precedence network) relationships between activities. Gantt charts can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a vertical "TODAY" line as shown here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_breakdown_structure
=============================================================
A work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering, is a tool used to define and group a project's discrete work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project.

A work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. A WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control. Additionally the WBS is a dynamic tool and can be revised and updated as needed by the project manager.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PERT
===========================================================

The Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique, commonly abbreviated PERT, is a model for project management designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project. It is commonly used in conjunction with the critical path method or CPM.

There are two types of network diagrams, activity on arrow (AOA) and activity on node (AON). Activity on node diagrams are generally easier to create and interpret. Go to URL for PERT to have a look.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method
===========================================================

The critical path method (CPM) is an algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It is an important tool for effective project management. CPM BASIC TECHNIQUE - The essential technique for using CPM is to construct a model of the project that includes the following:

1. A list of all activities required to complete the project (typically categorized within a work breakdown structure),

2. The time (duration) that each activity will take to completion, and

3. The dependencies between the activities

Using these values, CPM calculates the longest path of planned activities to the end of the project, and the earliest and latest that each activity can start and finish without making the project longer. This process determines which activities are "critical" (i.e., on the longest path) and which have "total float" (i.e., can be delayed without making the project longer).

In project management, a critical path is the sequence of project network activities which add up to the longest overall duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e. there is no float on the critical path).

A project can have several, parallel, near critical paths. An additional parallel path through the network with the total durations shorter than the critical path is called a sub-critical or non-critical path.

===========================================================

--
WASSALAM
wruslan.hahaha

Microsoft Word Version
Return to Software Engineering Fundamentals (SEF9MMUWRY)
Previous Topic: Reading (Something about Linux with URL links)
Next Topic: 20 Project Work Assignment (40% of FINAL Grade)