Project Management

Slide 1: Project management Organising, planning and scheduling software projects Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 1

Slide 2: Objectives To introduce software project management and to describe its distinctive characteristics To discuss project planning and the planning process To show how graphical schedule representations are used by project management To discuss the notion of risks and the risk management process Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 2

Slide 3: Topics covered Management activities Project planning Project scheduling Risk management Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 3

Slide 4: Software project management Concerned with activities involved in ensuring that software is delivered on time and on schedule and in accordance with the requirements of the organisations developing and procuring the software Project management is needed because software development is always subject to budget and schedule constraints that are set by the organisation developing the software Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 4

Slide 5: Software management distinctions The product is intangible The product is uniquely flexible Software engineering is not recognized as an engineering discipline with the same status as mechanical, electrical engineering, etc. The software development process is not standardised Many software projects are 'one-off' projects Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 5

Slide 6: Management activities Proposal writing includes Feasibility, Project costing, Overall requirements (Internal and External), terms and conditions Resource requirements also include Personnel selection Project planning and scheduling Project monitoring and reviews also including Personnel and Process evaluation Report writing and presentations Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 6

Slide 7: Management commonalities These activities are not peculiar to software management Many techniques of engineering project management are equally applicable to software project management Technically complex engineering systems tend to suffer from the same problems as software systems Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 7

Slide 8: Project staffing May not be possible to appoint the ideal people to work on a project • Project budget may not allow for the use of highly- paid staff • Staff with the appropriate experience may not be available • An organisation may wish to develop employee skills on a software project Managers have to work within these constraints especially when (as is currently the case) there is an international shortage of skilled IT staff Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 8

Slide 9: Project planning Probably the most time-consuming project management activity Continuous activity from initial concept through to system delivery. Plans must be regularly revised as new information becomes available Various different types of plan may be developed to support the main software project plan that is concerned with schedule and budget Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 9

Slide 10: Types of project plan Plan Description Quality plan Describes the quality procedures and standards that will be used in a project. Validation plan Describes the approach, resources and schedule used for system validation. Configuration Describes the configuration management management plan procedures and structures to be used. Maintenance plan Predicts the maintenance requirements of the system, maintenance costs and effort required. Staff development plan. Describes how the skills and experience of the project team members will be developed. Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 10

Slide 11: Project planning process Establish the project constraints Make initial assessments of the project parameters Define project milestones and deliverables while project has not been completed or cancelled loop Draw up project schedule Initiate activities according to schedule Wait ( for a while ) Review project progress Revise estimates of project parameters Update the project schedule Re-negotiate project constraints and deliverables if ( problems arise ) then Initiate technical review and possible revision end if end loop Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 11

Slide 12: Project plan structure Introduction Project organisation Risk analysis Hardware and software resource requirements Work breakdown Project schedule Monitoring and reporting mechanisms Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 12

Slide 13: Activity organization Activities in a project should be organised to produce tangible outputs for management to judge progress Milestones are the end-point of a process activity Deliverables are project results delivered to customers The waterfall process allows for the straightforward definition of progress milestones Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 13

Slide 14: Milestones in the RE process ACTIVITIES Feasibility Requirements Prototype Design Requirements study analysis development study specification Feasibility Requirements Evaluation Architectural Requirements report definition report design specification MILESTONES Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 14

Slide 15: Project scheduling Split project into tasks and estimate time and resources required to complete each task Organize tasks concurrently to make optimal use of workforce Minimize task dependencies to avoid delays caused by one task waiting for another to complete Dependent on project managers intuition and experience Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 15

Slide 16: The project scheduling process Identify Estimate resources Identify activity Create project Allocate people activities for activities dependencies charts to activities Software Activity charts requirements and bar charts Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 16

Slide 17: Scheduling problems Estimating the difficulty of problems and hence the cost of developing a solution is hard Productivity is not proportional to the number of people working on a task Adding people to a late project makes it later because of communication overheads The unexpected always happens. Always allow contingency in planning Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 17

Slide 18: Bar charts and activity networks Graphical notations used to illustrate the project schedule Show project breakdown into tasks. Tasks should not be too small. They should take about a week or two Activity charts show task dependencies and the the critical path Bar charts show schedule against calendar time Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 18

Slide 19: Task durations and dependencies Task Duration (days) Dependencies T1 8 T2 15 T3 15 T1 (M1) T4 10 T5 10 T2, T 4 (M2) T6 5 T1, T 2 (M3) T7 20 T1 (M1) T8 25 T4 (M5) T9 15 T3, T 6 (M4) T10 15 T5, T 7 (M7) T11 7 T9 (M6) T12 10 T11 (M8) Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 19

Slide 20: Activity network 15 days 14/7/99 15 days M1 T3 8 days T9 T1 5 days 4/8/99 25/8/99 25/7/99 T6 M4 M6 4/7/99 M3 7 days 20 days start 15 days T11 T7 T2 5/9/99 25/7/99 11/8/99 10 days 10 days M8 M2 M7 T5 15 days T4 T10 10 days 18/7/99 T12 M5 25 days T8 Finish 19/9/99 Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 20

Slide 21: Activity timeline 4/7 11/7 18/7 25/7 1/8 8/8 15/8 22/8 29/8 5/9 12/9 19/9 Start T4 T1 T2 M1 T7 T3 M5 T8 M3 M2 T6 T5 M4 T9 M7 T10 M6 T11 M8 T12 Finish Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 21

Slide 22: Staff allocation 4/7 11/7 18/7 25/ 1/8 8/8 15/8 22/8 29/8 5/9 19/9 12/9 Fred T4 T8 T11 T12 Jane T1 T3 T9 Anne T2 T6 T10 Jim T7 Mary T5 Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 22

Slide 23: Risk management Risk management is concerned with identifying risks and drawing up plans to minimise their effect on a project. A risk is a probability that some adverse circumstance will occur. • Project risks affect schedule or resources • Product risks affect the quality or performance of the software being developed • Business risks affect the organisation developing or procuring the software Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 23

Slide 24: Software risks Risk Risk t ype Description Staff turnover Project Experienced staff w ill leave t he projec t b efore i t is finished. Management c hange Project There will be a c hange of organisational management with different priorities. Hardw are unavailability Project Hardw are which is essential for the projec t w ill n ot be delivered on schedule. Requirements change Project and There will be a larger n umb er of product changes to the requirements than anticipate d. Specification delays Project and Specifications of essential interfaces product are not available on schedule Size underestimate Project and The size of the system has been product underestimated. CAS E t ool u nder- Product CAS E t ools w hich support the performance projec t d o not perform as anticipated Tec hnology change Business The u nderlying technology on which the sys tem is b uilt is su perseded by new tec hnology. Product co mp etition Business A competitive product is m arketed before t he sys tem is com plete d. Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 24

Slide 25: The risk management process Risk identification • Identify project, product and business risks Risk analysis • Assess the likelihood and consequences of these risks Risk planning • Draw up plans to avoid or minimise the effects of the risk Risk monitoring • Monitor the risks throughout the project Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 25

Slide 26: The risk management process Risk Risk Risk analysis Risk planning identification monitoring Risk avoidance Risk List of potential Prioritised risk and contingency assessment risks list plans Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 26

Slide 27: Risk identification Technology risks People risks Organisational risks Requirements risks Estimation risks Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 27

Slide 28: Risks and risk types Risk type Poss ibl e risks Techno logy The da tabase used in the system canno t proce ss as many transa ctions per se cond as exp ected. Software co mponen ts wh ich shou ld be reused cont ain de fects wh ich limit their fun ction ality. Peop le It is im pos sible to recruit staff with the skills required . Key staff are ill and unava ilable at criti cal tim es. Requi red training for staff is not av ailable. Organ isationa l The o rgan isation is restruc tured so that different manag ement are respons ible for the project. Organ isationa l financ ial problems force reduc tions in the pro ject budge t. Tool s The cod e gen erated by CASE tools is i ne fficient. CA SE tools canno t be integrated. Requi rements Ch anges to requ irem ents wh ich requ ire major design rewo rk are proposed . Cu stomers fail to unde rstand the impa ct o f requ irem ents chang es. Estim ation The tim e requ ired to deve lop the software is unde restim ated. The rate of defect repa ir is und erestim ated. The size o f the software is unde restim ated . Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 28

Slide 29: Risk analysis Assess probability and seriousness of each risk Probability may be very low, low, moderate, high or very high Risk effects might be catastrophic, serious, tolerable or insignificant Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 29

Slide 30: Risk analysis Risk Probabilit y Effects Organ isationa l financial problems force reduc tions Low Catastroph ic in the project budge t. It is im pos sible to recruit staff with the skills High Catastroph ic requ ired for the p roject. Key staff are ill at c ritical tim es in the project. Mod erate Serious Software co mponen ts wh ich shou ld be reused Mod erate Serious con tain defects wh ich limit their func tiona lity. Ch anges to requ irem ents wh ich requ ire major Mod erate Serious design rewo rk a re propo sed. The o rgan isation is restructured so that different High Serious manage me nt are respons ible for the project. The da tabase used in the system canno t proce ss as Mod erate Serious many transactions per second as expec ted. The tim e requ ired to deve lop the software is High Serious unde restim ated. CA SE tools canno t be integrated. High Tolerab le Cu stomers fail to unde rstand the impact o f Mod erate Tolerab le requ irements change s. Requi red training for staff is not av ailable. Mod erate Tolerab le The rate of defect repa ir is und erestim ated. Mod erate Tolerab le The size o f the software is unde restim ated. High Tolerab le The cod e gen erated by CASE tools is i nefficient. Mod erate Insignificant Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 30

Slide 31: Risk planning Consider each risk and develop a strategy to manage that risk Avoidance strategies • The probability that the risk will arise is reduced Minimisation strategies • The impact of the risk on the project or product will be reduced Contingency plans • If the risk arises, contingency plans are plans to deal with that risk Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 31

Slide 32: Risk management strategies Risk Strategy Organ isationa l Prepar e a b riefing docu ment for senior manage ment show ing financ ial problems how the p roject is m aking a very im por tant con tribu tion to the goa ls of the bus iness. Recru itm ent Alert cu stomer of po tential difficulties and the pos sibility of problems delays, inves tigate buy ing- in componen ts. Staff illness Reorgan ise team so tha t there is more ove rlap o f work and peop le the refo re unde rstand each other ’s jobs . De fective Replace pot entially defective componen ts with bough t-in componen ts componen ts of known reliability. Requi rements De rive traceability info rm ation to assess requ irements chang e chang es impac t, maximi se information hid ing in the des ign. Organ isationa l Prepar e a b riefing docu ment for senior manage ment show ing restructuring how the p roject is m aking a very im por tant con tribu tion to the goa ls of the bus iness. Da tabase Inves tigate the po ssibilit y o f buy ing a high er-perform anc e perform anc e databa se. Unde restimated Inves tigate buy ing in componen ts, inve stigate u se of a program deve lopment ti me gene rator. Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 32

Slide 33: Risk monitoring Assess each identified risks regularly to decide whether or not it is becoming less or more probable Also assess whether the effects of the risk have changed Each key risk should be discussed at management progress meetings Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 33

Slide 34: Risk factors Risk type Pote nti al indi cato rs Techno logy Late d elivery of hardwa re o r suppo rt softwa re, many repor ted techno logy prob lems Peop le Poor staff m orale, poo r relationsh ips among st team member, job av ailability Organ isationa l organ isationa l gos sip, lack of action by sen ior manage me nt Tool s reluctance by team members to u se tools, complaints abou t CA SE tools, de mand s for highe r-powe red wo rkstations Requi rements many requ iremen ts chang e reque sts, cu stom er co mplaints Estim ation failure to meet ag reed sch edul e, failure to c lear repor ted de fects Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 34

Slide 35: Key points Good project management is essential for project success The intangible nature of software causes problems for management Managers have diverse roles but their most significant activities are planning, estimating and scheduling Planning and estimating are iterative processes which continue throughout the course of a project Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 35

Slide 36: Key points A project milestone is a predictable state where some formal report of progress is presented to management. Risks may be project risks, product risks or business risks Risk management is concerned with identifying risks which may affect the project and planning to ensure that these risks do not develop into major threats Nitin V Pujari B.E– CS - Software Engineering – Project Management Slide 36