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1. INFORMATION SYSTEM
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
BY:- AYNETUT. (MBA)
CHAPTER TWO

2. INTRODUCTION
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3. Many aspects of information technology in general and the
development of information systems in particular are more
glamorous and attractive than the management of
development projects.
Yet, project management is an important aspect of the
development of information systems and a critical skill for a
systems analyst.
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4. Focus of project management:
To assure that system development projects meet customer
expectations and are delivered within budget and time constraints.
The project manager:
 is responsible for virtually all aspects of a system development project.
 experiences an environment of continual change and problem solving.
 Is a senior systems analyst, in some organizations. In others, both
junior and senior analysts together serve as a project manager.
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5. Here, we focus on the system’s analyst’s role in managing
information systems projects and will refer to this role as the
project manager.
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6. MANAGING THE
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
PROJECT
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7. Project:
a planned undertaking of a series of related activities to
reach an objective that has a beginning and an end.
 Questions asked in relation with projects:
Where do projects come from?
How do I know which projects to work on?
The ways in which each organization answers these
questions can vary.
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8. Requirements for Successful Projects:
Efficient & effective resource management
Management of activities
Task administration which are needed to complete the
project.
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9. Reasons for Undertaking Systems Development Projects
Primary Reasons:
To take advantage of business opportunities:
Might occur by providing an innovative service to customers through
the creation of a new system.
To solve business problems:
Could occur by modifying the way in which an existing system
processes data so that more accurate or timely information is provided
to users.
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10. Reasons for Undertaking Systems Development Projects…………
Secondary Reasons:
To spend resources
To attain or pad budgets
To keep people busy
To help train people & develop their skills.
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11. Project Manager:
Is an individual with a diverse set of skills:
Management skills
Leadership
Technical
Conflict management
Customer relationship
Team management
Risk and change management
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12. Project Manager:
Is, mainly, responsible for:
Initiating the project
Planning
Executing, and
Closing down a project.
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13. Project Management:
Is a controlled process of initiating, planning, executing,
and closing down a project.
Project Management Process:
Are the activities involved in managing a project and occur
in four phases:
1. Initiating the project
2. Planning the project
3. Executing the project
4. Closing down the project
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14. Initiating a Project
The first phase of the project management process.
Here, the project manager performs several activities that
lay the foundation for the rest of the project.
Here, activities are performed to assess the size, scope, and
complexity of the project and to establish procedures to
support later project activities.
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15. Elements of Project Initiation
1. Establishing the Project Initiation Team: focuses on
organizing an initial core of project team members who assist
in accomplishing the project.
2. Establishing Relationship with the Customer:
Because in-depth understanding of customers builds
stronger partnerships and higher levels of trust.
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16. Elements of Project Initiation…
3. Establishing the Project Initiation Plan:
 focuses on defining the activities required to organize the
initiation team while they are working to define the scope of
the project.
4.Establishing Management Procedures:
 involves developing team communication & reporting
procedures, job assignments and roles, project change
procedures, and determining how project funding and billing
will be handled.
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17. Elements of Project Initiation…
5.Establishing the Project Management Environment and Project
Workbook:
 focus is to collect and organize the tools that you will use
while managing the project and to construct the project
workbook.
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18. Elements of Project Initiation…..
Project workbook:
 an online or hardcopy repository for all project
correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables, procedures,
and standards that is used for performing project audits,
orientation of new team members, communication with
management and customers, scoping future projects, and
performing post-project reviews.
 Used to record all project information.
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19. Planning the Project
The second phase of the project management process.
Focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed
to complete each activity within a single project.
Requires to make numerous assumptions about resource
availability and potential problems.
Requires the plans be constantly monitored throughout the
project and periodically updated based upon the most recent
information.
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20. Elements of Project Planning
1. Describing Project Scope, Alternatives, and Feasibility:
 Develop an understanding of the content and complexity of
the project.
 Required questions and agreements found in the next slide.
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21. Elements of Project Planning……
Here, you should try to gain answers to and agreements on the
following types of questions:
 What problem or opportunity does the project address?
 What are the quantifiable results to be achieved?
 What needs to be done?
 How will success be measured?
 How will we know when we are finished?
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22. Elementsof ProjectPlanning….
2. Dividing the Project into Manageable Tasks:
 is a very critical activity during the project planning process.
 You must divide the entire project into manageable tasks, and
then logically order them to ensure a smooth evolution between
tasks.
 The definition of tasks and their sequence is often referred to as
the work breakdown structure.
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23. Elementsof Project Planning….
Some guidelines for defining a task are that a task should:
 Be done by one person or a well-defined group.
 Have a single and identifiable deliverable (The task is, however,
the process of creating the deliverable.)
 Have a known method or technique.
 Have well accepted predecessor and successor steps.
 Be measurable so that percent completed can be determined.
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24. Elementsof ProjectPlanning….
3. Estimating Resources and Creating a Resource Plan:
 The focus is on estimating resource requirements for each
activity and using this information to create a project resource
plan.
 The resource plan is used to help assemble and deploy resources
in the most effective manner.
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25. Elementsof ProjectPlanning….
4. Developing a Preliminary Schedule:
 Here, you use the information regarding tasks and resource
availability to assign time estimates to each activity in the work
breakdown structure.
 This assignment will allow for the creation of target starting
and ending dates for the project.
 The schedule may be represented as a Gantt or PERT chart.
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26. 5. Developing a Communication Plan:
 The focus is to outline the communication procedures among
management, project team members, and the customers.
 The communication plan includes:
 When and how written and oral reports will be provided by the
team.
 How team members will coordinate work
 What messages will be sent to announce the project to interested
parties
 What kinds of information will be shared with vendors and external
contractors.
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27. Elements of Project Planning….
6. Determining Project Standards and Procedures:
 The focus is specifying how various deliverables are produced
and tested by you and your project team. For example:
 The team must decide on which CASE tools to use.
 How the standard SDLC might be modified
 Which SDLC methods will be used
 Documentation styles
 How team members will report the status of their assigned activities, and terminology.
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28. Elements of Project Planning….
7. Identifying and Assessing Risk:
 The focus is to identify sources of project risk and to estimate
the consequences of those risks.
 Risk might arise from the use of new technology, resistance to
change, availability of critical resources, competitive or
regulatory actions, team member inexperience with technology
or the business idea.
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29. Elements of Project Planning….
8. Creating a Preliminary Budget:
 Here, you need to create a preliminary budget that outlines the
planned expenses and revenues associated with your project.
 The project justification, or business case, will demonstrate that
the benefits are worth these costs.
 The project budget is one part of the overall business case for
the application.
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30. Elements of Project Planning….
9. Developing a Statement of Work:
 A major activity that occurs near the end of the project planning phase is the development of the statement
of work.
 Developed primarily for the customer, this document outlines a description of all work that will be done and
makes clear what the project will deliver.
 The statement of work is useful to make sure that you, the customer, and other project team members have a
clear understanding of the intended project size, duration, and outcomes.
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31. Elements of Project Planning….
10. Setting a Baseline Project Plan:
 Once all of the prior project planning activities have been
completed, you will be able to develop a baseline project plan.
 The baseline project plan reflects the best estimate of the project’s
tasks and resource requirements and is used to guide the next
project phase-execution.
 It is worth noting that the baseline project plan is often changed
after the project execution begins.
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32. Executing the Project
The third phase of the project management process.
Here, the plans created in the prior phases (project initiation and
planning) are put into action.
Project execution puts the baseline project plan into action.
Within the context of the SDLC, project execution occurs primarily
during the analysis, design, and implementation phases.
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33. Elements of Project Execution
1. Executing the Baseline Project Plan:
 Here, your primary focus is to oversee the execution of the
baseline plan.
 This means that you initiate the execution of project activities,
acquire, and assign resources, orient and train new team
members, keep the project on schedule, and assure the quality of
project deliverables.
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34. Elementsof Project Execution…
2. Monitoring Project Progress Against the Baseline Plan:
 One aspect of executing the project plan relates to monitoring
your actual progress against the baseline plan.
 If the project gets ahead of (or behind) schedule, you may have to
make adjustments to resources, activities, and budgets.
 It is possible with project schedule charts, like Gantt charts to
show progress against a plan.
 And it is easy with PERT charts to understand the consequences
of delays in an activity.
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35. Elementsof Project Execution…
3. Managing Changes to the Baseline Project Plan:
 Changes can arise due to formal request and events far outside
your control.
 Events include:
 A slipped completion date for an activity.
 A bungled activity that must be re-done.
 The identification of a new activity that becomes evident later in
the project
 An unforeseen change in personnel due to sickness, resignation,
or termination.
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36. Elementsof Project Execution…
4. Maintaining the Project Workbook:
The workbook provides:
 The documentation new team members require to quickly
assimilate project tasks;
 A history to explain why certain design decisions were made; and
 It is a primary source of information for producing all project
reports.
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37. Elements of Project Execution…
5. Communicating the Project Status:
 Clear communication is a requirement for creating a shared
understanding of the activities and goals of the project; such an
understanding assures better coordination of activities.
 The project manager is responsible for keeping all team members:
system developers, managers, and customers updated with the
project status.
 Procedures for communicating project activities can range from
formal activities to more informal ones.
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38. Elements of Project Execution…
5. Communicating the Project Status:
 Clear communication is a requirement for creating a shared
understanding of the activities and goals of the project; such an
understanding assures better coordination of activities.
 The project manager is responsible for keeping all team members:
system developers, managers, and customers updated with the
project status.
 Procedures for communicating project activities can range from
formal activities to more informal ones.
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39. Elements of Project Execution…
 Different types of procedures are appropriate for different types
of communication. Some are useful for informing others of
project status, others for resolving issues, and others for keeping
permanent records of information and events.
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40. Closing Down the Project
 The final phase of the project management process.
 Focuses on bringing a project to an end.
 Projects can conclude with a natural or an unnatural
termination.
 A natural termination occurs when the requirements of the
project have been met - the project has been completed and is a
success.
 An unnatural termination occurs when the project is stopped
before completion.
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41. ClosingDowntheProject…..
 Causes for an unnatural termination to a project include:
 It may be learned that the assumption used to guide the
project proved to be false, or
 The performance of the system or development group was
somehow inadequate, or
 The requirements are no longer relevant or valid in the
customer’s business environment.
 Running out of time or money, or both.
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42. 1. Closing Down the Project: During close down
there are several diversified activities that you
perform including:
 Job and assignment changes for some of the team members.
 Assess each team member and provide an appraisal for
personnel files and for salary determination.
 Providing career advise to team members,
 Write letters to superiors praising special accomplishments of
team members, and
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43.  Send thank you letters to those who helped but were not team
members.
 Getting prepared to handle possible negative personnel issues
such as job termination, especially if the project was not
successful.
 Notifying all interested parties that the project has been
completed.
 Finalizing all project documentation and financial records,
 Conducting final review of the project
 Celebrating the accomplishments of the team
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44. Elements of Project Close-down….
2. Conducting Post-Project Reviews: once you have closed down the
project, final reviews of the project should be conducted with
management and customers.
 The objective of these reviews is to determine the strengths and
weaknesses of the project deliverables, the processes used to
create them, and the project management process.
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45. Elements of Project Close-down….
3. Closing the Customer Contract: the focus of this final activity is to
ensure that all contractual terms of the project have been met.
 A project governed by a contractual agreement is typically not
completed until agreed to by both parties, often in writing.
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46. REPRESENTING AND
SCHEDULING PROJECT
PLANS
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47. A project manager has a wide variety of techniques available
for depicting and documenting project plans.
These planning documents can take the form of graphical or
textual reports although graphical reports have become most
popular for depicting project plans.
A Gantt chart is a graphical representation of a project that
shows each task activity as a horizontal bar whose length is
proportional to its time for completion.
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48. In a Gantt Chart, different colors, shades, or shapes can be
used to highlight different kinds of tasks.
For example, those activities on the critical path (represents
the shortest time in which a project can be completed) may be
in red and a summary task( a sub project) could have a special
bar.
Planned versus actual times or progress for an activity can be
compared by parallel bars of different colors, shades, or
shapes.
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49. Gantt charts:
do not show how tasks must be ordered(precedence),
simply show when an activity should begin and when it should
end.
Gantt charts are useful for depicting:
Relatively simple projects or sub parts of a larger project,
The activities of a single worker, and
For monitoring the progress of activities compared to
scheduled completion dates.
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50.  A PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) :
 is a graphical depiction of project task activities and their inter-
relationships.
 As with a Gantt Chart, different types of tasks can be highlighted by
different features on the PERT chart.
 The distinguishing feature of a PERT is that the ordering of activities
is shown by connecting an activity with its predecessor and successor
activities.
 However, the relative size of a node, which represents an activity, or
arcs does not imply the activity’s duration.
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51. GANTT CHARTS VERSUS PERT CHARTS
 Gantt visually shows the duration of activities whereas PERT visually shows the sequence dependencies
between activities.
 Gantt visually shows the time overlap of activities whereas PERT does not show time overlap but which
activities could be done in parallel.
 Some forms of Gantt charts can visually show slack time available within an earliest start and latest finish
duration whereas PERT shows this by data within activity rectangles.
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52.  Project managers also use textual reports depicting resource utilization by tasks, project variances, and
cost distributions to control activities.
 Textual reports summarizes:
all project activities.
their durations in weeks.
and their scheduled starting and ending dates.
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53. SCHEDULING PROJECT PLANS
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54.  Project scheduling and management require that time, costs, and resources be controlled.
 Resources:
any person, group of people, piece of equipment, or material
used in accomplishing an activity.
 PERT is a critical path scheduling technique used for controlling resources.
 Critical Path:
a sequence of activities whose order and durations directly
affect the completion date of a project.
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55.  Critical Path Scheduling:
a scheduling technique where the order and duration of the
sequence of activities directly affect the completion date of a
project.
 PERT is one of the most widely used and best known and requires that a
project have:
 Well-defined activities that have a clear beginning and end point.
 Activities that can be worked on independently of other activities,
Activities that are ordered.
Activities that when completed serve the purpose of the project.
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56.  PERT technique:
has a major strength in its ability to represent completion time
variability.
So, it is more often used than Gantt charts to manage projects
such as information systems development where variability in the
duration is the norm.
Uses PERT charts having a graphical network diagram composed
of circles or boxes representing activities and connecting arrows
showing required work flows.
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57. Example for PERT chart sequential activities include:
A.Design system
B. Write programs
C.Test programs
D.Write documentation
E. Install system
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58. Constructing a Gantt
and PERT Chart
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59. Steps include:
1. Identify each activity to be completed in the project: For example; requirements collection, screen design,
report design, database construction, software programming, system testing, user documentation
creation, system installation.
2. Determine time estimates and calculate the expected completion time for each activity: the standard
method of calculation is based on 3 time estimates: the optimistic time, realistic
time, and pessimistic time.
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60. The Three Time Estimates:
 The optimistic time(o): reflects the minimum possible periods of time for an activity to be completed.
 The pessimistic time(p): reflects the maximum possible periods of time for an activity to be completed.
 The realistic time(r): reflects the planner’s “ best guess” of the amount of time the activity actually will require
for completion.
 Once each of these estimates is made for an activity, an estimated time(ET) can be calculated.
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61. Formula for Computing Estimated Time for the
completion of an activity:
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ET = o + 4r + p
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62. 3. Determine the sequence of the activities and precedence
relationships among all activities by constructing a Gantt
and PERT Chart
 This step makes it possible to understand the
interrelationships among all activities within the overall
project.
 To construct the Gantt chart a horizontal bar is drawn for
each activity that reflects its sequence and duration
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63.  The Gantt chart does not, however, show direct inter-relationships between activities.
 PERT chart shows precedence relationships.
 PERT charts have two major components: arrows and nodes.
 Arrows: reflect the sequence of activities.
 Nodes: reflect activities that consume time and resources.
4. Determining the Critical Path:
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