The document discusses planning for IT projects, including project selection, creating a project plan, staffing the project, and managing/controlling the project. Project selection involves considering all projects within the organization's project portfolio and prioritizing based on organizational needs. The project plan defines tasks, time estimates, and other details. Staffing includes developing a staffing plan and coordinating project activities. Managing the project encompasses scope management, time-boxing, and risk assessment.
This lecture helps to learn how different types of processes are managed while executing a software project. this is core responsibility and one the most technical and difficult task of project manager.
A contingency plan is:
“A plan for emergency response, backup operations, and post-disaster recovery maintained by an activity as a part of its security program that will ensure the availability of critical resources and facilitate the continuity of operations in an emergency situation…”
(National Computer Security Center 1988)
UNIT IV
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Framework for Management and control – Collection of data Project termination – Visualizing progress – Cost monitoring – Earned Value Analysis- Project tracking – Change control- Software Configuration Management – Managing contracts – Contract Management.
In this business analysis training session, you will learn about Enterprise Analysis. Topics covered in this course are:
• Enterprise Analysis
• What is Enterprise Analysis
• Why Enterprise Analysis
• Different Architectures
• Enterprise Analysis Activities
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Need
• Techniques Used to assess Capability Gaps
• Techniques Used to Determine Solution Approach
• Techniques Used to Define Solution Scope
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Case
• SWOT Analysis
• GAP Analysis
• Feasibility Study
• Root Cause Analysis
To know more, visit this link: https://www.mindsmapped.com/courses/business-analysis/become-a-business-analyst-hands-on-practice-with-real-life-templates/
In this business analysis training session, you will learn Enterprise Analysis. Topics covered in this course are:
• Enterprise Analysis
• What is Enterprise Analysis
• Why Enterprise Analysis
• Different Architectures
• Enterprise Analysis Activities
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Need
• Techniques Used to assess Capability Gaps
• Techniques Used to Determine Solution Approach
• Techniques Used to Define Solution Scope
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Case
• SWOT Analysis
• GAP Analysis
• Feasibility Study
• Root Cause Analysis
To know more, visit this link: https://www.mindsmapped.com/courses/business-analysis/become-a-business-analyst-hands-on-practice-with-real-life-templates/
ESOFT Metro Campus - Diploma in Software Engineering - (Module VII) Introduction to Project Management
(Template - Virtusa Corporate)
Contents:
What is a Project?
History of the Project Management
Attributes of a Project
What is Project Management?
Why Project Management Important?
The Triple Constraints of a Project
Project Stakeholders
Performing Organizational Structures
Project Management Life Cycle
Project Management Processes
Nine Knowledge Areas
Integration Management
Scope Management
Time Management
Cost Management
Quality Management
Human Resource Management
Communication Management
Risk Management
Procurement Management
Advancing Engineering with AI through the Next Generation of Strategic Projec...OnePlan Solutions
In the engineering sector, mastering the intricacies of project management demands innovative solutions. This webinar explores the integration of AI into project planning for engineering, tackling both immediate challenges in planning and execution while also setting the stage for unprecedented efficiency and quality. With a spotlight on practical applications, we’ll explore strategies for harnessing AI to optimize resource distribution, ensure precise time management, and elevate project quality. Discover how adopting a technology-forward approach, exemplified by platforms like OnePlan, can transform project outcomes, enhance team collaboration, and boost overall profitability without sacrificing the high standards engineering projects require.
This lecture helps to learn how different types of processes are managed while executing a software project. this is core responsibility and one the most technical and difficult task of project manager.
A contingency plan is:
“A plan for emergency response, backup operations, and post-disaster recovery maintained by an activity as a part of its security program that will ensure the availability of critical resources and facilitate the continuity of operations in an emergency situation…”
(National Computer Security Center 1988)
UNIT IV
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Framework for Management and control – Collection of data Project termination – Visualizing progress – Cost monitoring – Earned Value Analysis- Project tracking – Change control- Software Configuration Management – Managing contracts – Contract Management.
In this business analysis training session, you will learn about Enterprise Analysis. Topics covered in this course are:
• Enterprise Analysis
• What is Enterprise Analysis
• Why Enterprise Analysis
• Different Architectures
• Enterprise Analysis Activities
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Need
• Techniques Used to assess Capability Gaps
• Techniques Used to Determine Solution Approach
• Techniques Used to Define Solution Scope
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Case
• SWOT Analysis
• GAP Analysis
• Feasibility Study
• Root Cause Analysis
To know more, visit this link: https://www.mindsmapped.com/courses/business-analysis/become-a-business-analyst-hands-on-practice-with-real-life-templates/
In this business analysis training session, you will learn Enterprise Analysis. Topics covered in this course are:
• Enterprise Analysis
• What is Enterprise Analysis
• Why Enterprise Analysis
• Different Architectures
• Enterprise Analysis Activities
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Need
• Techniques Used to assess Capability Gaps
• Techniques Used to Determine Solution Approach
• Techniques Used to Define Solution Scope
• Techniques Used to Define a Business Case
• SWOT Analysis
• GAP Analysis
• Feasibility Study
• Root Cause Analysis
To know more, visit this link: https://www.mindsmapped.com/courses/business-analysis/become-a-business-analyst-hands-on-practice-with-real-life-templates/
ESOFT Metro Campus - Diploma in Software Engineering - (Module VII) Introduction to Project Management
(Template - Virtusa Corporate)
Contents:
What is a Project?
History of the Project Management
Attributes of a Project
What is Project Management?
Why Project Management Important?
The Triple Constraints of a Project
Project Stakeholders
Performing Organizational Structures
Project Management Life Cycle
Project Management Processes
Nine Knowledge Areas
Integration Management
Scope Management
Time Management
Cost Management
Quality Management
Human Resource Management
Communication Management
Risk Management
Procurement Management
Advancing Engineering with AI through the Next Generation of Strategic Projec...OnePlan Solutions
In the engineering sector, mastering the intricacies of project management demands innovative solutions. This webinar explores the integration of AI into project planning for engineering, tackling both immediate challenges in planning and execution while also setting the stage for unprecedented efficiency and quality. With a spotlight on practical applications, we’ll explore strategies for harnessing AI to optimize resource distribution, ensure precise time management, and elevate project quality. Discover how adopting a technology-forward approach, exemplified by platforms like OnePlan, can transform project outcomes, enhance team collaboration, and boost overall profitability without sacrificing the high standards engineering projects require.
Project Management is an emerging profession. Project Management Body of Knowledge describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of Project Management. It collects set processes, best practices, terminologies, and guidelines that are accepted as standards within the project management industry.
This webinar will help project professionals understand the fundamental practices needed to achieve organizational results and excellence in the practice of project management.
This presentation:
1. Introduces the concept and need of software project management.
2. Discusses the crucial role of project manager in the success and failure of a project.
3. Lays down the foundation for further training in project management area.
Agile and Traditional Project Management Homogeneous or Hybrid Mike Otranto
Gartner reports that 75% to 80% of organizations are using some form of agile project management process. Although agile project management has been around for many years, the way we adapt it has changed significantly, especially as project portfolio management (PPM) practices have evolved.
In today's businesses, technology plays a crucial role in our success, but technology also makes things more uncertain. This uncertainty has given us the motive to be more flexible and requires a “think on your feet” mentality. For this reason, we have seen a big spike in Agile PPM over the last few years. So how do we continue to deliver stability and efficiency, the result of traditional style PPM, while also giving in to necessary risks that lead to innovation and competitive edge? It’s simple…. we accept the value in each method, avoid the inevitable pains that will develop with segregation, and opt for a unified agile and traditional PPM model.
Join us in this webinar presentation as we discuss the benefits of bringing Agile and Traditional Project Portfolio Management together in one environment. Topics include:
- The Project Management Evolution
- Agile Project Managment Overview
- The Benefits of Hybrid/Unified PPM
- Hybrid Project Management Tools to Support Today’s PPM
Episode 20 : PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
Project phase and the Project Life Cycle
Project Stakeholders
Organizational Influences
Key General Management Skills
Social-Economic-Environmental Influences
SAJJAD KHUDHUR ABBAS
Chemical Engineering , Al-Muthanna University, Iraq
Oil & Gas Safety and Health Professional – OSHACADEMY
Trainer of Trainers (TOT) - Canadian Center of Human
Development
Agile management, or agile process management, or simply agile refers to an iterative, incremental method of managing the design and build activities of engineering, information technology and other business areas that aim to provide new product or service development in a highly flexible and interactive manner; an example is its application in Scrum, an original form of agile software development.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Embracing GenAI - A Strategic ImperativePeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
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Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
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An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
1. HI-600: Analysis and Design of Health Information Systems
Planning: Part II
Selection of Priorities and Methodologies
2. Project Selection and Management
• Increased demand for IT projects
• Project selection process is harder
• A solution: Project Portfolio Management
• Project portfolio management has become a critical
success factor for IT departments.
• A selected system development project must undergo a
thorough process of project management.
• A critical success factor for project management is to
start with a realistic assessment of the work and then
manage the project according to the plan.
3. PROJECT SELECTION
• Projects are not independent, considered within
the context of the project portfolio
• Need to categorize to be able to manage all at
once based on size, cost, purpose, length, risk,
scope, and economic value
• Selection based on organization’s priorities, not
on individual divisions’ priorities
4. Concluding Remarks on Project Selection
• What are we doing, and why?
• What are we not doing, and why?
• Organizations have finite resources, and limited
windows of opportunity. There must be sufficient
governance in place to decide which initiatives
will get the green light, which will get deferred, or
rejected.
• Governance groups should operate on guiding
principles.
5. CREATING THE PROJECT PLAN
• Selecting appropriate development methodology
• Estimating project time frame
• Identifying tasks
• Developing the Work Plan
6. Project Methodology Options
• A methodology is a formalized approach to implementing the SDLC
• Waterfall Development
• Parallel Development
• V-model
• Rapid Application Development (RAD)
• Iterative Development
• System Prototyping
• Throwaway Prototyping
• Agile Development
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Scrum
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
9. Agile Development
• Extreme programming – emphasizes customer
satisfaction and teamwork. Core values are
communication, simplicity, feedback, and
courage
13. STAFFING THE PROJECT
• Staffing Plan
• Quantity and type of personnel
• Potential changes overtime
• Management hierarchy: functional lead and technical lead
• Motivation: monetary and intrinsic rewards
• Conflict management
• Coordination of project activities
• Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools
• Standards
• Documentation
15. SUMMARY
• The project selection process takes into account
all of the projects in the organization, using
project portfolio management.
• The project plan defines the tasks, task time
estimates, and other information.
• A project requires staffing and coordinating
project activities.
• Managing and controlling the project include
scope management, time-boxing, and risk
assessment.
16. Outcome of the Planning Phase
• A vendor or project is selected
• The organizational structure is put in place to support
said project (new hires or contractors)
• Timelines and deliverables are calculated
• Costs are estimated and budgets are set accordingly.
• Unknown costs and resources are budgeted for and
planned for at some level.
• A maintenance plan is put in place.
• This is the boring part, but it is 60-70% of IT
Editor's Notes
Welcome to the second part of the lecture for this week. In the first part, we have covered evaluation of necessity and feasibility of the requested information system and talked about system request as the first and feasibility study as the last deliverable of the project initiation.
In this part, we will see
how the projects are selected based on their feasibility studies,
how a project methodology is chosen and project work plan is created,
and finally how the project is staffed, managed, and controlled.
The demand for IT projects has exponentially risen in the recent years in most industries. It is especially evident in the healthcare industry with the recent fundamental changes in laws and regulations and the way healthcare providers and institutions are getting paid. Now more than ever, it is easier to store large data sets and healthcare providers are being asked to document more to be able to prove and even to quantify the quality of care they deliver.
This and other reasons cause the increased demand that challenges hospital CIOs to implement a process for selection of projects that will provide highest return on the IT investments. To help with this challenge Project Portfolio Management systems are developed. These systems help the managers to select, prioritize, and manage projects. The textbook suggests several commercial software solutions for this task. I have not personally used any of them, but I can certainly attest to the need for such a tool.
Instead of prioritizing based on political pressure, first-in-first-out approach, the lauder the requester, the faster his or her project gets done; being able to manage a project portfolio based on objective and sound analysis has become a critical success factor for IT departments.
Once a project gets selected, its success is based on how well it is managed every step of the way; and the success of the project management depends on starting with an objective assessment of the work, personnel, and other related resources and then managing it according to the initial plan as close as possible.
Since we established that projects should be managed together as a portfolio, then project selection process should not consider any project independently from the project portfolio. Individual project requests should be considered within the context of project portfolio, meaning that their compatibility with the other projects should be part of the consideration.
To be able to consider many projects together, it is helpful to categorize them. For selection purposes the projects can be categorized based on
their size, based on how many people will work on them
cost, how much the organization will have to invest
Length, how long it will take and when will be the break-even point
Risk, what is the possibility of success of the project
Scope, how much of the organization will be affected
And finally economic value, after the break-even point, how much money can it bring to the organization
So when categorized, it is easier to see how candidate projects rank in each category for the approval committee to make a better decision. The approval committee is tasked with making their selections based on the organization’s overall priorities; and sometime that may not align with the priorities or needs of individual divisions.
We should always be conscious of what we choose to do and not do and why.
Organizations have finite resources, and limited windows of opportunity. There must be sufficient governance in place to decide which initiatives will get the green light, which will get deferred, or rejected
Governance groups such as the approval or steering committee should have set guiding principles based on organization’s goals and they should operate accordingly.
So, once a project is selected to be implemented, it is essential to create a plan to detail how this work is going to get done.
Creating such a plan starts with selecting an appropriate development method which could be a time-proven internal method or one of the commonly used methods. We will briefly define each in the next few slides.
Based on the methodology, the time frame for the project is estimated and the list of tasks to be performed are identified as detailed as possible. Then each of these pieces are combined to develop a work plan.
When we talked about the Systems Development Life Cycle and its phases, we mentioned that depending on the project, the phases of life cycle may not be always followed consecutively and there could be different versions of what order the phases are executed.
So there are many possible combinations of how these phases are executed, considering that you can have iterations and go back to a phase completed before and make a change etc. So, what we mean by a methodology here is a formalized approach to implementing Systems Development Life Cycle among the many possible combinations. Here we will review some of the most common development methodologies.
The waterfall development methodology is the sequential development method that completes one phase before moving to the next. The organizations that follow this method strictly require the deliverable of each phase to be reviewed by the approval committee to give a green light for the next phase. It is very difficult to move back and allow changes and iterations.
Advantages:
It has clearly identified requirements before programming begins
And it limits requirement and scope chances
Disadvantages:
Each phase takes a long time to be completely through and sometimes it is overkill
There is no testing until the very end
Deliverable documentations are huge, hard-to-read, so sometimes important details get overlooked and it is very expensive to go back to fix it
Does not meet the needs of a dynamic business environment
*
The Parallel development is a variation of waterfall development. It evolved to address the lengthy time frame of waterfall development by dividing the project into subprojects and implementing them at the same time shortening design and implementation time. There is a general design phase before the design of subprojects and a general implementation phase after the implementation of individual projects.
Advantages:
Reduces the time required to deliver the system
Disadvantages:
There is still huge documents of deliverables
If the subprojects are not completely independent, design decisions of one may affect another, causing integration process to be very difficult and time consuming
*
V-Model is also another variation of waterfall development. It requires testing earlier and repeated at each stage of the development. V also refers to “verification”. It requires definition and performance of unit, integration, system, and acceptance testing procedures.
Advantages:
Improves overall quality through early development of test plans
Disadvantage:
Still caries the disadvantages of rigid waterfall development
Next, we now move on to a less rigid development methodology called Rapid Application Development. It is a collection of methodologies that aims to speed up the analysis, design, and implementation phases in order to get parts of the system developed quickly and delivered to the users for evaluation and feedback. Rapid Application Development is mainly made possible by Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools, Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions, visual programming languages and automatic code generators. While it improves the speed and quality of systems development, it dramatically increases the user expectations and allows expansion of requirements and the project ends up getting larger and larger. This is sometimes referred to as scope creep or feature creep.
There are different Rapid Application Development methods. One of them is the iterative development, where there is a general analysis, then the system is broken into series of versions that get developed sequentially. During the overall analysis, only the most important and fundamental requirements are put together as the requirements of the first version of the system. After the first version is implemented, the next set of requirements that are considered as feature expansions to the first version become the requirements for the next version.
Advantages:
It is easier to identify non-fundamental requirements while there is a version of the system already in place
Quick deployment of a preliminary version provides business value
Disadvantages:
Users are having to work with an incomplete system that can only perform most important requirements
Requires users to be available to the developers for evaluation and feedback
*
Another Rapid Application Development method is System Prototyping. It performs analysis, design, and implementation phases concurrently without producing the deliverables of each of the phases. Similar to the first version of iterative rapid application development, the first system prototype has only the very basic features. Based on user feedback, the developers reanalyze, redesign, and re-implement an improved system prototype. And the cycle continues until all stakeholders are satisfied. Main difference from the iterative rapid application development is that the consecutive system prototypes can be significantly different from each other, compared to the consecutive system versions of the iterative rapid application development
Advantages:
Same advantages as the iterative rapid application development
Very useful if the requirements are not clear initially
Disadvantage:
Lack of analysis before making design and implementation decisions.
*
And the last Rapid Application Development method we are going to look at is Design Prototyping. This method aims to explore design alternatives without completely building the system. There is a minimal general analysis phase to get draft requirements. Then various design prototypes are built without going into implementation to show the alternative non-functional designs to the users the help them clarify the requirements. These designs may include mock-up user interfaces to show the users what is possible or what their options are. During the process many design prototypes may get thrown away, hence the name throwaway prototyping.
Advantages:
Balances benefits of well-thought-out design phase with advantages of using prototypes to identify high-risk issues before building the system
Produces a more stable system than system prototyping
Disadvantages:
Slower than system prototyping
Next, we will look at Agile Development Methodology. It is a group of programming-centric methodologies that focus on streamlining the Systems Development Life Cycle. It prefers face-to-face communication, instead of much of the modeling and documentation. It is similar to system prototyping, except that every iteration is a complete software project including planning. In this approach the iteration cycles are very short and developers focus on adopting the dynamic business environments with changing needs.
One of the Agile Development approaches is called Extreme Programming, where a project begins with user stories describing what they need the system to do. Then, programmers immediately code small modules to test those needs. This approach produces a system very quickly without much of a documentation overhead, but requires very close connection to the users and experienced and highly motivated teams working in well-standardized environments.
Now that we have reviewed various development methodologies, we can look at what criteria we should use selecting the most appropriate development method for our system.
This figure in the textbook summarizes the selection criteria very nicely. So, based on what we know about the system, we need to assess how clear the user requirements are, how familiar the development and the IT support teams with the technology are, how complex the system is, how critical the system reliability is, how much time can be allocated for development, and finally how predictable the project schedule is.
Based on my experience, no matter which method you choose to apply to your project development, whether it be one of these methods or a combination that you come up with that works better for your situation, the most important thing is whether you progress consciously with a plan or you feel like you are lost and trying to depend on what the method tells you what the next step is. This is not to belittle the usefulness of the methods but rather to emphasize the importance of not loosing the control of the project and unconsciousnessly following pre-determined steps.
Another part of the project work plan is the time frame estimation, which is basically the process of assigning projected values for time and effort. A primitive method to estimate project time is to use the industry standards that estimates time frames for the analysis, design, and implementation phases based on how much time was spent at the planning phase. It assumes that planning makes up 15% percent of the SDLC, analysis 20%, design 35%, and implementation 30%.
*
The textbook covers a more sophisticated estimation method in the appendix. It is called function point approach, which requires much more details to be available about the system.
Once the project manager has an idea about the size and time frame of the projects, then the next task is to get into more details and identify the tasks to be completed as part of each phase, estimate time frames for each and also determine inter-dependencies of these tasks. All this information is then entered into a dynamic document called Project Work Plan, that is the project manager’s main tool for managing the project.
Another main responsibility of the project manager is to staff the project. Just like the work plan, the project manager needs a staffing plan to manage people. The staffing plan describes the kinds of people working on the projects and it should take into account potential changes in staffing levels over the project’s lifetime. And it also includes hierarchical management structure, which usually includes a functional lead who manages a group of analysts and a technical lead who manages programmers and other technical staff; both of whom reporting to the project manager.
Aside from assignments, managing staff also includes the task of motivating personnel, which is found to be the number one influence on worker’s performance. Monetary rewards should be considered very cautiously as they do not always provide the expected affect; instead more intrinsic rewards such as recognition, advancement, responsibility are more effective among technical employees.
On the other hand, project managers also deal with handling conflicts among the group members. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate conflict, program manager can use strategies such as establishing a project charter listing norms and ground rules, developing schedule commitments ahead of time, clearly defining plans for the projects to minimize conflict.
Coordinating project activities is another aspect of the project management responsibilities, which includes putting efficient development practices in place and mitigating risk.
CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools are a category of software that automate all or part of the development process and can be a very valuable tool for a project manager. Although it is not a silver bullet to automate everything a project manager does, it can centralize development information and illustrate it, potentially reduce maintenance costs, improve software quality, and enforce discipline.
Instituting standards can also be a great approach to effectively coordinate project activities and to make it easier for the project team work together. Many aspects of the development can be standardized such as documentation, coding, procedures, specification requirements, and user interface design.
And finally, up to date documentation can also help project coordination significantly.
The job of a project manager is to be able to balance three very strongly depended variables: the size of the system, the time to complete the project, and the cost of the project. Maybe a forth one should be added that is the reliability of the system. All of these aspects of system development are very strongly dependent to each other, assigning higher priority to one of them over others greatly affects others.
Before we conclude the lecture, let me briefly mention a few remaining concepts related to project management:
Planning phase includes a lot of estimation and these estimates get refined over time by the project manager in order to have realistic deadlines and expectations.
Another difficult tasks for the project manager is to manage the project scope. The most common reason for schedule and cost overruns is the scope creep, in other words expansion of the project scope after the project is underway. The project manager should allow only absolutely necessary requirements to be added after the project begins.
Similar to limiting scope of the project, sometimes it is also necessary to limit the time that it takes to complete the project. This concept is referred as time-boxing, where a delivery deadline is set and enforced on the expense of the other three project variables I mentioned.
And finally the project manager is also tasked with assessing and continuously re-assessing the risk and determining ways to minimize it. In healthcare the risks related to data security play an important role and should always be included in the risk assessment.
The chart on this slide is a very commonly used project management tool called Gannt Chart. We will not get into the details of how it works, but it is useful to review appendix of chapter 2, where it talks about the Gannt charts.
With that, we conclude this week’s lectures.
A study suggestion I have your you is that although the textbook has a nice summary of deliverables at the beginning of each part and chapter of the book and on the tables such as Figure 1.3, I think it would be useful for you to create a similar list or a table or a diagram as you study the material. Doing it yourself would help you to remember the concepts more easily.
That is it for this week, see you next week!
