1 CC2039 Managing your final year project. 2 Project life cycle Four basic phases conceptualisation definition/plan execution/implementation finishing/completion.

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CC2039Managing your final year

project

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Project life cycle Four basic phases

conceptualisation definition/plan execution/implementation finishing/completion

Project management life cycle & the SDLC

Start

Initiation

Feasibility

Analysis

Design

Build

Changeover

Review and Maintenance ?

Conceptualisation

Planning

Implem

entation

Completion

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Conceptualisation initial plans demonstrate feasibility identify general risks and constraints identify stakeholders & their requirements

you your supervisor your client

define scope determine success criteria prepare feasibility document gain approval to move to next stage...

Project life cycle:

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Definition/plan refine objectives and scope design solution identify project constraints identify tasks and activities identify resources agree standards and methods

Project life cycle:

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Definition/plan (continued) schedule activities and resources assess risks produce a baseline plan gain approval to move to next stage...

Project life cycle:

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Definition/plan proactive rather than reactive who does what, when and how? what resources are required, and

when? identify problems and/or risks early help identify costs help communication allow progress to be measured

Why plan?

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Why plan?

Planning has its own costs Benefits must outweigh costs

Good planning will benefitbenefit the project Bad planning can add to the cost of failurefailure

Don't over-plan – allow flexibility too detailed may be impossible to achieve

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Execution/implementation team management (if appropriate) detailed technical requirements & design refine & carry out the plan monitor & control progress against plan update plan as necessary report on progress plan identifies details of future work

Project life cycle:

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Finishing/completion work is completed and documented finished product made available provides basis for final evaluation

Project life cycle:

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Planning tools and techniques STEEP factors SMART objectives Work breakdown structure Scheduling Gantt charts Network diagrams

Project management

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Why plan?

If we failfail to planplan…

…we planplan to fail fail !

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External (environmental) factors include:

= S= Socialocial

= P= Politicalolitical

= E= Economicconomic

= T= Technologicalechnological

= E= Environmentalnvironmental

S

T

E

E

P

Influencing factors

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What STEEP factorsSTEEP factors can you identify for your project?

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Objectives

Clear project objectives are vitalvital to planning

Allow successsuccess of the project to be evaluated

Enable prioritiespriorities to be set

Enable conflictsconflicts to be resolved

Provide direction and motivation

Published so key stakeholders are aware of them

Must be SSMMAARRTT

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Objectives

= S= Specific and written downpecific and written down

= T= Time-framedime-framed

= A= Agreed, Aligned, Achievablegreed, Aligned, Achievable

= M= Measurableeasurable

= R= Realistic, Relevantealistic, Relevant

S

M

A

R

T

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SMART Objectives

Increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5% by 30 June 2011

Examples:

the objective is:

specific and written downspecific and written down

measurablemeasurable “increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5%”

achievableachievable by the staff concerned, agreedagreed by those involved, alignedaligned to the requirements of the organisation

relevantrelevant to organisation’s sales targets, realisticrealistic in terms of outlets

time-framedtime-framed “by 30 June 2011”

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What SMART objectivesSMART objectives can you identify for your project?

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Work Breakdown Structure

Systematic way of breaking down a project into manageable and well-defined “chunks” of work (work packageswork packages)

Each work packagework package broken down into a detailed list of activitiesactivities

Each activityactivity broken down into individual taskstasks

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Work Breakdown Structure

work packages work packages could include:

literature surveyperform studyanalyse & interpret resultswriting report

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Work Breakdown Structure

activities activities could include: identify relevant literature review relevant literature submit interim report to supervisor prepare questionnaire interpret data from questionnaire identify subjects (individuals) for study plan structure of report

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Work Breakdown Structure

tasks tasks could include: request paper by Jones from library request paper by Smith from author review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire write report have report proof read submit report

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Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: top level

W P 1 W P 2 W P 3 W P 4

C o m ple te P ro je ct

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Work Breakdown Structure

W ork Package 1 Breakdown

A c tivity 1 .1 A c tivity 1 .2 A c tivity 1 .3

W P 1

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Work Breakdown Structure

Activity 1.1 Breakdown

Task 1.1.1 Task 1.1.2 Task 1.1.3 Task 1.1.4

A c tivity 1 .1

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Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: com plete structure

Task 1.1.1Task 1.1.2Task 1.1.3Task 1.1.4

A c tivity 1 .1

Task 1.2.1Task 1.2.2Task 1.2.3

A c tivity 1 .2

Task 1.3.1Task 1.3.2

A c tivity 1 .3

W P 1 W P 2 W P 3

Task 4.1.1Task 4.1.2Task 4.1.3

A c tivity 4 .1

Task 4.2.1Task 4.2.2Task 4.2.3Task 4.2.4Task 4.2.5

A c tivity 4 .2

W P 4

C o m p le te P ro je ct

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Work Breakdown StructureWork package: literature surveyWork package: literature survey

ActivityActivity – identify relevant literature tasktask: request paper by Jones from library tasktask: request paper by Smith from author

ActivityActivity – review relevant literature tasktask: review paper by Jones tasktask: review paper by Smith

Work package: check validity of Work package: check validity of

datadata ActivityActivity – confirm findings of survey

tasktask: interview subjects

you might want to follow up / investigate your findings from a survey by carrying out interviews with some of the subjects

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Work Breakdown StructureWork package: prepare surveyWork package: prepare survey

ActivityActivity – generate questionnaire for survey tasktask: set questions for questionnaire tasktask: issue questionnaire

ActivityActivity – interpret data from questionnaire tasktask: analyse data from questionnaire

Work package: report findingsWork package: report findingsActivityActivity – report findings

tasktask: write report tasktask: have report proof read tasktask: submit report

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Scheduling Setting out all project activities & tasks

logically so dependencies & resource

constraints are satisfied

The project schedule is constrained by:

Resource availability

Logical dependencies

Milestone constraints

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Resources Resource availability affects task

schedule Ensure the rightright resources are used Ensure resources are used efficientlyefficiently Affects cost, quality and time Relationship between these is not linear

(Brooks, 1995)

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Resources Human Other

Equipment Tools Information … and so on ...

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Resources

Working in a team

Ensure the person allocated to the task: UnderstandsUnderstands their role

Has the correct skillsskills

Has access to other necessary resources

Understands the role of others in the task

(QA, management, etc.)

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Responsibility matrix

Person A B C D E FActivityContent I I I R I SDesign S P I RPrint I R SDistribution R P I

I - input S - sign off R - review P - participant

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Dependencies Logical relationships between tasks Finish-to-start is common

task Atask A must finish before task Btask B can start

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Dependencies Other constraints on tasks:

task cannot start beforebefore a specific date task must finish byby a specific date task must start onon a specific date task must start as soonsoon as possible task must start as latelate as possible task must run in parallelin parallel with another task task must wait X dayswait X days after another task ends

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Milestones Milestones

significant eventssignificant events in the project plan normally correspond to key deliverables

submission of interim report interim presentation submission of final report final presentation

milestones and dates are agreed with key stakeholders at the baseline plan stage

milestones often become fixedfixed

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What milestonesmilestones can you identify for your project?

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Scheduling

TasksTasks must be scheduled to satisfy all constraints, logical dependencies and milestone dates

There are tools to help achieve this Project schedule must also be ‘‘stablestable’’

Small disruptions Small disruptions to tasks must not have significant impact on the whole schedulewhole schedule

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Gantt charts

Devised by Henry Gantt (early 1900’s) Block representation of tasks Length of task bar proportional to duration Each start/end time represented by task bar Graphical representation of project Easy to read

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Gantt charts Gantt charts show tasks/activities against time Tasks could include:

request Jones paper from library request Smith paper from author review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire submit report have report proof read write report

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Gantt charts

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Gantt charts

Questionnaire must be issued & returned before results can be analysed

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Gantt charts

Analyse data before interviewing subjects to confirm findings

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Gantt charts

Interview subjects before writing report

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Isolate the Baseline Plan RisksRisks must be associated with a planplan

before they can be handled

As risks could prevent the achievement of objectives, plans for achieving objectives must be in place before risks can be considered

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What risksrisks can you identify in your plan for your final year project?

What could possibly go wrong?

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Network diagram Network diagrams show tasks in sequence/parallel Tasks could include:

request paper by Jones request paper by Smith review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire submit report have report proof read write report

Consider how long each task might take

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Network diagram

1

2

9 10 114 8

3

request Jones paper

request Smith paper

write

repor

t

proo

f

read

repo

rt

subm

i

t re

por

t

5 76

review Jones paper

review Smith paper

set q

’s fo

r

q’na

ire issue

q’na

ire

analyse data

from

q’naire

interview

subjects

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Conclusion Project life cycle

basic framework for any project going on holiday preparing for your final year project

Planning tools & techniques useful methods to help you plan

what you are going to do what you have done so far what there is left to do

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References & further reading

Allen D (2001) Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity, Piatkus

Bell J (1993) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education and Social Science, 2nd edition, Open University Press

Cohen L, Manion L & Morrison K (2000) Research Methods in Education, 5th edition, Routledge Falmer

515151

References & further reading

Andersen E S (2008) Rethinking Project Management: An Organisational Perspective, FT Prentice-Hall

Bentley C (1997) PRINCE 2: A Practical Handbook, Butterworth-Heinemann

Brooks F. (1995) The Mythical Man-Month (Anniversary Edition), Addison-Wesley

Burke R (1999). Project Management: Planning and Control Techniques, Wiley

Cadle J & Yates D (2008) Project Management for Information Systems, Pearson/Prentice-Hall

Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (1997) PRINCE 2: An Outline, The Stationery Office

Field M & Keller L (1998) Project Management, International Thomson Business Press

Maylor H (2003) Project Management 3rd edition, FT Prentice-Hall http://www.epigeum.co.uk/project_management/ (last accessed 31 Jan

2008)