Project Management Chapter 5, PG 92
Dec 26, 2015
Introduction
Why is software management particularly difficult? The product is intangible
Cannot be seen or touched Managers cannot see progress
There are no standard software processes Processes vary drastically between different organizations
Large software projects are often “one-off” projects Changing technology can make managements experience
obsolete Lessons learned are not always transferable to new projects
Management Activities
Proposal writing Project Planning and Scheduling Project Cost Project Monitoring and Reviewing Personnel Selection and Evaluation Report Writing and Presentations
Management Activities (cont’d)
Settling for a less-than-ideal staff Project budget may not cover the use of
highly paid staff Staff with appropriate experience may
already be assigned to other projects Inexperienced staff may be assigned to a
project to lean and gain experience
Project Planning
Pseudo-code for the project planning process
Establish the project constraintsMake initial assessments of the project parametersDefine project milestones and deliverablesWhile project has not been completed or cancelled Loop
draw up project scheduleinitiate activities according to schedulewait ( for a while)review project progressrevise estimates of project parametersupdate the project schedulerenegotiate project constraints and deliverablesIf (problems arise) Then
initiate technical review and possible revisionEnd If
End Loop
Project Plan
Has the following parts: Introduction Project Organization Risk Analysis Hardware and Software Resource Requirements Work Breakdown Project Schedule Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms
Project Planning - Introduction
The Introduction should provide a brief description of the objectives of the project
It will also set out constraints Time Budget Technology Others?
Project Plan – Project Organization
This area describes the way in which the development team is organized, the people involved, and their roles in the team
Things to consider Team Structure
Democratic Chief Programmer Model Modified Chief Programmer Hierarchical Model Others?
Project Plan – Risk Analysis
Describes possible project risks, likelihood of occurring, and possible ways to mitigate
Possible risks Staff turnover Management change Hardware unavailability Requirements change Specification delays Size underestimate CASE tool underperformance Technology change Product competition
Project Plan – Risk Analysis (cont’d)
Possible Risk Types Technology
Database cannot process enough requests as originally thought People
Illnesses, training for staff not available Organizational
Restructured organization, new management over project Tools
CASE Tools cannot be integrated, perform inefficiently Requirements
Changes to requirements Estimation
Time required to complete and early activity is extended or deadlines not met
Project Plan – HW/SW Resource Requirements
Specifies HW and support SW required to carry out the development
Possibilities Viso Visual Studio Dia Compiling programs CASE TOOLS
Project Plan – Work Breakdown
Sets out the breakdown of the project into activities and identifies milestones and deliverables with each activity
Milestone It might be a module Or a subsystem
Deliverables What all needs delivered to the client, upper-
level management, etc.
Project Plan – Project Schedule
This shows the dependencies between activities, estimated time for each, and person responsible for activity
Example: Requirements Elicitation Requirements Definitions Requirements Specification
Project Plan – Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms
Defines management reports that should be produced, when they should be produces, and project monitoring mechanisms used
Example: Weekly report of progress to manager Check list of completed functionality
Requirements Elicitation - Rules
Should provide a list of questions 24 -72 hours in advance This helps the client have time to be prepared for the
questions going to be asked and will speed up the process
No session should last more than 30-60 minutes After this timeframe, the clients attention is lost
Should provide a summary of the meeting within 24-72 hours after the meeting has taken place While fresh in everyone’s mind, problems or discrepancies
between what was said by the client and what was heard by the developers can probably be cleared up quickly
Coliseum Management System
Now lets come up with questions we might ask a client that has asked us to develop this system.
Security Problems
What are some ways to ensure security in a system?
What are the main principles we are trying to accomplish with security?