Project Management

LectureDeveloping the Project Plan

• Introduction• Project planning

– Gantt chart and WBS• Project planning

– Network analysis I• Project planning

– Network analysis II

• Introduction• Project planning

– Gantt chart and WBS

Plan

• Project planning– Resource analysis

• Risk management• Quality• Budgets and cost

control• Project teams

Project Planning

• “The larger, more complex or uncertain an endeavour is, the more important planning becomes”

Lockyer & Gordon

• What measures would you use to determine the complexity of a project?

Measures of Project Complexity

Why Plan?

• IS development is complex and time consuming

• There are usually a number of people involved with a project

• Communication– Informs Project Manager/Team of the state of the

project– Customer confidence

Why Plan?

• Projects are unique and therefore there will always be uncertainties– Need to plan for these (Plan B)

• So…– For anything more than the smallest project,

planning must be a formal process

Project Planning for IS

• Requires knowledge drawn from:– Development techniques– Application domain– Project planning techniques– Skills abilities and motivation of developers– Business and organisational environment

Project Proposals

• Project planning starts with the project proposal - Result of Conception Phase

• Maybe a response to a project brief– prepared by an external or internal customer

Project Initiation

• Project initiation document– Internal or external

• Project manager needs a good appreciation of requirements– This may require extra work

• Customer needs report on unknowns– protects both the project team and the customer

The Project Plan – Simple Form

• The project plan is an attempt to timetable all the activities that make up a project– How will the project be divided– Who does what– When are tasks carried out

The Project Plan

• More detail can be added to the plan to indicate:– Level of performance and quality– Costs

• Further detail indicates:– availability of the resources required to carry out

each task

The Project Plan• Summary plan

– Shows key tasks, events and milestones in the systems project

– Primarily used for reporting progress• Detailed plan

– Task plan– Time control plans– Resource plan– Cost plans– Primarily used as a working tool

Monitor & Review

Planning and Control Cycle

Plan

Iterative Process

• The plan will evolve as the project evolves• The plan is reviewed and updated as more

information becomes available and uncertainties become less uncertain

Monitor & Review

Plan

Monitor & Review

Plan

Monitor & Review

Plan

The Project Plan – Simple Form

• How will the project be divided?– Work breakdown structure– Product breakdown structure

• When will the work be carried out?– Gantt Chart

• Who does what?

Work Breakdown Structure

• Work broken down in a hierarchical manner until:– Each task is “atomic” – Duration can be estimated with reasonable accuracy– Can be carried out by one person

• Each task :– Has a well defined beginning and end– Will consume resources– May be dependant on other tasks

WBS Example

Project

Conduct Investigation

Produce Report

Investigate Other Systems

Analyse Requirements

Investigate Packages

Investigate Hardware

Conduct Interviews

Finance Director

Stores Manager

Sales Manager Etc. Managing Director

Write Notes Review Notes Create DFD’s Review DFD’s Conduct Interview

Product breakdown structure

• Concentrates on what is to be done, rather than how it is to be done

• More difficult to forget a product/element• Easier to assign quality measures/procedures• Process is more likely to fit if developed after

productexample

PBS Example

Project

Design Deliverables

Database Deliverables

GUI Deliverables

Functional Deliverables

Project Management Deliverables

PBS Example

Project

Design Deliverables

Database Deliverables

GUI Deliverables

Functional Deliverables

Project Management Deliverables

Produce Class Diagrams

Produce Use Cases

Produce Activity Diagrams

The Project Plan – Simple Form

• How will the project be divided?– Work breakdown structure

• When will the work be carried out?– Gantt Chart

• Who does what?

• How will the project be divided?– Work breakdown structure

• When will the work be carried out?– Gantt Chart

• Who does what?

Example Gantt chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14ABCDEFG

Week Number

Example Gantt chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14ABCDEFG

Week Number

Gantt chart components

An Activity/Task is represented as follows:

The length of the bar is proportional to the duration time of the activity

Start

Finish

Gantt chart components

Progress on an Activity/Task can be shown as follows:

The length of the bar is proportional to the amount of work completed. This example is approx 50% complete

Start

Finish

Example Gantt chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14ABCDEFG

Week Number

Example Gantt chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14ABCDEFG

Week Number

Exercise

Activity Start (Week No) Duration (Weeks) % CompleteA 1 5 100B 2 3 100C 1 8 75D 3 4 100E 5 5 60F 2 4 25G 10 6 0H 6 6 100I 7 2 50J 8 6 50

Exercise

Activity Start (Week No) Duration (Weeks) % CompleteA 1 5 100B 2 3 100C 1 8 75D 3 4 100E 5 5 60F 2 4 25G 10 6 0H 6 6 100I 7 2 50J 8 6 50

Gantt chart advantages

• It is good at showing timing• It shows project progress clearly• It is therefore an ideal tool for the summary

plan

Gantt chart disadvantages

• Not ideal for showing inter-relationships– MS Project does do this

• Locating an activity requires three simultaneous decisions:– Method– Time– Resources

• How will the project be divided?– Work breakdown structure

• When will the work be carried out?– Gantt Chart

• Who does what?

The Project Plan – Simple Form

• How will the project be divided?– Work breakdown structure

• When will the work be carried out?– Gantt Chart

• Who does what?

The Cost of Planning

• Labour and associated expenses• Planner's tools• Cost of preparing the written plan• Opportunity costs - what could those involved

be doing if they weren't planning?

Benefits of Planning

• Avoids the cost of the chaos that would ensue if the project was unplanned

• Filters out projects that would provide a negative return

• Being able to resolve problems in advance• Being able to allocate resources in advance

Two Views to a Plan

• The Plan is a straight-jacket– Very Precise– Focus on data

• The Plan is a working tool– Very Accurate– Focus on information

Who Does Planning

• Developing the project plan is an iterative process that involves:– Project manager– Project team– Project sponsor – Customer– Other stakeholders

Iterative Process

• The plan will evolve as the project evolves• The plan is reviewed and updated as more

information becomes available and uncertainties become less uncertain

Monitor & Review

Plan

Monitor & Review

Plan

Monitor & Review

Plan

• Introduction• Project planning

– Gantt chart and WBS• Project planning

– Network analysis I• Project planning

– Network analysis II

• Introduction• Project planning

– Gantt chart and WBS

Plan

• Project planning– Resource analysis

• Risk management• Quality• Budgets and cost

control• Project teams