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![4-2
Projects and Project Managers
Project – a [temporary] sequence of
unique, complex, and connected activities
having one goal or purpose and that must
be completed by specific time, within
budget, and according to specification.
Project manager - the person
responsible for supervising a systems
project from initiation to conclusion](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/chapter4132-230531021706-5d600c33/75/Chapter-4-2-2048.jpg)
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Chapter 4
This document discusses project management concepts including defining a project, the role of a project manager, measures of project success and causes of project failure. It outlines the project management life cycle and key functions including scoping, planning, estimating, scheduling, organizing, directing, controlling and closing. Project management tools like Gantt charts, work breakdown structures (WBS), and resource leveling are explained. The document provides guidance on joint project planning, developing a statement of work, estimating task durations, specifying task dependencies, assigning resources, and directing a project team.
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Chapter 4
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- 2. 4-2 Projects and ProjectManagers Project – a [temporary] sequence of unique, complex, and connected activities having one goal or purpose and that must be completed by specific time, within budget, and according to specification. Project manager - the person responsible for supervising a systems project from initiation to conclusion
- 3. 4-3 Project Management and ProcessManagement Project management – the process of scoping, planning, staffing, organizing, directing, and controlling the development of an acceptable system at a minimum cost within a specified time frame. Process management – the activity of documenting, managing, and continually improving the process of systems development.
- 4. 4-4 Measures of ProjectSuccess • The resulting information system is acceptable to the customer. • The system was delivered “on time.” • The system was delivered “within budget.” • The system development process had a minimal impact on ongoing business operations.
- 5. 4-5 Causes of ProjectFailure • Failure to establish upper-management commitment to the project • Lack of organization’s commitment to the methodology • Taking shortcuts through or around the methodology • Poor expectations management • Feature creep– uncontrolled addition of technical features to a system. • Scope creep – unexpected and gradual growth of requirements during an information systems project.
- 6. 4-6 Causes of ProjectFailure (cont.) • Premature commitment to a fixed budget and schedule • Poor estimating techniques • Overoptimism • The mythical man-month (Brooks, 1975) • Inadequate people management skills • Failure to adapt to business change • Insufficient resources • Failure to “manage to the plan”
- 7. 4-7 Project Manager Competencies •Business awareness • Business partner orientation • Commitment to quality • Initiative • Information gathering • Analytical thinking • Conceptual thinking • Interpersonal awareness • Organizational awareness • Anticipation of impact • Resourceful use of influence • Motivating others • Communication skills • Developing others • Monitoring and controlling • Self-confidence • Stress management • Concern for credibility • Flexibility (Adapted from Wysocki, Beck, and Crane, Effective Project Management: How to Plan, Manage, and Deliver Projects on Time and within Budget.)
- 8. 4-8 Project Management Functions •Scoping – setting the boundaries of the project • Planning – identifying the tasks required to complete the project • Estimating – identifying the resources required to complete the project • Scheduling – developing the plan to complete the project • Organizing – making sure members understand their roles and responsibilities • Directing – coordinating the project • Controlling – monitoring progress • Closing – assessing success and failure
- 9. 4-9 Project Management Tools &Techniques PERT chart – a graphical network model used to depict the interdependencies between a project’s tasks. Gantt chart – a bar chart used to depict project tasks against a calendar.
- 10. Gantt Chart Fundamentals •Separate tasks are listed in vertical rows • Time spans horizontally along the top • Each task is represented by a bar along the time horizon
- 11. How to Createa Gantt Chart using Microsoft Project Enter Task Name Choose task duration Adjust start and end times List any resources to be used
- 12. Follow-Along Exercise ITM SecuritySystems just got a bid for installing a security system on a new government building. Schedule the project using a Gantt chart. Include the following steps: • Test the system (0.5 days; QA engineer) • Install the system (4 days; install crew) • Order and await supplies (9 days; warehouse) • Evaluate facility’s security needs, including travel to/from site (4 days; inspector) • Schedule installation time (1 day; secretary) • Installation crew travel (2 days; install crew)
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- 14. Work Breakdown Structure •WBS is a tool for expressing project scope graphically and textually • It represents the project in terms of a hierarchy (components/sub-components) • like a bill of materials • may be any number of levels of hierarchy
- 15. How to Createa WBS? • Proceed top-down • No specific sequence of work implied • No need to be symmetrical • How deep to “break down”? • Rule: break down until you achieve the estimation accuracy you desire
- 16. Numbering the Boxes •Each box in the WBS should have a unique identifier. 1 1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.8 1.2.9 1.2.5 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.2.6 1.2.7 1.2.7.1 1.2.10 Project
- 17. Example: Reroof aHouse 1.1 Materials Estimation 1.0 Reroof House 1.2 Materials Gathering 1.3 Roof Application 1.1.1 Measure Roof 1.1.2 Calculate Materials 1.2.1 Purchase Materials 1.2.2 Take Delivery 1.3.1 Roof Removal 1.3.2 Roof Application 1.3.1.1 Remove Shingles 1.3.1.2 Remove Nails 1.3.2.1 Apply Shingles 1.3.2.3 Apply Caps 1.3.2.2 Cut Caps
- 18. Exercise • Create aWBS for a bicycle 4-18
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- 20. 4-20 Joint Project PlanningStrategy Joint project planning (JPP) – a strategy in which all stakeholders attend an intensive workshop aimed at reaching consensus on project decisions.
- 21. 4-21 Activity 1 –Negotiate Scope Scope – the boundaries of a project – the areas of a business that a project may (or may not) address. Includes answers to five basic questions: • Product • Quality • Time • Cost • Resources Statement of work – a narrative description of the work to be performed as part of a project. Common synonyms include scope statement, project definition, project overview, and document of understanding.
- 22. 4-22 Statement of Work I.Purpose II. Background A. Problem, opportunity, or directive statement B. History leading to project request C. Project goal and objectives D. Product description III. Scope A. Stakeholders B. Data C. Processes D. Locations IV. Project Approach A. Route B. Deliverables V. Managerial Approach A. Team building considerations B. Manager and experience C. Training requirements (continued) Notice the use of information system building blocks
- 23. 4-23 Statement of Work(concluded) V. Managerial Approach (continued) D. Meeting schedules E. Reporting methods and frequency F. Conflict management G. Scope management VI. Constraints A. Start date B. Deadlines C. Budget D. Technology VII. Ballpark Estimates A. Schedule B. Budget VIII. Conditions of Satisfaction A. Success criteria B. Assumptions C. Risks IX. Appendices
- 24. 4-24 Activity 2 –Identify Tasks Work breakdown structure (WBS) – a graphical tool used to depict the hierarchical decomposition of the project into phases, activities, and tasks. Milestone – an event signifying the completion of a major project deliverable.
- 25. 4-25 Activity 3 –Estimate Task Durations • Elapsed time takes into consideration: • Efficiency - no worker performs at 100% efficiency • Coffee breaks, lunch, e-mail, etc. • Estimate of 75% is common • Interruptions • Phone calls, visitors, etc. • 10-50%
- 26. 4-26 Activity 3 –Estimate Task Durations 1. Estimate the minimum amount of time it would take to perform the task – the optimistic duration (OD). 2. Estimate the maximum amount of time it would take to perform the task – the pessimistic duration (PD). 3. Estimate the expected duration (ED) that will be needed to perform the task. 4. Calculate a weighted average of the most likely duration (D) as follows: D = (1 x OD) + (4 x ED) + (1 x PD) 6 3.33 days = (1 x 2 days) + (4 x 3 days) + (1 x 6 days) 6 PD ED OD
- 27. 4-27 Activity 4 –Specify Intertask Dependencies • Finish-to-start (FS)—The finish of one task triggers the start of another task. • Start-to-start (SS)—The start of one task triggers the start of another task. • Finish-to-finish (FF)—Two tasks must finish at the same time. • Start-to-finish (SF)—The start of one task signifies the finish of another task.
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- 29. 4-29 Scheduling Strategies Forward scheduling– a project scheduling approach that establishes a project start date and then schedules forward from that date. Reverse scheduling – a project scheduling strategy that establishes a project deadline and then schedules backward from that date.
- 30. 4-30 A Project Schedulein Calendar View
- 31. 4-31 Activity 5 –Assign Resources • People – includes all system owners, users, analysts, designers, builders, external agents, and clerical help involved in the project in any way. • Services – includes services such as a quality review that may be charged on a per use basis. • Facilities and equipment – includes all rooms and technology that will be needed to complete the project. • Supplies and materials – everything from pencils, paper, notebooks to toner cartridges, and so on. • Money – includes a translation of all of the above into budgeted dollars!
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- 34. 4-34 Assigning People toTasks • Recruit talented, highly motivated people • Select the best task for each person • Promote team harmony • Plan for the future • Keep the team size small
- 35. 4-35 Resource Leveling Resource leveling– a strategy for correcting resource over-allocations. Two techniques for resource leveling: • task delaying • task splitting
- 36. 4-36 Task Splitting andTask Delaying • Critical path – the sequence of dependent tasks that determines the earliest possible completion date of the project. • Tasks on the critical path cannot be delayed without delaying the entire project. Critical tasks can only be split. • Slack time – the amount of delay that can be tolerated between the starting time and completion time of a task without causing a delay in the completion date of the entire project. • Tasks that have slack time can be delayed to achieve resource leveling
- 37. 4-37 Activity 6 –Direct the Team Effort • Supervision resources • The Deadline: A Novel about Project Management • The People Side of Systems • The One Minute Manager • The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey • Stages of Team Maturity (see figure to the right)
- 38. 4-38 10 Hints forProject Leadership 1. Be Consistent. 2. Provide Support. 3. Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep. 4. Praise in Public; Criticize in Private. 5. Be Aware of Morale Danger Points. 6. Set Realistic Deadlines. 7. Set Perceivable Targets. 8. Explain and Show, Rather Than Do. 9. Don’t Rely on Just Status Reports. 10. Encourage a Good Team Spirit.
- 39. 4-39 Activity 7 –Monitor and Control Progress • Progress reporting • Change management • Expectations management • Schedule adjustments—critical path analysis (CPA)
- 40. 4-40 Sample Outline forProgress Report I. Cover Page A. Project name or identification B. Project manager C. Date or report II. Summary of progress A. Schedule analysis B. Budget analysis C. Scope analysis (changes that may have an impact on future progress) D. Process analysis (problems encountered with strategy or methodology) E. Gantt progress chart(s) III. Activity analysis A. Tasks completed since last report B. Current tasks and deliverables C. Short term future tasks and deliverables (continued)
- 41. 4-41 Sample Outline fora Progress Report (concluded) IV. Previous problems and issues A. Action item and status B. New or revised action items 1. Recommendation 2. Assignment of responsibility 3. Deadline V. New problems and issues A. Problems (actual or anticipated) B. Issues (actual or anticipated) C. Possible solutions 1. Recommendation 2. Assignment of responsibility 3. Deadline VI. Attachments (include relevant printouts from project management software)
- 42. 4-42 Progress Reporting ona Gantt Chart
- 43. 4-43 Change Management Change management– a formal strategy in which a process is established to facilitate changes that occur during a project. Changes can be the result of various events and factors including: • An omission in defining initial scope • A misunderstanding of the initial scope • An external event such as government regulations that create new requirements • Organizational changes • Availability of better technology • Shifts in planned technology that force changes to the business organization, culture, and/or processes • Management’s desire to have the system do more • Reduced funding for project or imposition of an earlier deadline.
- 44. 4-44 Expectations Management Expectations managementmatrix – a tool used to understand the dynamics and impact of changing the parameters of a project. The most important The second most important The least important Can have only one X in each row and each column
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- 49. 4-49 Schedule Adjustments - CriticalPath Analysis 1. Using intertask dependencies, determine every possible path through the project. 2. For each path, sum the durations of all tasks in the path. 3. The path with the longest total duration is the critical path. • The critical path is the sequence of tasks with the largest sum of most likely durations. The critical path determines the earliest completion date of the project. • The slack time for any non-critical task is the amount of delay that can be tolerated between starting and completion time of a task without causing a delay in the entire project.
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- 51. 4-51 Activity 8 –Assess Project Results and Experiences • Did the final product meet or exceed user expectations? • Why or why not? • Did the project come in on schedule? • Why or why not? • Did the project come in under budget? • Why or why not?