SE 2023-2024 - Lecture 4 - Project Management - A Small Glimpse

Lecture 4
Software Engineering
Project Management
Course 2023/2024
Software Engineering 2023/2024

Outline
● Introduction to Project Management
● Gantt Charts
● Activity-on-Nodes (AON)

2
How do you comfort a JavaScript bug?

3
1.
Project Management
An introduction to Project Management
Software Engineering 2021/2022 4

Managing projects
To manage a given project means to Plan, Execute and

Control the Work Activity of that same project

5
To Plan a given project means to understand:
● What- is the work that must be accomplished(scope)

and what are their corresponding activity components
(Work Breakdown Structure)
● Who- is going to execute and manage the work to be
done (responsibility matrix)
● When- is the work going to be done (calendar)
● Cost- of work, materials and other required resources
for its accomplishment
6
Managing projects


7
To Execute a given project means:
● to accomplish the work that needs to be done according
to what was planned;
● and keep informed the team and managers.

8
Managing projects


9
To Control a given project means:
● Monitor and Report the execution of the management
plan pertaining to scope, time and cost, as well as
quality and risk
● Main goal: to keep work performance and its results
aligned with the initial plans, within a tolerance margin

10
Why is Control so challenging?

11
2.
Project Planning

Software project planning
● Identify activities
● Schedule activities
● Assign resources

13
Activities and resources: WBS
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Decomposes the work to
be done in a set of activities

14
Activities and resources: OBS
Organization Breakdown Structure Creates the structure of
the organization and is useful for relating elements to the
project activity

15
Activity identification - Howto
Work Breakdown Structure

16
Work-Breakdown Structure
● Defines the scope of the project (“to do” list)
● Breaks work down to components
○ Subdivides complex tasks into simpler ones
● Hints on building a WBS
○ Include 100% of the work / deliverables
○ Avoid overlapping elements
○ Plan first for work outcomes, rather than actions
○ Try to get the “sweet spot” of detail
■ Too little makes planning harder
■ Too much hinders the communication role of the WBS
17
WBS example

18
Creating Work-Breakdown Structures
● Several possible decomposing strategies
○ Product oriented
○ Process oriented
○ …
● The WBS may have a different number of levels
○ Enough to facilitate estimates on costs, resources, …
○ Not too many, to facilitate communication
● The lower level components are work packages
○ Must be assigned to individuals, or teams, responsible for delivering
them
○ Estimates of time, costs and resources are done at the work
package level of granularity (where we decompose into activities)
19
Product oriented Work Breakdown Structure
Product oriented work breakdown structure

20
Process-oriented work breakdown structure

21
What is the sweet spot for detail?
● The 8/80 rule (of thumb)

○ No work package should be less than 8 hours or more
than 80 hours
● Groups of tasks, or activities, once complete, should
correspond to the completeness of the
corresponding upper level
22

How should we
schedule activities?

23
Naive project scheduling
Project: A sequence of interconnected activities to achieve a certain
goal
Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Activity 4 Activity 5
Time time
Problem! Longest possible completion schedule

24
Networked project plan
Build a network of relationships among activities, so

that activities precedences can be established
Activity 2 Activity 3
Activity 5
Activity 1
Activity 4 time 25
Time

Which activities must finish,
before a particular new activity
starts?

26
A B
Dependency relationship (FS)
● Finish to Start relationship
○ As soon as A finishes, B can start
● Example
○ A is a data collection activity
○ B is a data storing activity
○ As soon as we finish data collection, we can start data storing
● Recommended as default dependency in early planning

27
A
Dependency relationship (SS)
B
● Start to Start relationship
○ As soon as A starts, B can start
● Example
○ Data storing cannot start before data collection starts
● Use for compressing activities in time

28
A
Dependency relationship (SF)
B
● Start to Finish relationship
○ As soon as A starts, B can finish
● Example
○ A is a new system running
○ B is an old system running
○ As soon as the new system is running, the old system may
be discontinued
● Used for just in time scheduling (relatively uncommon)
29
A
Dependency relationship (FF)
B
● Finish to Finish relationship
○ As soon as A finishes, B can finish
● Example
○ Only when we finish collecting data, can we finish storing it as
well
● To preserve network connectivity, SS should be used with FF
30
3.
Gantt Charts
From work breakdown structure to schedule management

Gantt Charts (illustration)

Gantt charts limitations
● Lack of detail on task precedence

○ But some tools do support precedence mechanisms
such as those explained before
● No support for helping the project manager
● Defining the shortest possible completion schedule
● Allocating resources effectively

Project Milestones
A milestone is a logical end to a stage in the project for progress
reviewing.
● Can be conceptual or tangible

● Signals the reaching of a key stage in the project
● An important sign for the team
● A point for project management to check project goal
alignment

Project Milestones
It can be documented (report, email, etc), summarizes work done

and is associated with one task or groups of tasks.

Project Deliverables
Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a
service that is produced to complete a process, phase or project. It
can be associated with a milestone in the Gantt chart.
● Must be tangible (i.e. a product or service)

● Signals the completion of a project phase
● An important sign for the client
● A point for the client to sign-off on project status

4.
Activity on node diagrams
The precedence diagram method

Activity on Node diagrams
● Detailed project planning & control

● Support for project schedule analytics
○ Identification of the first possible moment for
completing an activity
○ Support for earliest completion date computation
○ Comparison of alternative detailed scheduling
○ Project scheduling control 38

Activity On Node (AON) Diagrams
● AON is a directed acyclic graph

● Each activity is represented in an activity node
● Dependency relationships represented by arrows

Building an
AON
diagram

How should we build an AON diagram?
Add
Identify Create a schedule
activities directed information
and acyclic and
precedents graph compute
critical path

Start by Identifying Tasks and their precedents
Add
activities directed information
and acyclic and
critical path

Identify activities and precedents
Activity Predecessors
A -
B -
C A
D B
E B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J
Let’s transform that table into a graph
Add
tasks directed information
and acyclic and
critical path

Where should we start?
A -
B -
C A
D B
E B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

The first thing to do is to create a Start node
A - Start
B -
C A
D B
E B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

Activity A has no predecessors:
it can start from the beginning of the project!
A
A - Start
B -
C A
D B
E B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

Activity B can also start from the beginning of the project
A
A - Start
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

A is a burst activity:
when it ends, several other activities that depend on A can start
A
A - Start
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

C, F, and I can start as soon as burst activity A finishes
A I
A - Start C
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

B is also a burst activity
A I
A - Start C
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B
F A
G C
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

D and E can start as soon as B finishes
A I
A - Start C
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B D
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

When C finishes, G can start
When D finishes, H can start
A I
A - Start C G
B -
C A
D
E
B
B
B D H
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

J is a fusion activity: it can only start when E, G and H finish
A I
A - Start C G
B -
C A
D B
B D H J
E B
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

K is also a fusion activity: it can only start after F, I and J finish
A I
A - Start C G K
B -
C A
D B
B D H J
E B
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

K was the last activity, end the diagram with a Finish node
A I
A - Start C G K Finish
B -
C A
D B
B D H J
E B
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

Review this carefully
A I
A - Start C G K Finish
B -
C A
D B
B D H J
E B
F A
G C E
H D
I A
J E, G, H
K F, I, J

Burst Activity
More than one activity may start when the
burst activity finishes

Fusion Activity
A fusion activity may only start when all its
precedent activities have finished

How should we build an AON diagram?
Add
tasks directed information
and acyclic and
critical path

What information do we need to store
on the Activity Node?
Early Start Duration Early Finish
Task Name
Late Start Slack Late Finish
Duration = Early Finish – Early Start = Late Finish – Late Start
Slack = Late Start – Early Start = Late Finish – Early Finish

Consider this scenario
● A company decides to reengineer its IT system

● They will need new hardware, network and internet
access, along with the corresponding software
● The Project Manager has already made a
description of the activities to conduct and the time
required for each of them
62
How much time do we need for this project?

Identify activities, precedents and duration
Activity Predecessors Duration

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
D A 7
E B, C 4
F D, E 2
G F 2

Create a Start node, with 0 duration

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start
F D, E 2
G F 2
Early Duration Early

Start Finish
Task Name
Late Slack Late

Start Finish

Activity A has no precedents and has 5 days duration

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start
F D, E 2
G F 2
5
A

Start Finish
Task Name
Late Slack Late

Start Finish

B, C, and D start after A finishes

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6
A C

Start Finish 7
Task Name
D
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

E starts when both B and C finish

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6 4
A C E

Start Finish 7
Task Name
D
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

F starts when D and E finish

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6 4 2
A C E F

Start Finish 7
Task Name
D
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

G starts when F finishes

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7
Task Name
D
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

Add a Finish node

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(Start) = 0
EFT(Start) = 0
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
5 6 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(A) ← 0
EFT(A) ← EST(A) + Dur(A)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 10 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 6 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(B) ← EFT(A)
EFT(B) ← EST(B) + DUR (B)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 6 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(C) ← EFT(A)
EFT(C) ← EST(C) + DUR(C)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 7 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(D) ← EFT(A)
EFT(D) ← EST(D) + DUR(D)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 4 2 2
A C E F G

Start Finish 5 7 12 0
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(E) ← MAX (EFT(B), EFT(C))
EFT(E) ← EST(E) + DUR(E)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 2 2
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(F) ← MAX (EFT(D), EFT(E))
EFT(F) ← EST(F) + DUR(F)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 2
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(G) ← EFT(F)
EFT(G) ← EST(G) + DUR (G)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

EST(Finish) ← EFT(G)
LST(Finish) ← EST(Finish) + DUR (Finish)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G

Start Finish 5 7 12 23 0 23
Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

LFT(Finish) ← EFT(Finish)
LST(Finish) ← LFT(Finish) – DUR(Finish)
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 23 23
Slack(Finish) ← LST(Finish) – EST(Finish)

A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 23 0 23
LFT(G) ← EST(Finish)
LST(G) ← LFT(G) – DUR(G)
Slack(G) ← LST(G) – EST(G) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
LFT(F) ← LST(G)
LST(F) ← LFT(F) – DUR(F)
Slack(F) ← LST(F) – EST(F) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
LFT(E) ← LST(F)
LST(E) ← LFT(F) – DUR(E)
Slack(E) ← LST(E) – EST(E) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
LFT(D) ← LST(F)
LST(D) ← LFT(D) – DUR(D)
Slack(D) ← LST(D) – EST(D) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
LFT(C) ← LST(E)
LST(C) ← LFT(C) – DUR(C)
Slack(C) ← LST(C) – EST(C) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
LFT(B) ← LST(E)
LST(B) ← LFT(B) – DUR(B)
Slack(B) ← LST(B) – EST(B) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
LFT(A) ← MIN(LST(B), LST(C), LST(D))
LST(A) ← LFT(A) – DUR(A)
Slack(A) ← LST(A) – EST(A) Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 0 5 9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
LFT(Start) ← 0
LST(Start) ← 0
Slack(Start) ← 0 Activity
A
Predecessors
-
Duration
5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
0 0 0 5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 0 5 9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
What is the Critical Path of a project?
● The longest network path formed by activities where
EST = LST (i.e. the slack is 0)
● This is called the critical path
○ Any deviation on the duration of activities in the
critical path will have a direct impact on the whole
network, i.e., on the whole project schedule)

90
Compute the critical path
Critical path (slack equals 0 and sum of durations is maximized)
A - 5
A-B-E-F-G -> 5+10+4+2+2 = 23 B A 10
A-C-E-F-G -> 5+ 6+4+2+2 = 19 C A 6

0 0 0 5 10 15
A-D-E-F-G -> 5+ 7+4+2+2 = 20
D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
0 0 0 5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 0 5 9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
Building an
AON
diagram
Summary

Choose the greater Early Finish time
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish

Choose the smaller Late Start time
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
0 0 0 5 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 5 9 15 15 19 19 21 21 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 19 23 0 23
Compute the slack
A - 5
B A 10
C A 6
0 0 0 5 10 15 D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
0 0 0 5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 0 5 9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
Compute the critical path
Critical path (slack equals 0 and sum of durations is maximized)
A - 5
A-B-E-F-G -> 5+10+4+2+2 = 23 B A 10
A-C-E-F-G -> 5+ 6+4+2+2 = 19 C A 6

0 0 0 5 10 15
A-D-E-F-G -> 5+ 7+4+2+2 = 20
D A 7
E B, C 4
Start B
F D, E 2
0 0 0 5 0 15 G F 2
0 5 5 5 6 11 15 4 19 19 2 21 21 2 23
A C E F G
0 0 5 9 4 15 15 0 19 19 0 21 21 0 23

Task Name
D Finish
Late Slack Late
Start Finish 12 7 19 23 0 23
How do you comfort a JavaScript bug?
You console it.

97
References
Software Engineering, by Ian Sommerville, Pearson, (either 9th or 10th edition)
see chapters 22 and 23
Other suggestions:
Gestão Moderna de Projetos, Melhores técnicas e práticas, António Miguel, FCA Editora

98

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Lecture 4

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2021/2022 4

To manage a given project means to Plan, Execute and

Software Engineering 2023/2024

● What- is the work that must be accomplished(scope)

To manage a given project means to Plan, Execute and

Software Engineering 2023/2024

● and keep informed the team and managers.

Software Engineering 2023/2024

To manage a given project means to Plan, Execute and

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2021/2022 12

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Product oriented work breakdown structure

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

● The 8/80 rule (of thumb)

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Activity 4 Activity 5

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Build a network of relationships among activities, so

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2023/2024

Software Engineering 2021/2022 31

Software Engineering 2021/2022 32

● Lack of detail on task precedence

Software Engineering 2021/2022 33

● Can be conceptual or tangible

Software Engineering 2021/2022 34

It can be documented (report, email, etc), summarizes work done

Software Engineering 2021/2022 35

● Must be tangible (i.e. a product or service)

Software Engineering 2021/2022 36

Software Engineering 2021/2022 37

● Detailed project planning & control

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● AON is a directed acyclic graph

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