Project Management

Lecture Developing the Project Plan

Plan
Introduction Project planning Project planning
Network analysis I

Project planning
Resource analysis

Gantt chart and WBS Risk management

Project planning
Network analysis II

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

Planning and Control Cycle

P lan

M onitor & R eview

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
P lan P lan P lan

M onitor & R eview

M onitor & R eview

M onitor & R eview

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

Conduct Interviews

Investigate Other Systems

Analyse Requirements

Investigate Packages

Investigate Hardware

Managing Director

Finance Director

Stores Manager

Sales Manager

Etc.

Conduct Interview

Write Notes

Review Notes

Create DFDs

Review DFDs

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 product example

PBS Example

Project

Project Management Deliverables

Design Deliverables

Database Deliverables

GUI Deliverables

Functional Deliverables

PBS Example
Project

Project Management Deliverables

Design Deliverables

Database Deliverables

GUI Deliverables

Functional Deliverables

Produce Use Cases Produce Activity Diagrams Produce Class 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?

Example Gantt chart

Week Number 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Activity A B C D E F G

Example Gantt chart

Week Number 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Activity A B C D E F G

Gantt chart components

An Activity/Task is represented as follows:

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

Finish

Gantt chart components

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

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

Finish

Example Gantt chart

Week Number 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Activity A B C D E F G

Example Gantt chart

Week Number 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Activity A B C D E F G

Exercise
Activity A B C D E F G Start (Week No) 1 2 1 3 5 2 10 Duration (Weeks) 5 3 8 4 5 4 6 % Complete 100 100 75 100 60 25 0

H
I J

6
7 8

6
2 6

100
50 50

Exercise
Activity A B C D E F G Start (Week No) 1 2 1 3 5 2 10 Duration (Weeks) 5 3 8 4 5 4 6 % Complete 100 100 75 100 60 25 0

H
I J

6
7 8

6
2 6

100
50 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

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
P lan P lan P lan

M onitor & R eview

M onitor & R eview

M onitor & R eview

Plan
Introduction Project planning Project planning
Network analysis I

Project planning
Resource analysis

Gantt chart and WBS Risk management

Project planning
Network analysis II

Quality Budgets and cost control Project teams