Project Management Introduction

Introduction to Project Management

• A project is a temporary endeavor to produce a unique product, service, or result, typically bound by time and resources, to achieve specific goals and add value.
• Project management involves planning, organizing, directing, and controlling resources for a relatively short-term objective to complete specific goals.
• Project organization facilitates project activity coordination and implementation to foster team interactions with minimal disruption and conflict. An organization chart is essential to project success.

Project Life Cycle

• Project manager and project team work toward the shared goal of meeting project objectives.
• Every project has a beginning, middle, and end.
• Four Major Phases:
• Initiation
• Planning
• Implementation
• Closure

Initiation Phase

• The project objective or need is identified.
• An appropriate response to the need leads to a business case with recommended solution options.
• A feasibility study is conducted with justification.
• A manager is appointed, deliverables are identified, and the project team begins to take shape.

Planning Phase

• The project solution is further developed in detail for meeting the project's objective.
• All work to be done is defined.
• Project tasks and resource requirements are identified.
• Referred to as "scope management."
• A project plan is created, outlining activities, tasks, dependencies, and timeframes.
• A project budget is prepared by the project manager.
• Risk management identifies potential problems and actions to mitigate them. Communication plan describes information needed and delivery method to keep stakeholders informed.

Implementation/Execution Phase

• The project plan is put into motion.
• Progress is monitored and adjustments are made.
• The project manager compares progress reports with the project plan to measure performance and take corrective action.
• Project sponsors and stakeholders should be kept informed to the agreed-on frequency and format of communication.
• Status reports should emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of cost, schedule, and quality of deliverables.
• Each project deliverable produced should be reviewed for quality and measured against the acceptance criteria. Project is ready for closure when customer accepts the final solution.

Closing Phase

• Emphasis is on releasing final deliverables to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources, and communicating the project closure to all stakeholders.
• Conducting lessons-learned studies is the last remaining step, and wisdom is transferred back to the project organization.

Project Planning Objectives

• Project planning involves steps to determine how to achieve a goal or set of goals.
• It is the heart of the project lifecycle, telling everyone involved where you're going and how you're going to get there.
• Documents plans defines deliverables and requirements, and project schedules are created.
• Involves creating plans to guide the team through execution.
• Plans help manage time, cost, quality, changes, and risk.
• They help control staff and suppliers for timely delivery.
• Business requirements are established
• Cost, schedule, deliverables, and delivery dates are also established
• Resource plans are established
• Management approval is obtained for the next phase

Key Objectives of Project Planning

• Projects have specific SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. An example is delivery of a functional app within 6 months.
• Project scope outlines what is included and excluded from the project to prevent scope creep. An example is defining which buildings will be constructed.
• Project plan is a roadmap with details on tasks, milestones, timelines, and structure. An example is tasks like coding, testing, and launching for website development.
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• hierarchical decomposition of the project into more manageable components to help organize work and facilitate effective task management. An example: robots project might contain tasks such as designing the robot, programming, and assembling components.
• Task Dependencies and Relationships
• understanding these is crucial for proper sequencing and helps in creating a realistic project schedule. An example: the creation of promotional materials depending on the completion of graphic design tasks.
• Resource Allocation and Management
• effective resource allocation ensures that the right people with the right skills are assigned to tasks and involves managing budgets, equipment, and materials. An example: access to databases for a research project.
• Risk Management
• identifying possible challenges and proactive planning minimizes impact of unforeseen events. A construction project will mitigate against bad weather
• Project Schedule
• project activities with milestones and deadlines for task completion.
• Resource Plan
• this details how manage resources, ensures resources are available when needed, and used efficiently.

Communication Plan

• Defines how information will be shared.
• Includes communication channels, frequency, and methods.
• Regular team meetings, status reports, and a project management tool may be part of the communications plan.
• Change Management Plan
• ensures that changes are controlled, documented, and properly evaluated.
• Prevents scope creep.
• Quality Management Plan Ensures that the project's output meets predefined criteria with quality assurance and control processes.

Project Estimation Models

• Crucial for predicting resource needs, duration, and costs and assists project managers in planning, budgeting, and scheduling.
• Common Models:
• Expert Judgement
• Analogous Estimation
• Parametric Estimation
• Three-Point Estimation (PERT)
• Bottom-Up Estimation
• Monte Carlo Simulation
• Top-Down Estimation
• Comparative Estimation

Types of Project Estimation

• Estimating the cost of a project by calculating the cost of all the materials and labor required.
• Time estimates involve methods like bottom-up estimation.
• Scope estimation is another element to define.
• Risk estimation helps determine risks
• Resources Estimation

Project Estimation Process

• Has 4 Main Steps:
• Planning
• Scoping
• Estimating
• Controlling
• Planning
• Gathering ALL project information
• Scoping
• Picture of whats needed, howlong tasks will take
• Estimating
• Quantity of Funds.
• Controlling Comparison against baselines.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• A WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of work to accomplish project objectives.
• The WBS is a cornerstone of planning, execution, controlling, monitoring, and reporting to help owners and managers make manageable projects.
• The WBS developed to establish a common understanding of project scope.
• WBS Qualities -Can easily be defined and understood. -A work unit where responsibility and authority can be assigned. -Duration can be estimated in time and cost. -Minimum interface with or dependence on other ongoing elements. -Integrates with other project work elements and higher-level cost estimates and schedules. -Can be used to measure progress with start and completion dates and measurable interim milestones.
• Addition/elimination of work scope can be easily accommodated.
• Types of WBS
• Phase based-structures
• Deliverable-bases structures
• Responsibility based structures
• The WBS Dictionary defines task durations, dependencies, predecessor, successor relationships, and resources prior to network diagram creation.

Task Allocation and Effort Distribution

• Aspects of project management that assign work to team members and distribute effort to complete projects effectively while also using resources efficiently
• Task allocation
• assigning activities or task to groups or people while also determining how to achieve objectives of entire project
• Effort distribution
• assigning work hours per task.
• Project management tools like Gantt charts and resource histograms visualize task allocation and effort distribution.

Network Diagrams

• Diagrams are visual representations of project activities
• They help with flow and sequence of activities
• Terminologies:
• Activity Dependency
• Lead
• Lag
• Float
• Free float
• Total Float
• Critical Path
• 2 Methods
• Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
• Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
• Activities are represented in arrows
• Nodes- events
• Relationships are "finish to start" or FS
• Precedence diagram method (PDM)
• Activities as nodes, arrows as dependencies.
• Benefits of Network Diagram in PM
• Time-efficiency
• Control over the task sequence
• Task time management
• Visual representation of progress for stakeholders
• Establishing project workflows

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) & Critical Path Method

• PERT chart is a graphical representation of a timeline and itemizes individual tasks, instructions, schedules and timelines.
• PERT helps to develop network diagrams with a one-time project that has no historical data
• Three-point Estimation Technique provides duration estimates for activities.
• Formulas involved

Gantt Chart

• Graphical depiction of project schedule, as a bar chart
• Shows the start and finish dates of all elements
• Scheduling In Project Management
• Scheduling is a crucial aspect of project management for planning and organizing tasks for project completion

Scheduling Strategies

• Gantt Charts
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique
• Resource Leveling
• Agile Scheduling
• Fast tracking
• Crashing
• Use of Kanban
• Buffer Management

Project Tracking

• Project tracking refers to monitoring, measuring, recording processes.
• It includes collecting data to assess if the project will meet objectives and is a crucial aspect of project management.
• Elements:
• Task Progress Monitoring
• Timeline Adherence
• Risk Management
• Communication
• Use of Project Management Tools
• Documentation and Reporting
• Performance Metrics and KPIs
• Adaptability and Continuous Improvement

Controlling Progress

• Controlling in project management involves managing aspects of a project to ensure it stays on course and achieves goals
• Requires a proactive mindset, commitment to adaptability, and a focus on maintaining project alignment with organizational goals.
• Elements:
• Monitoring and Measurement
• Variance Analysis
• Change Management
• Adaptability
• Risk Management
• Resource Optimization
• Communication
• Quality Control
• Performance Reviews
• Continuous Improvement
• Quality Measurement
• Quality measurement refers to assessing and quantifying deliverables against predefined standards or criteria to ensure that quality requirements and expectations are met.

Elements of Quality Measurement

• Defining quality standards
• Quality Assurance Processes
• Testing and Validation
• Peer Reviews
• Process Audits
• Customer Feedback
• Performance Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Documentation
• Continuous Improvement

Systems Engineering

• Engineering field for designing, integrating, and managing complex systems to ensure all components work together effectively

Activities

• Developmental Phasing
• Systems Engineering Process
• Life Cycle Integration

Each Activities Necessity

• Achieves proper management of a development effort.
• The timing and coordination between technical development phasing and the acquisition schedule is critical to maintain a healthy acquisition program.
• Systems engineering activities are requirements analysis, functional analysis and allocation, and design synthesis.

Software Development Process

• This refers to the activities, methods, and practices to design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain software systems using development methodologies.

Processes/Lifecycle

• They consist of requirement gathering, writing functional specifications, creating architecture and design documents, implementation and coding, testing and quality assurance, release, documetation, support and new features.

Systems Engineering vs Software Engineering

• Systems
• Encompasses the entire system, deals with integration, and coordination.
• Considers both hardware and software and is highly interdisciplinary
• Application to large complexes
• Software
• Focuses solely on design, development,
• Primarily deals with design and development and primarily collaborates with computer science
• Focus on aspects of the software

Software Metrics and Measurement

• This measures the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the software development process. Software measurement can is defined and governed by ISO Standard and be characterized by five activities:
• Formulation
• Collection
• Analysis
• Interpretation
• Feedback

Software Measurement Importance

• Quality
• Quantitative basis for evaluation

Types Of Software Measurement

• Direct
• Measured directly with standard
• Indirect
• Measurement when related parameters are used

Properties

• Software metrics can be expressed in numerical values.
• Metric computation should be easily understood, and the method of computing metrics should be clearly defined.
• Applicable for early development
• Repeatable Metric

Classification

• Metrics can be economical and language independent and are classified into three:
• Product Metrics
• Process Metrics
• Project Metrics

Software Metrics Advantages

• Reductions
• Identification
• Effective and Increased Quality
• Managing
• Determination
• Overall Results
• Implementing of Metrics is expensive and there are some disadvantages to measurements