Chapter 1 SSE

• The final mark calculation for Module 1 is based on:
  • 25% Class Tests
  • 35% Practicals
  • 40% Main Test
  • To include a May Evaluation

Introduction to Software Project Management

• Software Project Management is the concentration on managing information technology Projects
• It covers managing information technology projects

Introduction to Project Management

• There's a renewed interest in project management
• The focus was primarily on providing schedule and resource data to top management.
• This was in the military, computer, and construction industries prior to the 1980s
• Project management is now in every industry and country
• Computer hardware, software, networks, and the use of interdisciplinary and global work teams have radically changed the work environment
• Approximately $10 trillion of the $40.7 trillion gross product is spent on projects
• Project management is the profession of more than 16 million people

Project Management Statistics

• In 2015, global spending on technology goods, services, and staff, reached $9.4 trillion which was a 50% increase from 2007
• The IT workforce in the U.S. topped 9 million workers in 2008
• The number of people earning their Project Management Professional (PMP) certification continues to increase

Motivation for Information Technology (IT)

• IT Projects have a terrible track record
• A 1995 Standish Group study found that 16.2% of IT projects met scope, time, and cost goals while over 31% were canceled
• A 2020 Standish Group study found that 31% of IT projects met scope, time, and cost goals while over 19% failed and 50% were canceled
• A PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that overall, half of all projects fail and only 2.5% of corporations consistently meet their scope, time, and cost goals for project types

CHAOS

• CHAOS stands for Comprehensive Human Appraisal for Originating Software
• CHAOS relates to the human factor
• It gives an overview where highest investment benefits can be achieved
• This guide gives insights in root causes for project failure or success
• Key skills for organizational project management (good sponsor, good team, good place)

Advantages of Formal Project Management

• Lower Costs: Planned management systems identify problems easier and avoid unnecessary expenditures
• Improved Productivity: A structured approach to work means clear tasks and responsibilities so workers know what to focus on
• High worker morale: Regular communication, feedback, collaboration, and progress tracking are maintained, creating a positive and motivated workforce
• Better control of physical, financial and human resources is ensured through constant monitoring and documentation of resources

What Is a Project?

• A project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result"
• This definition comes from the PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, 2008, p. 5
• Projects end when objectives are reached or the project is terminated
• Operations are the work done to sustain the business
• Projects can be large or small, and take a short or long time to complete.

Examples of IT Projects

• A technician replacing ten laptops for a small department.
• A small software development team develops or adds a new feature to an internal software application for the finance department.
• A college campus upgrading its technology infrastructure to provide wireless Internet access across the whole campus.
• A cross-functional task force in a company to decide what Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) system to purchase and how it will be implemented.

Strategic Technologies

• Top strategic technologies (Gartner):
  • Cloud-Native Platforms
  • Data Fabric
  • Al Engineering
  • Cloud Networking
  • Social Software
• Top strategic technologies (Gartner):
  • Al Foundation.
  • Intelligent Apps and Analytics.
  • Digital Twin.
  • Cloud Computing.
  • Blockchain.
  • Semantic Web.

Project Attributes

• Projects have a unique purpose
• Projects are temporary
• Projects are developed using progressive elaboration
• Projects require resources, often from various areas
• Projects should have a primary customer or sponsor
• The project sponsor provides direction and funding
• Projects involve uncertainty

Project and Program Managers

• Project managers work with project sponsors, the project team, and other people involved to meet project goals
• A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, 2008, p. 9).
• Program managers oversee programs, and are often bosses for project managers

Project Constraint

• Every project is constrained by its scope, time, and cost goals
• Scope, time, and cost in project management are also known as the triple constraint
• Successful project managers balance scope, time, and cost

Project Constraint - Scope

• Scope defines the work, the unique products/services and expected results
• A Project manager must know how the scope will be verified

Project Constraint - Time

• What is the project's schedule and how long will it take?
• Project manager needs to track schedule performance and who approves schedule changes?

Project Constraint - Cost

• The Project manager must know the budget, how costs will be tracked, and who approves budget changes?

Triple Constraint

• A successful project management means meeting all three goals: scope, time, and cost and satisfying the project's sponsor
• Quality is a key factor in projects
• So is customer or sponsor satisfaction

What is Project Management?

• Project management is defined as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements" (PMBOK Guide, Fourth Edition, 2008, p. 6)
• Project managers must meet the triple constraints by balancing project scope, time, and cost goals

Project Management Knowledge

• Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers must develop
• The project manager must know the core and facilitating knowledge areas

Core Knowledge areas

Lead to specific project goals (scope, time, cost, and quality)

Facilitating knowledge areas

Help the project manager to know 'how' the project goals are going to be met, including:

• Human resources
• Communication
• Risk
• Procurement management
• Project integration management affects all other knowledge areas

Project Management Framework

• Has 10 Knowledge areas:
  • Scope
  • Time
  • Cost
  • Quality management
• The Project management framework also includes:
  • Human resources
  • Communications
  • Risk
  • Procurement
  • Project integration management
  • Stakeholder management
• This takes into account stakeholders' needs and expectations
• Uses tools and techniques from the project portfolio to the project success and enterprise success

Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management
• Specific tools include:
• Project charter, scope statement, and WBS for scope
• Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling for time
• Cost estimates and earned value management for cost

Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Super tools have high use and high potential for project success improvement
• These include software for task scheduling i.e. project management software
• Also include: scope statements, requirements analyses, and lessons-learned reports
• Tools extensively used to improve project importance include:
  • Progress reports
  • Kick-off meetings
  • Gantt charts
  • Change requests

Tools and Techniques

• These are across multiple knowledge area/categories.
• Key areas include the super tools, like project management software, change requests, lessons-learned reports

What Went Right? Improved Project Performance

• The Standish Group's CHAOS studies show improvements in IT projects in the past decade
• The number of successful IT projects has more than doubled, from 16 percent in 1994 to 58 percent in 2016 and 67 percent in 2020
• The number of failed projects decreased from 31 percent in 1994 to 17 percent in 2016
• The United States spent more money on IT projects in 2006 than 1994.
• IT spending was $346 billion and $250 billion respectively
• The amount of money wasted on challenged and failed projects in 2006 was down to $53 billion compared to $140 billion in 1994

Why the Improvements?

• The average cost of a project has been more than cut in half
• Better tools monitor and control progress
• There are better skilled project managers
• Management processes are being used

Project Success

• Project success defines project met scope, time, and cost goals
• The project satisfies the customer/sponsor
• The results of the project meets its main objectives, such as making or saving money, providing a good return on investment, or making the sponsors happy

Criteria for Project Success

• Executive support
• User involvement
• Experienced project manager
• Clear business objectives
• Minimized scope
• Standard software engineering knowledge and infrastructure
• Firm basic requirements
• Formal methodology
• Reliable estimates
• Other criteria, such as small milestones, proper planning, competent staff, and ownership

Project Delivery Success

• Companies that excel in project delivery capability:
• Use an integrated project management toolbox with standard/advanced PM tools and templates
• Adopts software engineering principles
• Grow project leaders, with emphasis business, and soft skills
• Develop a streamlined project delivery process
• Measure project health using metrics, such as customer satisfaction and ROI

Project Portfolio Management

• A program is defined as "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually" (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, 2008, p. 9)
• A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program.
• Common programs in the IT field include infrastructure, applications development, and user support.

Project Portfolio Management

• Portfolio managers help organizations make wise investment decisions.
• A project portfolio management (PPM), organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success
• Portfolio managers help their organizations select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

Project Portfolio Management examples

• Infrastructure Dev: IT programs that provide wireless Internet access, upgrading hardware and software, enhancing computer security, and developing maintaining corporate standards for IT
• Applications Development: Updating an ERP system, developing a new capability for a customer relationship management system.
• User Support: User support in IT provide a better e-mail system or develop technical training for users.

Managing projects

• Project management includes:
  • Tactical goals
  • Carrying out projects well
  • Keeping projects on time and on budget
  • Ensuring that team and stakeholders understand roles
• Project portfolio management (PPM):
• Strategic goals.
• Ensuring the right projects are undertaken.
• Investing in the right areas with the right resources.

Best Practice

• Is an optimal way recognized by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective
• Robert Butrick suggests that organizations need to follow basic principles of project management.
  • Projects should be strategy driven and screen out unwanted projects as soon as possible
  • Stakeholders should be engaged at all stages to encourage teamwork and commitment

Skills for Project Managers

• Project managers requires a wide variety of skills
• They should be comfortable with change
• They should understand the organizations
• They should lead teams to reach goals

The Role of the Project Manager

• Job descriptions vary, but Planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals are required
• It is important that 97% of successful projects were led by experienced project managers with influence

Skills for Project Managers in IT

• Project Management is the Body of Knowledge
• Must know application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
• The Project manager must environmental knowledge
• A good Project manager knows software engineering
• General management
• Must have human relations skills

Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers

• Having People skills
• Leadership
• Listening
• Integrity
• Ethical behavior
• Being consistent
• Building trust
• Verbal communication
• building teams
• Conflict resolution
• Conflict management
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Balances priorities

Leadership Skills

• Effective project managers lead by example
• A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring goal achievement
• A manager deals with day-to-day details of meeting specific goals
• Project managers take on leader and manager role

Careers for IT Project Managers

• IT executives ranked skills most in demand in next 2-5 years
• Project/program management topped the list

Top IT Skills

• Project/program management at 60%
• Business process management at 55%
• Business analysis at 53%
• Application development at 52%
• Database management at 49%
• Security at 42%
• Enterprise architect at 41% -Strategist/internal consultant at 40%

Project Management Institute

• Project management is growing rapidly
• Helpful to understand the history of the field.
• Project Management Institute
• Growth in project management Institutes
• The growth in project management software

History

• Managing projects has grown
• People argue building the Egyptian pyramids was a project, as building the Great Wall of China
• However, most people consider the Manhattan Project was the first project to use modern project management.
• This three-year, $2 billion (in 1946 dollars) project had separate manager and a technical manager

The Project Management Institute

• The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an professional society for project managers founded in 1969
• There are 277,221 members worldwide (August 31, 2008).
• There are interest engineering, financial services, health care, and IT.
• Project management research and certification programs continue to grow
• Students can join PMI at a reduced fee

Project Management Certification

• PMI provides certification as Project Management Professional (PMP).
• A PMP has sufficient project experience, follows a code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam
• The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly
• PMI and other organizations offer additional certification programs

Project Management Ethics

• Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal right/wrong values
• Project managers face ethical dilemmas
• PMP applicants agree to PMI's ethics
• PMP contains questions related to professional responsibility, including ethics

Project Management Software

• There are many different products to assist project management
• Low-end tools: small projects, below $200 per user
• Midrange tools: multiple users, $200-600, Project 2007 popular
• High-end tools: also enterprise project management software, often licensed on a per-user basis, like VPMi Enterprise Online

Assessment Analysis

• The final mark calculation for Module 1 is based on Class Tests(25%), Practicals(35%), and Main Test(40%), and includes a May Evaluation.