Podcast
Questions and Answers
What distinguishes software project management from other types of project management?
What distinguishes software project management from other types of project management?
Which of the following activities is NOT typically associated with project management?
Which of the following activities is NOT typically associated with project management?
What is a common characteristic of software projects?
What is a common characteristic of software projects?
Which of the following does NOT contribute to the need for effective project management in software development?
Which of the following does NOT contribute to the need for effective project management in software development?
Signup and view all the answers
Which management activity involves assessing the project's progress and outcomes?
Which management activity involves assessing the project's progress and outcomes?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary purpose of establishing project constraints?
What is the primary purpose of establishing project constraints?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is NOT a component of the project plan structure?
Which of the following is NOT a component of the project plan structure?
Signup and view all the answers
What are milestones in the context of project management?
What are milestones in the context of project management?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main goal when organizing tasks in project scheduling?
What is the main goal when organizing tasks in project scheduling?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the project schedule include?
What does the project schedule include?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Software Project Management
- Covers activities for delivering software on time and on schedule according to organizational requirements
- Focuses on overcoming budget and schedule constraints in the development of software
Software Management Distinctions
- Products are intangible and flexible
- Software engineering is not recognized as a traditional engineering discipline
- The development process for software is not standardized
- Many software projects are unique, often called "one-off" projects
Management Activities
- Proposal Writing
- Project Planning and Scheduling
- Project Costing
- Project Monitoring and Reviews
- Personnel Selection and Evaluation
- Report Writing and Presentations
Project Planning Process
- Establishes project constraints
- Makes initial assessments of project parameters
- Defines project milestones and deliverables
- Draws up project schedule
- Initiates activities according to schedule
- Reviews project progress
- Revises estimates of project parameters
- Updates the project schedule
- Re-negotiates project constraints and deliverables
- In case of arising problems, technical review and possible revision is initiated
The Project Plan
- Outlines the resources available for the project
- Provides a work breakdown
- Sets a schedule for the work
Project Plan Structure
- Includes an introduction
- Specifies project organization
- Details risk analysis
- Lists hardware and software resource requirements
- Outlines work breakdown
- Provides a project schedule
- Describes monitoring and reporting mechanisms
Activity Organization
- Organizes activities to produce tangible outputs for management
- Identifies milestones as endpoints of process activities
- Defines deliverables as project results for customers
- The waterfall process allows for direct definition of progress milestones
Project Scheduling
- Divides the project into tasks and estimates the time and resources required for each task
- Organizes tasks concurrently to optimize workforce utilization
- Minimizes task dependencies to avoid delays caused by one task waiting for another
- This process relies on project managers' experience and intuition
Scheduling Problems
- Estimating problem difficulty, and therefore development costs, is difficult.
- Productivity is not directly proportional to the number of people assigned to a task.
- Adding people to a late project can further delay its completion due to increased communication overhead.
- Unexpected events are common and contingency plans are essential
Bar Charts and Activity Networks
- Use graphical notations to illustrate project schedules
- Show project breakdown into tasks with reasonable size, ideally a week or two duration
- Activity charts show task dependencies and identify the critical path
- Bar charts depict schedule against calendar time
Risk Management
- Involves identifying risks and creating strategies to minimize their impact on a project
- A risk is the probability that a negative circumstance will occur
- Projects risks affect schedule or project
- Product risks affect the quality or performance of developed software
- Business risks affect the organizations developing or procuring the software
Software Risks
- Risk: Staff Turnover
- Affects: Project
- Description: Experienced staff leave the project before completion
- Risk: Management Change
- Affects: Project
- Description: Changes in organizational management lead to different priorities
- Risk: Hardware Unavailability
- Affects: Project
- Description: Essential hardware is not delivered on time
- Risk: Requirements Change
- Affects: Project and Product
- Description: More changes to requirements occur than anticipated
- Risk: Specification Delays
- Affects: Project and Product
- Description: Specifications of essential interfaces are not available on schedule
- Risk: Size Underestimate
- Affects: Project and Product
- Description: System size has been underestimated
- Risk: CASE Tool Underperformance
- Affects: Product
- Description: CASE tools used in the project do not perform as expected
- Risk: Technology Change
- Affects: Business
- Description: Underlying technology on which the system is built is superseded by newer technology
- Risk: Product Competition
- Affects: Business
- Description: A competitor's product is released before the system's completion
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Related Documents
Description
Explore key concepts in software project management, including activities for delivering software on time while overcoming budget and schedule constraints. Learn about management activities like proposal writing, project planning, and cost evaluation essential for successful software development.
